Mulakat

-Brian Mendonca

It was such a pleasure to hear a 2006 recording of my poems a few minutes back. This was courtesy the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi as part of their series 'Mulakat' - 'encounter' in Urdu - where young poets are given a platform to present their poems to a discerning audience. 

https://archive.org/details/dni.ncaa.SAK-752-AC/SAK-752-AC_SIDE_A.mp3

(Copy the link and place it in your browser.)

The poetry reading on 25 April 2006 was part of the Internet Archive effort to place poetic expressions in an online repository for worldwide access. 

Special thanks to Sir Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee (NKB) who anchored the session in his inimitable way. He has always supported me and encouraged me when I was finding my voice as a Goan poet in Delhi.

The quality of the audio is very good. Listening to it makes you feel you are attending the session at the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi. 

The session showcases around 10 poems. Some of the poems recorded are:

-Traveller

-Fugitivo

-On the Run

-Aandhi

-Bhusaval

-Sonya

-Epsilon

-By Your Side

-Last Bus to Vasco

-Lonely Planet

Sir Nirmal, who I addressed on first name terms, found my poetry 'fresh, and bold.' In his opening remarks he mentioned the release of my debut volume of poems Last Bus to Vasco: Poems from Goa (2006). All the poems presented - except the last - are from this volume. 'Lonely Planet' was written in Kathmandu.

Earlier this year 'Last Bus to Vasco' was anthologized in the Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City. (2025)