Dr Tanvi Kamat Bambolkar from Bandora has been writing for nearly
20 years of her life but not once did she think that she would be releasing
four books on her birthday. Coming from a prominent family of artists, she is
the daughter of noted artist and theatre personality, Shridar Kamat Bambolkar
and the sister of Kalanand, who also follows his father’s suit. Though this is
the first time she is writing books, she has written on various genres
including stories, poetry and drama for the Konkani newspapers. A PhD in folk
theatre, Dr Bambolkar is currently teaching in a Government College in Quepem.
“I didn’t inherit the genes for art from my father and brother but I do theatre
and those genes I definitely inherited from my father. My husband, Hrishikesh,
is also a writer, although by profession, he is a lawyer. My father-in-law,
Devidas Kadam, is also a renowned writer. However, it was my brother Kalanand,
who motivated me and kept pushing me to release my books,” says Dr Bambolkar.
The four books, ‘Paavli’, ‘Shots’, ‘Logout’ and ‘Anwani’ are
published by Sanjana Publications. ‘Paavli’ is a collection of poems written by
Dr Bambolkar from 2014 to 2020. It includes poems related to her life, love,
relationships and her perception about society and people. Using blank verse,
Dr Bambolkar tries to capture the essence of relationships in a very artistic
manner. The collection also includes couplets which encapsulates the little
moments in love and life. In her simple language, she questions many things around
her and tries to find solutions for them. She expressed her internal self
through this poetry collection.
‘Logout’, is a two act play in Konkani which won the best script
award at Kala Academy Goa’s state level drama competition. It deals with lives
of two modern individuals, Kavya and Samay, from two different fields living
together to try an ‘experimental relationship’. Their experiment takes a new
twist when an old couple comes to stay next door. Through interesting dialogues
and realistic conversations, the playwright has tried to capture the essence of
modern relationships in the backdrop of traditional marriage system. It also
shows how social media has a huge role to play in how today’s relationships.
‘Shots’ is a collection of short anecdotal tales in Konkani
dealing mostly with themes related to life of youth. Various stories in the
collection mostly include one incident stories which don’t try to preach
anything but try to leave a simple experience that could be relatable to
anyone. It includes stories ranging from themes such as love, relationships,
marriage, college life, sexual abuse, bus travel experience and many more. One
of a kind of experiment in Konkani, shots is an easy read yet brings a lot on
plate.
‘Anwani’ is a two act play in Konkani inspired from the migrant
exodus that happened during Covid-19 Pandemic. It narrates the tale of a
migrant couple taking a journey to go to a place that they call their ‘home’.
The play deals with various problems that migrants faced during their ‘big
walk’. The playwright very discreetly comments on the social misery of the
times. The plot is universal and there is no mention of the place, time or even
regions where the incidents take place. The play showcases the pitiful state of
the migrants who have to struggle to feed themselves during the tough times.
“I had all the content pending with me for a long time, a lot of
it was written in my 20’s so before starting the next decade of my life, I
thought I should publish it all. These are short books, not more than 100 pages
and are great for a quick read. Some of the short stories were part of the
column that I ran in Sunaparant Aytaar in my college days. I started teaching
in my early twenties. I have been writing since my childhood. Some of the poems
were written during college and university days,” explains Dr Bambolkar.
Her next project is writing on Goan folklore, her specialty.
“Actually, it’s a play that I have in my mind, something that could be based on
the folklore of Goa and Indian mythology. I am still exploring and trying to
figure out how to go about it,” she informs.
Speaking
about the response to the books and its availability for readers, she says,
“The response has been nice so far. Mostly, young people are telling me that
they relate it to a lot of tales from ‘Shots’. The books are available at
Dogears Book Shop in Margao. They will soon be available on Amazon.”
