In her first book of poetry, spoken word artiste Rochelle D'Silva writes what home means to her, and why moving back to the city after 18 years is a lesson is adjustment
Artiste Rochelle D'Silva
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'This mess of arms and bodies, packed tighter than sardines in a can but we are living, breathing cacophony A riot of colours An everyday mob Hyper-aware of our humanness Coercing limbs to stay steady and balance bags and belongings while being hypnotised by the swaying of a train moving sometimes too fast and sometimes not fast enough.'
After moving back to the city, D'Silva had to commuteon the local to work. This has inspired one of her poems
These are the first few lines of Rochelle D'Silva's poem, Suffocating, which finds its place in When Home Is An Idea (Bombaykala), her first solo collection of poetry, which will be launched this weekend. D'Silva, who is known as a spoken-word poet, has performed on numerous stages in and outside the city.
"The book is divided into three parts, and explores the concepts of identity and belonging. These poems are very personal, and talk about my time away from Mumbai, and my experiences after moving back here," says D'Silva, who was born in the city but moved out when she was 12, only to return in 2014, at the age of 30.
Everywhere else
In the first part of the book, D'Silva questions the idea of a home. "When I was younger, I had concrete ideas of what a home is. That's not the case anymore. I think anything can be a home - a place, a person, or even a feeling," she says.
The young poet has lived in Bahrain, Bengaluru, and Australia. One of her poems, The Curse of the Eternally Displaced, is about her time in limbo. This is what the second part of the book is about. "These are poems about travel. I spent my high-school years in Bahrain, and then moved to Bengaluru. In fact, it was odd because I felt a stronger connection with Bengaluru than I did with this city," she says.
Back to base
D'Silva says she wasn't prepared for the challenges that Mumbai threw at her every single day after she moved back. "When I lived here as a child, my home and school, and my friends, were all in Lokhandwala. So, my idea of Bombay started and ended there. But when I moved back, it was to Mira Road, which is a very different world," she laughs.
To begin with, travelling to work by the Virar local meant that she had to quickly get used to the idea of not having space. "Initially, when I moved back, I was very scared of this city. I remember calling the cops one night to complain about people outside my house playing loud music during a festival. They heard me out, then hung up. I didn't know what to make of that," she recalls.
The third part of her book deals with these experiences, about how she felt alienated despite coming back to the place where she was born. In the three years that she's been back, things have got better. "There are a few angry poems, but there is also a lot of nostalgia," she says.
On:âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088August 27, 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm
At:âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088The Cuckoo Club, 5AA, Macronell's Compound, Pali Hill, Bandra West.
Call: 9619962969
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