New Book Discussion

Bombay Hangovers

By Rochelle Potkar

An NCPA Presentation

Under discussion will be 16 immersive short stories by author and poet Rochelle Potkar. Some of the stories were nominated for prizes: Fundação Oriente Short Story Competition, 2015 (shortlist); Open Road Review 2016 (winner); DNA-Out of Print Contest 2017 (longlist) and DISQUIET International Literary prize Lisbon 2019 (notable entry).

“These stories are laced with the grit, sleaze and dynamism of Bombay. They explore the nerve centre of a great metropolis with caustic wit and uncompromising realism. From the red-light corner of Kamathipura and the racecourse of Mahalaxmi, from South Bombay where a perfume maker works on exotic fragrances to the throbbing epicentre of Thane and the township of Kalyan, from Bandra to Andheri, the city is brought alive through memorable characters, piquant situations and no holds barred language. With the occasional foray into Goa, the poet Rochelle Potkar makes an impressive debut in short fiction, a genre unfairly neglected by most publishers in India.”— Manohar Shetty

Potkar is an Indian fiction writer and poet. Her first book, The Arithmetic of Breasts and Other Stories was shortlisted for The Digital Book of the Year 2014 Award by Publishing Next. This was followed by her first book of poetry, Four Degrees of Separation (Paperwall, 2016). Paper Asylum, a book of prose poetry, was shortlisted for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize 2020. She is an alumna of the University of Iowa’s International Writing Programme and a Charles Wallace Writer’s fellow, Stirling. She is the co-founder of Arcs-of-a-Circle, an artists’ residency programme, a project by the U.S. Consulate General, Mumbai.

Admission on a first-come-first-served basis.