The book launch of The D'Costa Family on 6 August 2025 was beyond expectations with a house full of enthused and engaged audience at Little Theatre, NCPA, Mumbai - and an audience interaction with such positive energy that it made for a memorable evening.

This is the recording of the conversation between Rochelle Potkar (author of The D'Costa Family) and Smita Sahay, Editor-in-Chief, Usawa Literary Review.

About the Book -

Set in the vibrant Goan-Indian milieu, the book introduces us to the riotous D'Costas - a family as outrageous as they are unforgettable. At the center is matriarch Rita D'Costa, navigating betrayal, secrets, and reconciliation with wicked humour and unflinching honesty. With Potkar's signature blend of lyricism and wit, the narrative explores themes of family dysfunction, cultural legacy, and feminine agency.

(The book is available on Amazon and at a few select bookshops.)

Usawa Literary Review celebrated its 7th anniversary.

Usawa is a bi-annual English language literary magazine dedicated to feminist literature and writings by and about underrepresented communities. We publish poetry, fiction, nonfiction, reviews and interviews that question hierarchies, hegemonies and naturalized biases.

This evening started with dramatic readings by Neeta Doshi and Digant Sharma (artists and storytellers) and followed with this conversation.

Curated by -

Dr. Sujata Jadhav - Head – Libraries and Documentation Centre, NCPA

NCPA’s Page to Stage Literary Initiative is a unique platform by the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Page to Stage is dedicated to celebrating the written word through performance. It offers authors and poets an opportunity to bring their work to life, transforming literature into engaging staged experiences that connect with diverse audiences.

Monalisa Joshi hosts a fun conversations around my latest novel The D'Costa Family and the Writing Life.

About the book -

The Goan Indian D'Costa family descends into glorious chaos after patriarch Don Theodore's death. His widow Rita, who never loved him, launches a campaign to install their gravedigger son Jason as the new Don, bribing tenants, and manipulating family members. Meanwhile, her pregnant daughter-in-law Annette juggles a secret lover, stolen jewelry, and an accidental shooting, while Inspector Gaitonde - allergic to family drama - stumbles upon the D'Costas' most absurd secret beneath Jason's manicured graveyard. As real estate schemes collapse, guns are mishandled, and a Catholic-Hindu wedding spirals into hullabaloo, Rita recognizes the madness of the patriarchal power game she had been playing, finding unexpected solidarity with the tenants she once chose to exploit. The D'Costa Family is a wild ride packed with over-the-top characters and crazy twists that come fast and unexpected - sometimes emotional, sometimes macabre, but always gripping.

'A darkly comedic family caper filled with gangsters, gold, and Goan grit, The D’Costa Family is a madcap saga of greed, deception, and one last shot at legacy.' -- Jesal Shah, Filmmaker

'From the very first page, the story keeps you hooked, filled with dark humor, warmth, and an undeniable charm.' - Priyanka Tanwar, Filmmaker

'Rochelle masterfully crafts each character with such rich detail that they leap off the page, making their world impossible to resist.' - Namrata, Literary Consultant

‘Potkar’s eclectic prose allows the metaphors to flow, the setting to flourish, and connections to deepen.’ - Keith Correa, Academic & Editor

‘Potkar also brings forward the story of women in a household and their roles across generations.’ – Sukaina Majeed, Book Blogger.

'Rochelle masterfully crafts each character with such rich detail that they leap off the page, making their world impossible to resist.' - Namrata, Literary Consultant

Rochelle’s sense of humour is crazy, sinister, macabre even. Listen to this: “Had it been any other occasion, she would have nitpicked on how badly the priest invoked the Lord. But the more Theodore’s history was muddled up with, the better, she felt.” And, “not all in the church had come to grieve his death. Some had come to assure themselves he was gone.” – Heta Pandit, author, activist, independent researcher on Goan Culture.

Chrysanthemum Chronicles (@ch_chronicles) helmed by Monalisa Joshi is an Indian Contemporary Publishing House that publishes books on Prose, Poetry, Interviews, Cover Stories and Coffee Table Books.

In Conversation with Ekta Bhandari, Anurag Kothari, and Kalpak Chavan of Read A Kitaab on my debut novel - The D'Costa Family.

The Goan Indian D'Costa family descends into glorious chaos after patriarch Don Theodore's death. His widow Rita, who never loved him, launches a campaign to install their gravedigger son Jason as the new Don, bribing tenants, and manipulating family members. Meanwhile, her pregnant daughter-in-law Annette juggles a secret lover, stolen jewelry, and an accidental shooting, while Inspector Gaitonde - allergic to family drama - stumbles upon the D'Costas' most absurd secret beneath Jason's manicured graveyard. As real estate schemes collapse, guns are mishandled, and a Catholic-Hindu wedding spirals into hullabaloo, Rita recognizes the madness of the patriarchal power game she had been playing, finding unexpected solidarity with the tenants she once chose to exploit. The D'Costa Family is a wild ride packed with over-the-top characters and crazy twists that come fast and unexpected - sometimes emotional, sometimes macabre, but always gripping.

'A darkly comedic family caper filled with gangsters, gold, and Goan grit, The D’Costa Family is a madcap saga of greed, deception, and one last shot at legacy.' -- Jesal Shah, Filmmaker

'From the very first page, the story keeps you hooked, filled with dark humor, warmth, and an undeniable charm.' - Priyanka Tanwar, Filmmaker

'Rochelle masterfully crafts each character with such rich detail that they leap off the page, making their world impossible to resist.' - Namrata, Literary Consultant

***

Read A Kitaab is an unbiased community of Readers, Booklovers, writers and artists. We strive to provide the community an ecosystem with an online library. (@readakitaab)

While at the Indo-Danish Kurindan International Writing Residency 2024, curated and directed by Claus Ankersen, two participants: Lærke Helene Askholm and Rochelle Potkar informally chat about their literary journeys.

Bio notes -

Lærke Helene Askholm is a Danish writer and singer. She writes fiction, non-fiction, lyrics, and creative texts for music and films. She holds a B.A. in International Corporate Communications as well as a M.A. in Social Work. In 2023 she published ‘Ude ved postkassen’, (Outside by the Mailbox), an illustrated collection of fiction texts on growing up speaking to young and adult readers alike. Her second book of fiction, ‘Andalucia in My Eyes’ (Andalucia i mit blik) is currently under publication.

Rochelle Potkar is a poet, author, and screenwriter based in Mumbai. Her books include: Four Degrees of Separation, Paper Asylum, Bombay Hangovers, and Coins in Rivers.

As Saritha told the audience at the @madrasbookclub, she had 2 confessions to make.

One that she knew me (aka) @rochellepotkar for 20 years. So the evening was a conversation between friends as it was a discussion about my book of poetry, Coins in Rivers.

Two, she didn't normally read poetry. She felt Poetry was subjective both to the poet as well as the reader, and Indian schools have done a disservice by teaching poetry as a subject for scoring marks instead of teaching us how to appreciate it and relate to it based on our own life experiences.

So what a wonderful time was had between poet and non-reader of poetry talking about words and imagery and verses and lines. When Rochelle read/performed her poem, Harry Mendonsa, it was a revelation about how poetry can be read. 'Pav' was a Haibun that showed Saritha and the audience layers of thought in a limited word count. 'Toys of Chitrakoot' was a telling commentary on capitalism.

Saritha concluded:'I may, after all, have learned there's more to poetry than just the rhyming and structure that I remember from my school days.'

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It was lovely to meet Sivakami Velliangiri and Chandramohan Naidu and everyone else. Maya Sharma Sriram was sorely missed.

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The next day saw book-signing events at Higginbotham and Odyssey bookstores. You will find an author-signed copy of Coins in Rivers if you drop by these bookstores.

What a pleasure it was to be in conversation with poet Poornima Laxmeshwar over Coins in Rivers (@hachette_india) at Atta Galatta, Bengaluru, on 14 September 2024, amid a rapt audience.

Thank you Poornima for your Ph. D-like questions on the poems.

Also, thanking the very receptive audience and the bookstore team - Prerna Prakash and Siddharth for coordinating this effectively.

A conversation over Coins in Rivers with Dr. Rashmi Lee George and the faculty and students of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai was full of fun, insight, and quirk. I enjoyed questions from both faculty and students and how they read my poems in a constellation in class. I shared thoughts and views on creative writing and the journeys and processes of Poetry.

Interacting with bright and brilliant minds is always energizing. What a wonderful morning spent in Mumbai with Poetry!

It was a well-researched conversation that Nicole Suares had with me over Coins in Rivers (Hachette India) at the Broadway Book Centre, Panjim, Goa.

Govind Potekar later wrote about it in O Herald.

My most stunning moment was to see Manohar Shetty and Devika Sequeira at the launch.