The kolis were here first.
It is an oft-repeated sentence in books, conversations, lectures and studies that revolve around Mumbai history. They might have been pushed to the edges but the kolis continue, as do their koliwadas or fishing villages, holding on to a way of life despite the odds stacked against them.
Amongst others, Worli Koliwada is perhaps the most visible, jutting out as a narrow strip of land, with cars zipping past it on the Bandra Worli Sea Link. And naturally, the most locally bypassed. Yet, it makes it presence felt. The Fort, rising from the cluster of colourful houses, the blue, orange and white boats dotting the sea, with bhagwa flags and the waves dashing against the rocks do catch the eye. More than five hundred years old, Worli Koliwada is a poignant reminder of a unique cultural identity of the Koli community - their personal, shared, living and fishing space.
It is believed that fishermen moved up and down the western coast of India never really settling at any place but in the 12th Century when King Pratapbimb established his formal kingdom Mahikawati (Mahim), he invited sixty-six kulas or tribes to become part of his new kingdom and kolis were one of them. The very first into the fold of Worli Koliwada were the nine Patil brothers. They. in turn, invited others from their tribe and the village grew.
The original inhabitants of this growing fishing village are the Son Kolis, who have the highest status among kolis. The name ‘son’ comes from golden or yellow of the turmeric sacred to Khandoba, the family god of the kolis. Sharing space with the Son kolis are the Mahadev kolis, the first koli migrants into this microculture and the Christian Kolis, who converted to Christianity under the Portuguese. Interestingly, the Christian Kolis retained some of their pre-christian traditions, mixing it with their acquired identity – one encounters this ad- mixing at the Mother Mary grotto, right at the entrance of the village. Mother Mary is dressed in a bright saree and gold jewellery like the kolins with marigold garlands hung as offerings. Fusion much?
That is not where it ends, little grottos of Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus dot the area and at the lands end, next to Vetal Deo Temple, stands a small church with the idol of Jesus placed on a small fishing boat, in keeping with the fishing tradition of the koliwada. It is here that the Christian Kolis hold a mass to mark the beginning of the fishing season. “The day” that marks the new business is celebrated as Narali Punaw or Purnima by all kolis. On this day, the fishermen offer coconut to the sea to appease the sea & wind gods for a good fishing season. The coconuts are decorated and taken in processions led by songas (people in fancy dress) followed by vajantri (people who play musical instruments) and people with offerings. The Police Patil or the headman enters the sea first until water reaches his waist and immerses a coconut. Everyone follows. The other important festival celebrated here is shimga or Holi.
Celebrations are aplenty whether it be singing or dancing at the launch or return of boats at the bandar, purchase of a new boat, betrothal ceremony or shakarpura, naming ceremony, wedding or religious ones like the Mahashivratri and Shravan at the Mahadeo temple or the Golpha Devi festival.
Golpha Devi is the tutelary goddess of the Son kolis of Worli. No auspicious task, personal or community related is carried out without invoking her through a ritual known as the ‘kaul’. It is almost like seeking out the goddess to ‘take a call’ on pending decisions. The kaul involves the temple priest placing two flower buds to the right and the left of the idol and interpreting it as a good or a bad omen, depending on which bud falls first. The Golpha Devi temple houses the idols of Golpha Devi, Harna Devi and Sakba Devi, carved in stone. However, since a lot less kolis go out fishing and the younger walk out of the village to jobs unrelated to fishing, the kauls have reduced. The Golpha Devi festival has also reduced from a 3-day to an overnight festival. One temple’s loss in kauls is another’s gain in footfalls. The Mahadev temple, established in 1904, has since attracted more people as it has become a site not just for worship but also programmes like yoga, reading from scriptures, meditation, music etc which a lot of youngsters gravitate towards.
Besides shared rites, rituals and authentic food served in patravali, the narrow zigzag lanes and steps running through the koliwada connect people, opening out into small squares at regular intervals. Hang out spaces, fish drying spaces, cricket field, gossip or wedding venue; the squares transform themselves according to need. While on the subject of wedding, it is imperative to mention that Son kolis are endogamous and there have been instances when kolis who married outside the community have been excommunicated - perhaps not the case any longer but marry they must. In fact, if you have wondered where the kolins, known to be aggressive and quarrelsome, get their voice from, it is thanks to their culture. The women have a position of power in a koli household since they bring the kurga or daily earning into the household. Men fish (and drink!), women sell the catch. She is an economically productive member of the family and in keeping with that they follow the custom of Bride price. Though Bride Price is not practised in Hindu culture per se, here it is proposed and solemnised in the presence of the Patil and elders of both the families during the shakarpura or bethrotal ceremony. If a koli is unable to pay a bride price he is either restricted in his selection of a partner or remains a bachelor - latter being unacceptable as his occupation demands a wife. The Christians kolis have an option of embracing religious vocation, if they don’t marry.
Colourful and loud, the houses of the kolis of Worli koliwada reflect their lives. Purple, yellow, mustard, blue, orange, depending on the choice of the residents are the houses form a distinctive visual language. Inside, with the exception of new constructions, most houses have a small oti (verandah), chool (kitchen space), a common room and a devghar or temple space. It is said the most curious feature of some of the Son koli is the tradition of dressing up a corpse, placing it in a sitting position, photographing them and later, hanging the picture on their walls. If one takes a peep into some houses, you might see the pictures of old people – dead or alive, one cannot say!
There are periods of activity and inactivity, of people flitting in and out, songs, celebrations and then there is business, helmed by the Nakhwa Sangha, a kind of cooperative that facilitates the purchase of diesel and ice in bulk, oil subsidies by the Government and loan schemes for the fisher-folk. It acts as an intermediary. Even though they have a system of domestic business cycle in place, it is fraught with trouble. This is the grey that the fisher folk face.
First, there is the problem of the foreign trawlers that take up 75% of their catch and despite repeated protests their licences have not been cancelled by the government. Second, due to incessant development, the breeding grounds of fishes like the mangroves have been compromised. Third, because Worli Koliwada occupies prime real estate in central Mumbai, there has been an influx of tenants, ‘outsiders’ who do not understand the culture and festivities. If the kolis resist there is a chance that tenants might leave, depriving them of much needed rental income. Fourth, is stiff competition from male migrants, who go door-to-door selling fish. Fifth, trash finds its way to the shores of Koliwada. Of course, there is two month suspension of fishing during peak monsoon, June 15 to August 15 each year by the Coast Guard legislative act of 1981-82. Though it is for safety and the fishermen use this time to repair nets, boats and prepare for the next season, it gets very difficult for small time fisher-folk to maintain a good living by dried fish! And finally, there is the matter of instilling pride in the youngsters, who no longer live by fishing, so the culture doesn’t die out but stays and grows.
From the ‘conserved’ (read badly painted) Worli Fort, built by the British in 1675 as a lookout for enemy ships and pirates, Bandra on one side, Worli on the other, Bandra Worli Sea link along, the village behind and the sea on three sides - all seem to be in conversation with each other. Though Bandra Worli Sea link has become a lifeline for commuters in Mumbai it acts as a visual boundary for the kolis of Worli koliwada. It has reduced catch, changed fish patterns and broken sea currents. The proposed coastal road (stalled at the moment) threatened the same or worse –submerging a socio-economic and cultural identity of the vulnerable, bringing ease and prosperity to others.
The village will continue to hold on… if we know and if we care not just when it features in a Coldplay or Beyonce song or is part of Film backdrop or song or dance sequence - often stereotyping the kolins in nauwaris with baskets on their heads!
To enter Worli Koliwada is to leave the city behind. To dismiss this unique koli ethos as a ‘slum’ – ignorance!
