Vilas Worlikar dusts off a huge file at his home in Worli Koliwada and opens it to reveal a set of plans. Together they form a blueprint of the area’s development as conceived by the local fishing community — the Kolis.
The cramped locality, brimming with unplanned homes lining tapering alleys, has hordes of residents who want to restore it to its glorious past, while retaining their temples, occupation and traditions. Worlikar is one of their champions.
The 65-acre Koliwada has 2,200 residents, who are the legal heirs of the original 457 kolis, and another 9,500 tenants. The plan bears all of them and their needs in mind. Like having ample space for the festivals which are central to the community.
The Kolis face a clutch of problems which neither the netas nor the babus have talked about. Mostly, they are about development. Residents fret that vested interests are trying to stake a claim to the Koliwada under the pretext of slum redevelopment. They do not like being called slums, nor do they appreciate a builder setting terms for their land. “We are Kolis who settled here almost 800 years ago. This land belongs to us. We want the government to help us redevelop the area and we already have a plan which suits all,” said Vilas.
The plan proposes high rises with 1,000-sq ft homes, or 3BHKs, for original residents and 400 sq ft flats for tenants. It pivots on Development Control Rule 33 (9), which will allow them to get an FSI of 4 where, currently, they get 1.5 to 2.
The Kolis have also planned a sea-facing mall, which they would lease out to generate revenue.
Everyone in Koliwada wants an upgrade, whether for their houses, approach roads or other amenities.
Bhushan Worlikar, another Koliwada resident who works with a bank, says that because of the narrow roads, almost every household in the area has a bike or two. “Whenever my family steps out or a friend visits, we have to pick them up from a kilometre away, near the bus depot at the start of the Koliwada, as taxi drivers refuse to enter the area. Only after midnight can one expect to get a car through the cramped lanes,” he said.
The community’s commerce is heavily reliant on fishing. Most of the catch is dried and exported, and new fishing mechanisms are being experimented with. Such as an oven to dry the Bombay duck and other kinds of fish in a few hours rather than days.
For all their troubles, the Kolis know how to enjoy themselves. They boast a rich and distinct culture. Festivals like Holi, Mahashivratri and Ram Navmi are celebrated with a zest unlike the rest of Mumbai. A festival held at the start of the year to honour Golfadevi, a local deity, attracts people from all over the city.
The community has every intention to keep these time-honoured markers of their identity alive. The young among them follow most of the traditions, from Narali Poornima, when the sea is worshipped at the start of the fishing season, to Holi, when the whole village comes together to splash colours on one another.
The traditional abhangs, or devotional folk songs, are still sung when something of import has come to pass, like a demise.
Incidentally, the community has never endorsed dowry, believing that the two families should bear the expenses equally.
