Stuffed to the gills
/In Mumbai’s Versova neighbourhood come January and its time to celebrate the Koli in all of us. What’s Koli? The original island dwellers, fisher folk of Bombay. Bombay was an archipelago of seven islands before it was gifted as dowry, by the Portuguese to the British in 1661, when Princess Catherine de Braganza married King Charles II. Ever since relentless land reclamation brought the spread out islands together to make the modern metropolis of millionaires, Mumbai. Bombay became Mumbai in 1995, deriving its name from the Koli goddess Mumba Devi.
The Koli community of Versova fishing village has been sharing the joys of their culinary heritage, by organising a 3-day seafood festival. We are down the road from them and go every year. The open ground near the Our Lady of Health Church is swiftly transformed into a party fit for thousands. Wedding pandals (tents) come up in a blink of an eye, decorated by swathes of colourful cloth, series lights and advertising banners. A string of seafood stalls dot the three sides of the rectangular ground. The far end from the entrance is dressed in a sizable stage for the cultural performances from the community. Few rows of chairs and VIP thrones are placed nearest to the stage.
stage
Like in our fish markets, the Koli women take charge of the biz here as well. They come donning their best costumes and jewelry, making for a vibrant pitch to stop, settle and sample the freshly furnished fare at their stall. We found stall no. 49 to be the most comfortable and uniquely located, facing the stage.
The tremendous variety of seafood dishes is the draw for the well seasoned. but might overwhelm the newbies. One gets acquainted with it in due time, as the final dishes are very helpfully displayed at each counter. These are a few dishes we recommend – the iconic Bombay dish - Bombil fry, cities favorite fish - Pomfret prepared in a tandoor, Surmai fry for boneless binging, Squid pakora, Prawn masala and fish eggs. Accompanied by rice Bhakri (bread). Down all this with beer, the good old spice coolant and you’ll be in Koli heaven. We would’ve tried some more dishes like Shell fish, crab and lobsters, but we were indeed stuffed to the gills.
koli women at a stall
the fare on display
Koli dance and musical performances go on till midnight, make for an exciting high tempo entertainment. One thing that kept occurring in regular intervals was felicitation of some local politicians and their cronies. I suppose it’s difficult to avoid that in this context, because such a large cultural operation cannot take place without their involvement or rather their lack of creating obstacles. What was great about the festival was there was no entry fee, so anyone and everyone was invited. The food was not priced for everyone’s pocket, with Pomfret the size of my hand starting at rs 800/- onwards. But the revelry and the party was for all to share. There was an eclectic mix of personalities from Tele celebrities sauntering along with local kids who play cricket in this very ground, house help and house owners running into each other at stalls, freshwater fish lovers digging into salt-water fish sold by Koli women. And that to me is quintessentially the ‘Mumbai experience’.
Vasudha Wantu
Notes -
* To find out more about the Versova sea food festival check their facebook page.
* To read writings on Mumbai and its diverse histories I recommend an interesting book 'Bombay, Meri Jaan' Ed Jerry Pinto and Naresh Fernanes.