Gavanpada Koliwada

By Anurag

The suburb of Mulund, situated on the northeastern end of Mumbai, is one of the bustling areas of the Mumbai metropolis. However, it is also an ancient place mentioned in the early mediaeval annals of the city and home to its own indigenous Koliwada, which is one of the culturally important Koliwadas of Mumbai.

Early History

The Mahikavatichi Bakhar, Mumbai's oldest medieval chronicle dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries CE, mentions Mulund as one of the villages under the jurisdiction of an administrator named Harbaji. [1] This firmly establishes Mulund's historical significance as being at least six to seven centuries old.

Bhalchandra Dashrath Vaity, a resident of Gavanpada Koliwada in Mulund, recounts that their ancestors originally lived in the catchment area of Vihar Lake and along the banks of the Tansa River. However, they relocated to present-day Gavanpada Koliwada in Mulund when the British widened Vihar Lake and built the Tansa dam in the second half of the 19th century CE. At that time, the area of Mulund East was full of tiny rivulets and creek inlets, which punctuated the local geography and became the fishing grounds of the Gavanpada Kolis. He says that they initially settled on the western side of the railway line in what is still known as Juna Mulund, or Old Mulund, which continues to have a few houses of the native Kolis of Mulund.

Ramchandra Pandurang Patil, the Patil (surname, also meaning head or chief) of Gavanpada Koliwada, mentions that the name Gavan comes from the word 'govran', which in the local dialect means a place to tie cattle. He states that when the original settlement was in Juna Mulund, the Koli families used to have their cattle pens in the Gavanpada area, giving it that name.

They narrate that in the olden days, when no houses had clocks, all families relied on the neighbouring factories to keep time. The local cement factory in Mulund had alarm sirens, or bhonge, as they were called locally, at fixed times during the day according to the factory routine. The locals relied on these sirens to keep track of their own time. Similarly, the Deccan Queen train, which went to Pune in the morning and returned to Mumbai in the evening, served as the timekeeper for the early morning and late evening hours.

The Gavan River to the north, Mulund Station to the west, and numerous creeks to the east and south marked the original boundary of Gavanpada Koliwada. The oldest families inhabiting the Gavanpada Koliwada are the Vaity, Patil, Bhoir, and Keni. The Gavanpada families have traditionally established marital ties with Koli families from the Koliwadas of Bhandup, Bhivandi, Kalyan, Sion, Nanepada, and Navgharpada.

The traditional segregation of Gavanpada Koliwada was on vali, which is the local term for aali, meaning a lane. The Koliwada was divided into three areas: Khalchi Vali, or the lower lane; Madhli Vali, or the middle lane; and Varchi Vali, or the upper lane. The Kolis of Gavanpada also cultivated rice, with paddy fields stretching all the way to Anand Nagar in Thane. They cultivated a red rice variety known locally as Patni tandul, or Patni rice.

Religious Landscape

The Gaon Devi of Gavanpada Koliwada is Jari Mari, whose temple is located within the settlement. Every year, the first Tuesday of Ashadh (June or July in the Gregorian calendar) hosts her annual jatra (annual ceremony). In addition to Jari Mari, Sati Devi and Narba Devi are important local divinities in Gavanpada Koliwada. They celebrate their jatras on Chaitra Pornima, an April-based festival. During these jatras, each household of Gavanpada Koliwada offers the maan (annual offering) of a goat or chicken sacrifice to the deities. An intriguing tradition in Gavanpada is that sacrifice must involve four legs, meaning the animal must be a four-legged one. Families tailor their sacrifices based on their financial status. Wealthier families usually sacrifice a goat, while poorer families sacrifice two roosters to meet the four-legged requirement. Additionally, the rooster must be an aaravnara kombda (crowing rooster). During these jatras, the concerned families fulfill their individual navas (prayers) in addition to the yearly maans.

The Veshivarcha Dev, or frontier deity, of Gavanpada is the Tungavtya Dev, whose temple sits on the eastern end of the Koliwada. In the old days, this was a coastal temple, but with urbanisation, the coast has moved away from the temple. Every fisherman in Gavanpada offered his respects to Tungavtya Dev before entering the waters to fish, praying for his safety and an abundant catch. He is also considered the rakhandar (guardian deity) of Gavanpada. Patil says that the older residents remember him escorting them safely from the coast to their settlement during the dark hours. People describe him as a man holding a staff, a ghungroo (bells) in his right hand, and a lamp in his left. Older generations have reported feeling his presence behind them when they walked back home from the creek after their fishing trip, and that he would return once they entered the Koliwada.

Another important local shrine is that of Vagheshwar. Locals believe Vagheshwar to be a divine manifestation of the leopard, and they often spot a leopard at this shrine.

Vagheshwar is another significant local shrine. Locals believe Vagheshwar to be a divine manifestation of the leopard, and they often spot a leopard at this shrine.

Fishing Practices

Before urbanization encroached on the northeastern areas of Mumbai, the Koliwada of Gavanpada was located near the confluence of three water bodies: the Thane Creek narrowing towards its northern flow, the Vasai Creek entering from the western coast of Shashti, and the Ulhas River flowing in from the east. This made the local waters, though small in expanse, immensely rich in terms of fish population, which the Kolis of Gavanpada exploited fully.

Patil and Vaity mention that the neighbouring creek was so bountiful in terms of catch that fishermen did not have to spend long hours on their fishing trips and still got plenty of catch within a short time. Many Kolis of Mulund did not own large boats, but they still secured an abundant catch using their fishing techniques in shallow waters. The local creek inlets, known as Devale and Muldi Khadi or Khochi, were the traditional fishing grounds of the Kolis.

They used numerous fishing techniques, such as bhise, phaga, paag, gholva, aedi, and aasu. This involved erecting nets near the shoreline, securing them with wooden poles, and using the tidal water flow to trap fish within the setup. Fishermen used a phaga, a circular crab cage with a narrow opening, to fish the large population of crabs in the local waters. The Kolis, who owned small boats and could venture to the central areas of the creek, primarily used paag (cast nets) to catch fish by casting their nets wide open. Gholva, or hath gholva, is a hand-held net secured between two bamboo poles, held wide open in the waters, and the person then rapidly marches backward towards the shore, dragging the pole net and catching any unassuming fish in his tracks.

Aedi was a technique that required two individuals. It included a large net structure, similar to the Gholva. One person held the Aedi near the water's surface, while the other diverted fish into the nets. Once a substantial number of fish were present within the net perimeter, the person holding it rapidly lifted it out of the water, catching the fish. The creek near Gavanpada was teeming with shrimp, and the local fishermen used a screen net to catch the baby shrimp, known as kolim, by tightly securing a sari fabric on a circular ring, known as Aasu. The local fishermen used the Aasu to filter out the kolim from the waters.

Valgan was another interesting local fishing technique. During the monsoon, rain showers along with the high tide created a unique phenomenon where the fish in the creek came out onto the coast, following the sweet water streams created by the rains. The local Kolis referred to this action of the fish as masyanche khelne (the play of the fish). During the monsoon, when fishing in open waters was risky, the Kolis of Gavanpada used to catch these playful fish in great quantities, a fishing practice known as valgan.

The plentiful waters near Mulund also attracted fishermen from other areas. According to Vaity, the fishermen of Diva Koliwada used to come to the Mulund Creek waters to fish. They used a technique known as khadi pakadne, in which they netted most of the creek's expanse and rattled the creek waters to shock the fish underneath, causing them to move towards their nets. The Kolis of Gavanpada would participate with their fellow fishermen in this fishing activity, and both parties would share the catch.

The prominent fish caught in the waters of Mulund were boyti (flathead grey mullet), jitada (Asian seabass), chimni fish, kala masa (black snapper), kolambi (prawns), nivti (mudskippers), kharbya (small mackerels), and chimbori (crabs).

Festivals

Similar to other Koliwadas, Shimga is the biggest festivity of the year in Gavanpada Koliwada. Traditionally, Shimga celebrations spanned 15 days, but now they only extend to the main Holi day. Vaity shares that in his youth, children in the Koliwada used to roam the entire locality, banging plates and shouting, ‘Kurya dya re!” or ‘give us firewood!’ In the past, the songa (playful enactments) performed by the young people was a traditional aspect of Shimga. The Holi bonfire traditionally used the wood of amba (mango) and jambul (jamun) trees. Even today, people continue this tradition, transforming the branches of these trees into the Shimga bonfire.

Shimga is associated with a marital tradition that involves newlywed couples circumambulating the Holi bonfire and paying their respects. The bride carries a tali, a platter consisting of ghatmaal (a necklace of sugar crystals), flowers, vade (fried fritters), and papdi (rice fritters), while the groom carries two tender coconuts and a sugarcane stick. The couple circles the bonfire and offers their oblations to the Holi bonfire. The couple preserves the coconut from their wedding until the day of Shimga, when they jointly offer it into the Holi fire.

In the olden days, the natives of Gavanpada organised atya patya sports competitions on the day of Shimga. However, this practice has ceased to exist now.

Eight days before the arrival of Diwali, people celebrate the festival of Aatimbare. In the past, families poured ash into sieves and created circular patterns outside their homes. Then, they stuck leaves from Eranda or Eucalyptus trees into the roof channels of the home's exterior façade.

The Kolis of Gavanpada were enterprising, and they used to sell torans (decorative garlands) during Diwali and Dasra. They sourced flowers, rice kernels, and mango leaves from as far as Kalyan and Jejuri, skillfully weaving them into beautiful torans for sale in the local markets.

Baya Pujan was, and still is, an important ceremony for the Gavanpada Kolis. The first ceremony is followed by the fixation of marriages between two families. It involves worshipping the Jari Mari goddesses and offering them oblations to secure their blessings and goodwill. In the past, measles patients also underwent this ceremony. The affected household organised a jagran (vigil) for three days, during which they sang devotional folk songs to the goddesses. People used to visit the patient’s household to pay their respects to the visiting goddesses, and an oblation of fruits was mandatorily offered to the manifested goddess. Visitors were sprinkled with gomutra (cow urine) using neem leaves to purify them before entering the household. People would ask the goddess, who was believed to visit patients as ailments, for desires. The household would provide the item to the goddess based on the ailing person's response.

Olya Baya and Sukya Baya distinguished the oblations offered to the goddesses. Olya Baya required animal sacrifice, while Sukya Baya required fruit sacrifice.

Another interesting practice associated with the visiting Bayas (water goddesses) was that the entire Koliwada would turn vegetarian for a period of seven or 21 days, depending on the intensity of the ailment affecting the patient. A pata (ceremonial flat mortar) was organised in the concerned household on the last day of the purity period. The Bayas received their maan according to the previously mentioned Olya or Sukya criteria.

Gauri Ganpati is an important household festival in Gavanpada, where families welcome Ganpati for a duration spanning from one and a half to five days. Upon Gauri's arrival on the third day, families present her with the mandatory naivedya (food offering) of chimbori. The women of Gavanpada perform the traditional Fera Nrutya (circular dance) with a dholki (folk drum) player in the centre on the day of welcoming Gauri.

Navratri is a crucial festivity for the Gavanpada Kolis, during which every household practices ghata sthapana. This involves planting seeds in a vessel, allowing them to sprout for nine days, and worshipping this religious fertility setup. All households of Gavanpada adhere to a vegetarian diet for the nine days of Navratri.

Culinary Traditions

The culinary spread of Gavanpada Kolis is similar to that of their brethren in other Koliwadas throughout Mumbai. However, the Gavanpada natives are proud of and fond of some indigenous preparations, including bharleli paplet (stuffed pomfret) and bharleli chimbori (stuffed crabs). Both of these preparations, stuffed with either besan (gram flour) or grated coconut, pair well with tandlachi bhakri (rice flat bread).

Poley, similar to dosas (crisp savory pancake), is a wedding specialty that is prepared on the haldi (ceremony preceding the wedding) night and served to guests. The poleys are paired with sukat (dried fish) preparations and bomblya (small fried Bombay ducks).

Despite the sudden and rapid urbanization that has surrounded the Gavanpada Koliwada with plush housing societies and greatly gentrified the locality, the natives of this Koliwada, including the younger generation, remain cognizant of their cultural legacy and continue to practice it to the best of their abilities.

Footnotes:

[1] Karmarkar. ‘Understanding Place Names in Mahikavati’s Bakhar.’

Acknowledgement:

The author would like to thank Rajhans Tapke for his assistance with the research.

Bibliography:

Karmarkar, Dipesh. ‘Understanding place names in “Mahikavati’s Bakhar”: A case of Mumbai-Thane region.’ Studies in Indian Place Names 31 (2012): 116–139.

Ramchandra Pandurang Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Maruti Janardan Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Bhalchandra Dashrath Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Tulsidas Prabhakar Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Hanumant Shankar Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Prabhakar Govind Vaity, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.

Kailash Raghunath Patil, in conversation with the author, March, 2024.