In May 2011, the East Indian village or Gaothan of Mobai in Manori set up Mobai Bhavan, a temporary museum that documented their culture and life within the community. Conceptualised by the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP), the initiative is now being carried forward through a range of activities — a revamped, permanent East Indian museum, which should be ready in the next three months, special East Indian stores in each gaothan (there are around 120 gaothans across Mumbai), and the first-ever English and Marathi dictionary documenting the language.

Calling it the East Indian Dictionary Project, project manager Gleason Barretto says, “Though we were the original inhabitants of Mumbai, there is a fundamental lack of awareness about our 500 year-old community. Most community members themselves are not fluent in the language and it is only spoken in a few villages. If it continues this way, within two decades, the language won’t exist anymore. My own kids don’t know much about it as they converse in English.”