If this writer were to show up at a Koliwada one day, what smells would greet her? “Apart from the pronounced whiff of fish and salt water, the scent of a piquant spice mix on hot oil will waft out of my home,” says Shobha Mer. Mer’s koliwada opens to the Boisar Creek.  Apart from curried and grilled versions of fresh catch, an everyday Koli meal is well-balanced with bhajis and saars (soups). But for the fishing community strewn across Mumbai in small pockets, food connotes a nervous wait. When fisherfolk enter the sea, they might not return for a week. The uncertainty around a good catch can affect sustenance and so, they hope to not haul in and dry out empty nets.

Shobha Mer with her group of Kolis