Where 'golden tiles on my rooftop' glow

Once there were green fields kissed by the sun declared Fr Larry Pereira in Explorer the Bombay Local History Society magazine The late priests account lauded the lush southwest seclusion of Salsette Island Paddy fields vegetable patches and coconut groves called oarts sparkled on the slopes of Bandras hillsmdashMount Mary and PaliSome years before I set off exploring Bandras villages this time round Fr Larry had walked me through his ancestral Ranwar He explained how abundant agricultural acres fruit orchards and saltpans sprouted villages called gaothans Inhabitants of over 15 from 25 of these were farmers the rest toddy tappers potters and fishermen selling annaworth pomfrets which were dried fried pickled or curriedSome crosses and grottos familiarly refer to the residents of East Indian cottages these were raised beside PicsPradeep DhivarVillages like Ranwar Boran Pali Chuim Chimbai Sherly and Rajan were exclusively East Indian From the 15th and 16th centuries Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries embarked on conversions in rural Salsette Those calling themselves East Indians did not want the British government to confuse native settlers like themselves with Christians from Goa Kerala and Karnataka These cultivators turned Englisheducated landowners clerks and officers with shipping companies Asserting a distinct identity they formed the Bombay East Indian Association in 1887 A postwar building boom accommodated more migrants some of whose attics still store harvesting implements chintzy crockery and even the remnant of a Greek monograph on ChristBest to say were Maharashtrian Catholics laughs retired banker Cecy Drego agreeing too many ask mystified Who are East Indians Stepping out of lowroofed Cottage No 55 in Pali spilling with plants that curtain it green she shouts Tutu Tutu Till Titus Fernandes from No 16 appears He and his sister Jean are descendants of Marol landowners shifting here in the 1930sScene in a typical Ranwar village courtyard The Portugueseinfluenced domestic architecture of homes like this is fast falling off the city map PicGitanjali Mehta AnandThat was when residents hopped on to the solitary bus plying the village green from Pali Naka to the train station Chuim had only one car Uncle Alfies jalopy nicknamed Valkee by children They declined rides in it preferring to run on paths that hid courting couples on SherlyRajan beach sands and Danda Greenrsquos 9hole golf courseCome back when the feast livens up our little gullies Cecy invites This lasts eight days from the Sunday after September 8 the birthday of Mother Mary to the next termed Octave Sunday The date falling on a Sunday this years Feast starts on the 8th itself The Bandra Fair envelopes the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount designed NeoGothic by Shapoorjee ChandabhoyDesmond Fernandes and Rudy Alves in front of the 1779built Cross at Chuim outside Fernandes homeThe shrine attracted devotees in bullock carts and boats across Mahim creek A 1669 document mentions belljingling recklas decorated carts carrying passengers to the foot of the Mount by the light of lanterns After their tiring trip from gaothans beyond Bandra bullocks were tethered in cool mango groves to drink water while the faithful trekked up to worshipReturning pilgrims partook of tea and snacks locals kept ready on roadjutting verandas Simple diversions for visiting relatives and friends graduated to Funny Mirror stalls and giant wheels dizzying us as kids We were in awe of older schoolmates jiving with longhaired boys at jam sessions in the fairs September GardenFernandes at his cottage Louis VilleEast Indian bands strike up mournful to merry tunes the occasion mandating funereal solemnity or festive gaiety Like brass bands they play Koli songs including Galyan sankli sonachi and Garavati says Denise DAbreo from Pali These are in Khar Kurla Kirol Bandras Bazar Road and Chimbai groups are in big demand Garavati derives from ghara varti top of the house The line Garavati garavati sonachi kavla garavati translates as Golden tiles on my rooftop East Indian Marathi is a fast dying dialect heard in Uttan Marol Manori Culvem Gorai and Vasai gaothansPast pebbled grottos we reach SAISA St Anthonys Institute Sports Academy the schoolturnedclub with a swimming pool Football cricket tennis and badminton champs apart every village produces musicians Pali claims keyboardist Beven Fonseca Music and hunting were our forefathers passions Cecy says thumbing open an album of shikaar photos Hoisting doublebarrelled guns they headed to spot game in the thickets of Bandra East and BadlapurAmong the music men of Chuim off Ambedkar Road further north is jazz pianist Xavier Fernandes His violinist father Sebastian performed with the Bombay Symphony Orchestra filmmaker Sorab Modi and music directors C Ramachandra and Laxmikant PyarelalI get a potted history of Chuim in Louis Ville built by Desmond Fernandes grandfather in 1934 With us is Rudy Alves from No 1 Amdashbuilt over a century ago by his greatgrandfather Daniel this cottage demarcates the start of their village His humourist uncle Johnny Alves authored Eves Weeklys 1970s column Hi Ya Honey from an Alves called Johnny The Chuim Reading Room and Sporting Club building was given in 1943 to St Vincent de Paul ChurchldquoOur parish children keep alive the custom of Intruz going from house to house seeking the blessings of elders on Shrove Tuesday during the season of Lentrdquo Desmond says Fishing jamborees announced by the village crier were popular affairs adds Rudy who researches and writes books on the citys East Indian bastionsWith the two neighbours I reach a cross on the road outside dated 1779 Its inscription seems Armenian Thats probable because the Armenians were excellent masons and carvers says Zameer Basrai of The Busride Design Studio in Ranwar The Dollhouse Project he and his brother Ayaz have created offers miniature models of St Andrews Church and the Oratory near Jude Bakery The idea engages the interest of a younger following with such iconic structuresIn different villages relics familiarly christened Romeos Cross and Lesters Grotto among others refer to whose cottage a cross abuts The initials INRI spell Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews The shortest stroll on a main road reveals purposefully placed plague crosses erected to ward off the disease and remember its victimsIn the 1890s sleepy Bandras population spiked postbubonic plague attacks in the overcrowded island city people moved away from Though crosses were raised before the end1800s and early 1900s those years of the black death upped cross construction The pride of Boran was the Almeidas heritage wooden cross of 1854 Built to protect their hamletmdashalso that of the Correia Henriques and DJoss familiesmdashits marble base is a feature from this vintage treasures centenary yearMy mother was a DJoss from Boran says 93yearold Marie DSouza imperially on the porch of EdMar the prettiest home in Ice Factory Lane Her father Ignatius DMonte was President of Bandra Municipality The separate municipality merged in 1957 with BMC East Indian culture is part Portuguese Maharashtrian and English with a touch of the Goan But nothing matches East Indian sweets she says reeling off a scrumptious list of desserts and savouries from fugia bread balls and dosatype chityaps to vegetable foogath spicy frithad and chinchoni curries I leave sniffing the East Indian aromatic bottle masala blending 30 suncurled roasted spices with raw gram chillies and white pepperIce Factory Lane lies off Hill Road My alma mater stands in the middle of this arterial street An announcement for sports practice on the brick walls of St Josephs School evokes memories of the first Indian woman at the OlympicsmdashMary DSouza student and hockey teacher at the school who made Rajan village her home since 1958 Representing the country at Helsinki in 1952 she lacked a coach not determination St Josephs had no field for the track events ace At night she jumped walls to train on St Andrews ground next door because then girls could not train with boysThe Waroda Road junction facing St Andrews Church leads to uncountable limewashed crosses in Ranwar Here lie redroofed villas that time forgot with double windows diamondpattern ventilators and cemented balcony seats which were focal meeting points This fine domestic architecture has fallen prey to galloping builder greederoding the villages unique pedestrian scale and communicative qualityPipepuffing parishioners loll away slow afternoons Hard to imagine they once energetically chased hens and pigs across village squares Fattened for sale pigs were fed starchy diets by housewives ambling down alleys with rice soup pails balanced on their heads Goats turkeys guinea fowlmdashand cookery recipesmdashwere prized dowry items Nuptials were weeklong whirls with whole villages showing up says Marie Concessio who produced calendars on East Indian traditions Her 2011 theme was weddingsAn East Indian wedding brought a delight a day Kicking off the robust revelry Thursday was for pig slaughter Friday for pounding paapads as snacks with drinks Saturday saw water drawn from the wellmdashumbracha panimdashto bathe both bride and groommdashin a procession of Kolistyle dancers twirling handkerchiefs overhead Sunday dawned for the ceremony with a band tooting as the young man went to church under a Satir umbrella before sending it for his bride Monday was to finish feasting on the previous nights pork and wine On Tuesday guests feet were washed and a farewell dinner on Wednesday preceded Goodbye ThursdayGrande dame Marie DSouza has her final sayso Since Bombay became Mumbai it has deteriorated But village Bandra holds on to uncommon hope Hospitable cottagers warmly tell me You have a date with us on September 8 Im going to keep itAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiagmailcomwwwmehermarfatiacomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates