A Catholic priest’s new biography of the suburban neighbourhood tells the backstory of the ‘abode of jackals and foxes’, and a modern-day ‘nullah’ that once brought in Portuguese missionaries by boat
Fr Milton Gonsalves has penned a series of titles, which take a look at East Indian neighbourhoods across Mumbai. Pics/Shadab Khan
At heart, Fr Milton Gonsalves is a city chronicler. Every parish where he has served in the last 49 years has been a gateway into understanding the history and culture of the local Christians living there. The 79-year-old is the author of five books, four of which cover the East Indian communities of Chuim, Sahar, Kurla and the erstwhile farming village of Bhayandar—the latter was where he was raised as a child. His new book, Kole Kalyan or Kalina: The Origin Story, his sixth in the series, will see him return to the place where his journey into priesthood began. “My first appointment [as priest] was at the Church of Our Lady of Egypt in Kalina, in 1972. I started my [Catholic] ministry there,” recalls Fr Gonsalves, who was then 30. “During those three years, I remember working with the parishioners very closely. The locals were a lively lot, and would come together to celebrate every feast and function. The church was at the heart of everything they did,” he says, when we meet him at his current parish, Holy Cross Church in Kurla West.
That experience was the impetus for writing the book. Having made close friends in Kalina helped him find the right set of people to interview, and delve into the experiences of the community, which largely comprises East Indian Catholics—the local Christians first converted by the Portuguese. Browsing through books on old Bombay and its neighbouring islands, gave him greater insight into the relationship of the area with the rest of the city. The result is a slim historical and cultural account of the suburban pocket, which Fr Gonsalves says has been a year in the making. The book is being supported and distributed by the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP), as part of Project East Indian, spearheaded by Gleason Barretto. Its goal is to restore, revive and create awareness about the traditions of the native Christians of the island city. “When Fr Gonsalves approached us, we decided to take it on, as it is an extension of what we do,” says Alphi D’Souza, founder trustee of MGP.
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It underwent a major renovation in 1960
Until a few centuries ago, Kalina was an idyllic locality “surrounded by fields, large water bodies and connected to the Mithi River” that swelled in the monsoon, especially when the Powai Lake overflowed, bringing unwelcome guests like crocodiles. Not known to many, Kalina used to be known as Kole Kalyan, literally meaning “the abode of foxes (kolhe) and jackals”, as the area was situated at the foot of the hills, which was overrun with these wild animals. “It was in this fishing and farming neighbourhood that the Portuguese missionaries first arrived [1600 onwards] in the hope to convert the natives. At the time, there were no roads connecting these islands. So, they came by boat through the Mithi River—then a clean, living and breathing river—from Bandra where the erstwhile St Anne’s Church [one of the oldest churches there] was situated,” says Fr Gonsalves. On their arrival, the Portuguese modified the original name to “Cole Caliana” and later, “Callina”; that name stuck with the locals.
In the book, the priest mentions the role of Franciscan missionary Fr Manoel de Mathias, who arrived here first, baptising locals, and building the Church of Our Lady of Egypt in 1606, which according to The Bombay Gazetteer of 1882 (Vol XIV) measured 91ft in length, 40ft in width, and was 29-foot tall. Unlike today, where its jurisdiction is restricted to only two villages, the church then oversaw the Sahar and Vakola villages as well, says Fr Gonsalves. The church still stands, and has undergone many renovations since—the first was in 1898. Today, it is home to nearly 12,000 parishioners.
The Church of Our Lady of Egypt was first constructed in 1606
For the longest time, Kalina’s foxes continued to be part of popular lore, drawing hunters in plenty. “Taking advantage of the abundance… ‘The Bombay Jackal Club’ was founded in 1889 in Santa Cruz, and was shifted to Kalina, later. November-end used to see the beginning of preparations for the hunt. Thursday and Sunday mornings were when the hunting took place. Hunters assembled at dawn with their horses and hounds. The hunt began at first light and ended by 8.30 am,” the priest writes in
the book.
Present day Kalina is unlike its bucolic past. Where today the church is surrounded by haphazardly constructed buildings, and tiny jhopdis, the locality was once only home to the Kalina or Big village and Kolivery village. These two indigenous villages continue to dominate the neighbourhood, but the vast farmlands abutting it have long disappeared. Fr Gonsalves’s research primarily focused on the residents, and how different they continue to be, despite being within shouting distance of each other.
Sybil Rodrigues, a resident of Kolivery village, seen along with Alphi D’Souza, founder trustee of Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (centre), outside her home. Big village and Kolivery village still comprise several traditional East Indian homes. Due to repair and reconstruction work over the years, these structures bear little resemblance to the original ones
Big village got its name, because it was the bigger of the two. Then, it consisted of five parts of pakadis—Bhat, Ranwar, Matharwar, Diaschi, and Cordeirowadi. The people inhabiting these pakadis were originally farmers, and lived in houses made of mud and stone. The residents of Kolivery comprised agriculturists, fisherfolk, and Bhandaris. “Many from the Kolivery village were also engaged by the British to kill foxes,” says Fr Gonzalves. They were known as Colea Maru, or foxhunters.
Interestingly, it was along Kolivery that the Mithi River flowed, and was used by the villagers for fishing and transportation. When vast tracts of land
were bought by the government to build the airport, many residents of Big village secured jobs with Air India, he says. “That’s also why many of the locals of Big village took to education first, securing jobs outside farming,” he says. Kolivery villagers followed suit, slowly giving up on their traditional occupations.
An undated picture of a wedding procession led by a musical band in Kalina
Fr Gonsalves also elaborates on the prayer rituals of the East Indian community here, which he says were unique to the “Kalinkars”. The most popular is the St Roque Feast, observed by Kolivery village. Legend is that there was a plague outbreak here in the 1950s, and many villagers lost their lives. A senior villager suggested that they take the statue of St Roque around the village. The epidemic petered out soon after, and the statue was then installed in a small grotto at the entrance of the village. The celebrations, which take place on the second Sunday of May every year, include a grand festive lunch, and singing, dancing and sports. A week after the feast, a prayer service is held at the grotto. In 2019, the village completed 66 years of the feast. Sybil Rodrigues, a resident of Kolivery, who took mid-day around the two villages and also assisted the priest with research for his book, says that it was only last year that the celebrations had to be held online due to the lockdown. “Big village, on the other hand, had its own feast, devoted to St Sebastian,” says Fr Gonsalves. It was first celebrated in 1930.
The book among other things, discusses dressing, food habits, the many crosses that dot the villages, and the marriage celebrations, which at one point would stretch over a week. “I have been witness to so many of these traditions. Since then, a lot of changes have taken place in the locality,” says Fr Gonsalves.
The erstwhile Kolivery Talao, a 400-year-old tank. Now reclaimed, it was once used by residents for cooking, drinking, bathing and washing clothes
Worse is what happened to Kolivery Talao, a 400-year-old tank, which was once used by residents for “cooking, drinking, bathing and washing clothes” and even recreation, with boat rides for a small fee. Having the tank in such close proximity to the villages also prevented flooding during monsoon, as water from the talao overflowed, and poured into the Mithi River, and then into the sea. Rodrigues who has fond memories of races being held around the tank, says, “Some years ago, the talao was reclaimed to build a garden. On the insistence of the residents, a small tank was constructed inside.” The pond is dry for most part of the year, and is mostly used by children to play cricket. It’s no surprise, she says, why Kolivery now experiences water-logging each time there is a heavy shower.
Fr Gonsalves is next working on a book on Dharavi, which was once made up of swamps and islands. “It is home to several churches, and I remember visiting the place as a young boy,” he says. “Writing about these tiny neighbourhoods not only adds to my knowledge, but also helps me connect with them differently, seeing them in a new light.”
1953
The year the St Roque Feast was first held after Kolivery village was rid of the plague
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