As you step into the indoor town fish market at the Khar Danda Koliwada in Mumbai. the rancid stench of thousands of fresh fish and blood fills the air. They’re sold by at least a hundred women dressed in vibrant sarees, neatly tucked in as they loudly negotiate prices with a hundred more customers.
The floor is constantly wet, as are the seating blocks. The women keep throwing buckets of water while using their hand to sweep the blood and guts away from their stalls down into the drains. Two dozen cats and twice as many more egrets also share the space, waiting and watching for scraps to snatch away.
Never has a stereotype been truer.
Who Runs The World?
The Kolis are the original inhabitants of Mumbai since when it was nothing but a group of seven suspended islands. Of them, some like Kolbhat (now Colaba), Palva Bunder (now Apollo Bunder), Dongri, Mazagaon and Worli were named by the Kolis. The name Mumbai too comes from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the Kolis.
- 01/03A Koli woman showcases her best seafood catch of the day. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 02/03A seventy-four year old Koli woman sits at her stall; she’s been coming here more than five decades. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 03/03A Koli woman skins a fish in preparation to set shop for the day at the fish market. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
They are a deep-sea fishing community spread across the city, living in pockets known as Koliwadas (“a home that opens to the sea”). Each Koliwada has a fish market, usually at the beginning of the village and these are run and maintained entirely by women, generation after generation.
For Sale
- 01/03A lot goes into how alluringly the best of the catch has been displayed, often in creative patterns and colourful plates. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 02/03Prawns on display. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 03/03Fish lines up to reflect the sunlight that floods the market at noon. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 01/03Crabs on display. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 02/03These fish markets have sustained in the face of urbanisation and modernisation because of the sheer variety and freshness of the seafood. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
- 03/03The biggest fish are singled out and kept separately to draw attention. (Photo: Pallavi Prasad)
The Other Original Inhabitants
Where there is fish, there will be cats...and egrets. At least 20 cats and as many slender, white egrets share this indoor space with hundreds of people at peak hours. They quietly skulk around, on the stairs of the seating areas, the floors, the iron rods along the roof, hypnotised by the smell of blood and the sight of flesh.
It’s also a perfect example of humans living in harmony with nature. The animals are all but trained. They don’t swoop in or steal fish from the stalls. Only fallen, discarded or generously offered fish is fair game.
Koli Women In Action
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