A cultural revival: The East Indian way
MUMBAI: After a gap of almost 15 years, the East Indian community this year revived the tradition of Papiya singing, where a group of men go across gaothans reciting hymns in their Marathi dialect, during the holy period of Lent marked by prayers, fasting and abstinence.
“In the year 2004-05, there were only two to three Papiya groups left in the city. But, this year, eight groups visited gaothans during Lent weekends. We are hoping that the numbers would be higher next year,” said Bryce Rodricks, aircraft engineer, from St Blaise Church, Amboli.
The origins of the East Indian community date back to the 15th and 16th century when Portuguese missionaries converted members of local farming, fishing and salt-making communities to Roman Catholicism. The community refers to themselves as ‘mulvasis’ or the original inhabitants of the islands. However, their goathans, except for a few like Khotachiwadi and Matharpacady, which are well-known, are on the verge of disappearing.
The community has been trying to bring old traditions back into their weddings. Godfrey Pimenta, vice-president, Bombay East Indian Association, said a couple of decades back, weddings in the community used to be a seven-day affair, and baptism a two-day celebration.
“Before a wedding, there is a custom called umbracha paani, where we fetch water from a nearby well to bathe the bride and groom. With no wells left in our gaothans today, we bring tap water from a neighbour’s house. The weddings have also reduced to two or three days,” said Pimenta.
Members from the community said a need was felt for the revival of lugras, which is a nine-yard cotton-woven sari, primarily worn by married women from the community. “We have seen our great grandmothers wear lugras because it was the perfect dress to work on their fields. However, over a period of time, westernisation crept in. Now we have started reviving various festivals such as Aagera and Intruz, members of the community who relate to their East Indian identity have started wearing lugras again,” said Gleason Barretto, founder trustee, Mobai Gaothan Panchayat.
There have also been efforts to revive the East Indian Marathi dialect, which is dying as families switch to English and other languages. Three years back, a book was found in Bandra that had prayers written in the dialect, following which various churches in the city have been occasionally conducting church services in the dialect. The community also released a dictionary consisting of around 2,000 words in the East Indian Marathi dialect in January with pronunciation and English meaning for the words.
Food is another area of revival. The community’s cuisine, influenced by Portuguese cooking, is unique. “Bread would be prepared at my house every single day, now it is prepared ‘once in a while’, says Pimenta. Their first community restaurant named Eastern Sunset opened at a suburban hotel at Vile Parle in January, which serves ‘family heirloom recipes’, such as moile, vindaloo, fugeas, fish and chicken frithad. “The East Indian community has a lineage that goes back more than a few centuries. However, with the advent of the Portuguese and subsequently, the British, a lot of Indian food got colonised. A new form of cooking took place with an amalgamation of Portuguese, British and coastal cuisine,” said Michael Swamy, chef at Eastern Sunset who runs the restaurant with its owner Valencia Misquitta Irani. “It’s not as much as a revival of the cuisine as it is about showcasing our cultural culinary heritage.” This is when I decided that an East Indian Restaurant was required.”
Last month, the Bombay East Indian Association approached the HC to get gaothans marked in the development plan and for demarcation of gaothan boundaries. “Land of our community was taken away for development projects for a pittance in the second half of the 20th century,” said Vivian D’souza, president, Bombay East Indian Association. “There was no legal help in those days. Our fight to get gaothans marked in the development plan and demarcation of gaothan boundaries is to ensure history is not repeated.”
“The East Indian community’s unique identity comes from the fact that it is indigenous to one of the most urbanised regions of the country. The metropolis took over the fields, water bodies, and sometimes even the built heritage of the community. And, to fit into the mainstream, the community also gave up speaking the traditional dialect and took to Marathi and English,” said Fleur D’souza, former vice-principal of St Xavier’s College