URBAN VILLAGE

Mumbai, India, 2021

A photo story documenting the indigenous fishing community and earliest residents of Mumbai. A people deeply connected to the rhythms of the sea. The multigenerational urban village is a microcosm of the city’s thriving coastal culture.

(Scroll below for full text)

Suspended between the high rise of towering skyscrapers and the low swirls of the sea, nestled at the foot of a dilapidated 17th century fort lies a world of its own – the tiny fishing hamlet, Worli Koliwada. Even though the winds of change sweep through this village of fisherfolk who have lived along the sea for centuries, life here continues to pulsate in sync with the tide. 

Long before light breaks across the Mumbai skyline, Koli fishermen haul their colourful boats to the shore, slipping into the darkness for yet another day’s work. Beckoned by the promise of a good haul, they sail out into the deep waters of the Arabian Sea, helming, veering and steadying their boats to cast their nets into the unknown, uncertain what the day will bring.  

A few hours later, the Koli fisherwomen gather alongside the salt crusted pier waiting to receive the day’s catch, hopeful for nets full of wriggling fish to clean and take to market.

The routine of these amphibious people, half ashore, half asea, has stayed largely unchanged across a few lifetimes. The Kolis, the indigenous fishing community and earliest residents of Mumbai, are a people deeply connected to the rhythms of the sea. Their multigenerational urban village is a microcosm of the city’s thriving coastal culture.

- Text by Samira Sheth (Art Writer & Curator)