Mumbai’s fishing community, the Kolis, are acknowledged to be the city’s oldest inhabitants, ever since the metropolis was an archipelago on edge of the Arabian Sea.
Over the centuries, everything else has changed in the city but many Kolis still live in their ancestral villages, still catching, cleaning and selling fish. They know better than anyone the hidden world of marine life that surrounds the metropolis.
Ganesh Nakhawa (his surname comes from the Marathi word for boat) has been going out on fishing boats since he was 11.
He has travelled to many places, but he returned to Mumbai to help organise Koli villagers, especially women, to secure their livelihoods and preserve their traditions. He is a founder of Blucatch, which connects people who eat seafood to “fresh, traceable and sustainable” catch.
In the fourth part of this podcast series titled Marine Lines: Mumbai’s Hidden Worlds, from the Suburbs to the Sea, hosted by journalist and author Raghu Karnad, Nakhawa talks about how Mumbai’s oldest inhabitants bore the brunt of the city’s industrialisation.
This podcast has been co-created by DeadAnt Studio and Ministry of Mumbai’s Magic. Listen to the other parts here.
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