| Over two
thousand years ago, Mumbai was an archipelago of seven
islands, inhabited by the kolis. These tribal fisherfolk
still live here in tightly knit communities that the
passing centuries have scarcely touched. The best place
to see them is in the 600-year-old Worli Fishing Village
that stands on a sliver of land jutting into the sea.
Plunge into one of its winding gullies and you will
instantly be assailed by the smell of drying fish, and
colourful koli women, their dark skins offset by chunky
tribal jewellery. At the end of the village is a small
Portuguese fort with remnants of an old armoury,
soldiers' barracks and thick ramparts. Before the Raj,
when Portugal ruled Mumbai, this was a strategic vantage
point to counter attacks from the sea. |
