Attend this event today to learn about preservation efforts for Koli language

A couple celebrates Narali Purnima by worshipping the sea at Badhwar Park Koliwada in Colaba. Pic/Ashish Raje

Type Koligeet in a search engine and a host of videos will pop up; a glimpse into the vibrant culture and language of the Koli community across the Konkan. But the ground reality might paint a different picture. The Koli language is on a steady decline. Mohit Nandakishor Ramle, president of Akhil Koli Samaj ani Sanskruti Sanwardhan Sangha, Mumbai, notes, "Koli is spoken by the indigenous tribe of the Maharashtra coast located on the Konkan belt, from Dahanu in Palghar, southwards to Ratnagiri. It is different from Marathi in the sense that it carries a different flavour to it. However, the language faces the threat of extinction."

Preserve the language

Artiste Kadambari Anjali Mahesh Koli, who with artiste Parag Kamal Kashinath Tandel, founded the Tandel Fund of Archives (TFA), a socially-engaged archive and ethnographic pop-up museum of Mumbai's Koli tribes, tells us, "Very few people in our koliwada (Chendani Koliwada, Thane) speak Koli. We are losing the language, and so the first stance is to create the TFA to promote Koli." In 2020, TFA declared September 1 as Koli Language Day, a day close to Narali Purnima and the onset of the fishing season. This evening, in collaboration with Ramle, TFA will host an online reading room for poets, dhavlas (songsters) and writers to present their poems in Koli. The event will conclude with an open discussion and audience Q&A. Kadambari continues that the poetry event acts as a common platform for older and younger generation poets and singers to showcase talents, and share the knowledge of the culture.

Kadambari Koli and Parag Tandel

Ramle explains that the reasons for this decline include unsustainable urbanisation. "Development is necessary but it also has to be sustainable environmentally, culturally and socially." With developmental projects threatening the marine ecosystem and thereby the livelihood of the Koli community, the loss of the culture and language is also at risk.

"From the 38 to 40 Koliwadas in Mumbai suburban and city areas, you will find only 50 per cent of the koliwadas speaking the language. Many from the younger generations speak Marathi, Hindi and English over Koli," rues Ramle, a resident of Vesawa Koliwada (Versova). He continues that outside the house people might want to pick up the more widely spoken and ‘grammatically correct' Marathi, which is an incorrect reflection of the language. This makes it imperative to promote the rich culture and beauty of the language.

Dr Anita Rane-Kothare and Vasant Patil

Vasant Bhiva Patil, singer-poet, also known as the bard of Vitawa Koliwada in Thane, will be performing at the event. He has been composing and singing Koli songs since 1995 when he was a 19-year-old. Patil's works are based on the popular Koli songs of the 1950s; over the years, he has focused his Koligeets on promoting the empowerment of the community against injustices and threats to their land, livelihood and culture. Patil states, "My poetry mentions projects like the Coastal Road Project and Koliwadas being declared as slums. We live here with honour; it is important to read Koli, preserve our culture and traditions, and land and work so that our language is also preserved, and coming generations are motivated to take the legacy forward."

Today, members across generations are stepping up to promote the language through different measures. Dr Anita Rane-Kothare, HOD, Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, St Xavier's College, notes, "The accent of the language changes every seven miles. It is a spoken language, so it is important to record its oral history. That is why festivals like the Versova Fish Festival play an important role in preserving recipes, tradition and language through music." The subjects of these songs vary from old Koligeets that are sung in traditional tunes or repackaged in new videos and rhythms. Ramle's YouTube channel Mumbaikar Folks is an effort to promote Koli culture.

New trends

Kadambari shares, "Youngsters are using old popular songs which are remixed into new pop rhythms or are used in Reels and videos with Koli dialogues or cooking videos. They are possibly aware of its decline or there is a different intention; it is a good trend that represents and preserves the culture and language." This includes the work of veteran Koli singer Chintamani Shiwadikar from Worli Koliwada. Shiwadikar is popularly known for his Koli-Indie pop music including his original Papletwaali, which draws listeners to his YouTube channel and local events where he performs songs about key markers of the culture including the festivals, and traditions like marriage and haldi ceremonies.

Tonight's event is open to non-Kolis who have a flair and love for Koli songwriting. Dr Nehha Rajpal, winner of SaReGaMa 2004, learned Koli to write and perform their songs. "It's important for language to evolve so that it promotes its cultural roots and also grows with and appeals to the new generation. The new wave of Koli songs that have been repackaged with a new sound includes peppy romantic numbers, raps and songs devoted to Ekveera goddess."

On September 1; 9 pm onwards
At Google Meet
Log on to @tandelfundofarchives
Call 8976424855 (message to register)
Free