Residents of the Khotachiwadi open up about Christmas celebrations and how they have evolved over time. Andre Baptista, Willy Black and James Ferreira recount tales of history, changing landscape of the wadi and the need to preserve heritage sites
All about Christmas 2024 in Khotachiwadi, Mumbai
Key Highlights
- The residents put up Christmas trees and sweets are prepared a week or so before
- The community would gather at the Catholic Club, where they would serve snack boxes
- Willy Black would dress up as Santa Claus and go around Khotachiwadi giving sweets
Andre Baptista has been living in Khotachiwadi for almost all his life. His ancestors: The East Indian were converted into Christianity by the Portuguese in the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, they were re-Indianised, so to speak, re-Sanskritised under the Maratha occupation. While they were undergoing this massive transformation, they suddenly found the English as their overlords.