When one of the youngest and smallest Catholic parishes in Vasai turned 100 last year, parishioner Reena Almeida, who now lives in Brisbane, thought it was time that people got to know her village. Soon after, Almeida launched a calendar, which pays homage to the old houses of Giriz. These homes — some of them centuries old — belong to a community of East Indians, the people who are widely recognised as the original inhabitants of Mumbai. Of them, 12 have been featured on Almeida's Instagram account too, garnering a lot of curiosity and love for her East Indian heritage.

Almeida, 32, attended St Xavier's College in Dhobi Talao, at the other end of Mumbai. She was often asked why she would bother to travel 77 km daily between home and college. But, Vasai never seemed like a tedium — it was home. Her attachment to her roots led her to initiate East India Memory Co, a culture and history platform. It is through this initiative that Almeida decided to bring out The Old Houses of Giriz Parish Calendar. "It is a starting point to get people to engage in conversations about our East Indian heritage. These houses have passed down among families, which have been part of this area for more than a century," says Almeida, who now works in quality control for an alternative fashion label.