Hailing from Kondale wadi in Vasai’s Sandor village, Ulhas D’Silva has grown up celebrating Sa-Jao, a colloquial name for Sao Joao, the feast of Saint John the Baptist, observed on June 24 every year by Mumbai’s Catholic community and locals in Goa. Coincidentally, the community largely believes that it rains on the same day every year, and it was no different this time, as parts of the city, including Vasai, experienced rain a few hours before the clock struck 12 and continued through the night. Being a weekday, the celebrations are usually held on the Sunday before or after. While there is food and drink like every other festival, the most enjoyable part of the celebrations is when locals swim in wells that still exist in abundance in the northern town, which houses a sizable population of the East Indian community.

Jump in the well!

Culturally, leaping in the well is associated with the Biblical event ‘Magnificat’ of the Mother Mary meeting her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time, while the former was also carrying Jesus Christ. As soon as she heard it, Elizabeth felt John the Baptist leap in her womb. Interestingly, D’Silva says Vasaikars, looking beyond the belief, also swim to beat the heat, as the weather only gets cooler from here on.  He explained, “The local tradition bears a strong resemblance to that of the Goan-Portuguese community, as the majority of the priests in Vasai churches earlier came from Goa.”