Say hello to Bombay’s first citizens

Mumbai wouldnrsquot have the vada pav if the Portuguese had not come to Bombayrdquo chortles conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah ldquoThey brought the potatoes the chillies and taught us how to make paordquoThe Portuguese first landed in Mumbai in 1508 in the form of explorer Francisco de Almeida who was on his way to Diu On January 21 they captured a barge of the Gujarat Sultanate in Mahim creek and began trading in textiles and spices taking them all over the worldPicGetty ImagesMumbairsquos first colonisers are mostly remembered for their zeal for conversion to Catholicism but the greatest influence the Portuguese had on the seven islands is on our plates ldquoStaples of the Indian vegetarian diet come from the fruits and vegetables brought from South America by the Portugueserdquo says Fleur DrsquoSouza former head of the History department at St Xavierrsquos College and lists them out Potato itrsquos name in the north Konkan region batata is also a Portuguese term sweet potato tomato corn pumpkin brinjal chikoo cashew nut chilli papaya passion fruit pineapple guava and even avocado ldquoNot to forget hybrid mangoes Alphonso hapoos and Periera pairirdquo she adds ldquoThe Portuguese opened up the industrial and agricultural produce of the north Konkan region to its other territoriesmdashsuch as Goamdashand to the world Famed Indian textiles and carved wood furniture among other items found their way to world markets Somehow in popular history they are just remembered for their conversion policyrdquoAbout thathellipThough itrsquos commonly believed that the East Indians were converted to Catholicism by the invading Portuguese visual artist Romel Diasrsquos family believe the shift in allegiance happened much earlier at the hands of Apostle Bartholomew The Kalyan region is said to have received the attention of his missionary zeal in the second centuryRomel Dias visual artistEither way the missionaries nurtured the idea of a community offered medical and educational facilities and lower caste Hindus upon conversion felt welcomed and valuedClusters of East Indians were settled in what was Salsette island Bandra to Bhayandar Kurla to Thane and Bassein Vasai which had a harbour ldquoThana now Thane was a weaving centre for silkrdquo says Dias whose maternal ancestors traded the fabricKhotachiwadi champion fashion designer James Ferreira rues that there is no governmental incentive to preserve the heritage village PicShadab KhanThe origins of the name East Indian also have different explanations The most commonly accepted one is as historian Andre Baptista says ldquoThe converted natives of north Konkan had an edge when the islands were gifted to the British The English found a population already familiar with the Roman alphabet and their dietary preferencesmdashmeat and alcohol Many were employed in civil service and in the Railways When industrialisation began and Christians from other parts of India such as Goa and Mangalore began coming to Mumbai for employment the community felt a need to distinguish themselves especially since the last names were common So they took on the name East Indiansrdquo Fleur pins the date of christening of the community to 1887ldquoOne of my ancestors took on English rituals such as teatime and luncheon and bought only the English brand of butter as a way of showing allegiance to his employersrdquo says Dias whose ancestral villages are in Kalina and Thane ldquoHe joined the Railways as a runner at 13 years of age His seniors recognised his intelligence and sent him to the architecture school in then Madras He came back as a draftsman which was very prestigiousrdquoPicBipin KokateldquoOnly the urbanised and anglicised ones call themselves East Indiansrdquo says fashion designer James Ferreira ldquoIn the gaothans people prefer the community identity Sonar bhandari kunbi agri and vadvalhelliprdquoAccompanying the Portuguese were Jesuits and Franciscans and schools were generally attached to churches much like temple schools and madrasas ldquoJesuits ran elementary schools in Bacaim Vasai Thane and Bandrardquo says Fleur whose focus of study has been the history of Thane and the maritime history of north Konkan ldquoHigher education during the Portuguese era was for ecclesiastical studiesmdashelementary mathematics logic and languages were the only nonreligious subjectsrdquoINS Angre is a prime example of Portuguese architecture with men in traditional hats and pantaloons flanking the doorway and a sundial inside PicBipin KokateThe Portuguese married north Kokanis prolifically Ferriera and Fleur share an ancestor who came from Portugal and Diasrsquos maternal family the Azevedos also sailed to India for tradeTheir language melded to form a kind of IndoPortuguese Creolemdashbits of Marathi Kokani and Portuguesemdashstill spoken today in gaothansFleur DrsquoSouza author and former HODHistory St Xavierrsquos CollegeSorpotel fugia and vindaloo stewed in the kitchens albeit a version different from the Goans but the customs were adapted to keep the kernel of north Konkani culture alive ldquoGarlands of fresh flowers are offered at my altars dailyrdquo says Ferriera ldquoand a lamp burns all day long The brides wear dark green bangles on their wedding day There is the ritual of umbracha paani where the bride is taken to the village well to draw water Mango leaves are steeped in it and she takes a bath with this after her haldi ceremony just before the nuptialsrdquoWadis orchards and farmlands and large tracts of common hold farm land were taken awaymdashlegally by the Urban Land Ceiling Act of 1976 and not so legallymdashfrom the East Indians for the development of the city pushing the original inhabitants into tiny hamlets at the heart of Bandra Kalina Vasai and Mahim The Actrsquos purpose was equitable distribution of land to subserve the ldquocommon goodrdquo but it has been quite the oppositefor East IndiansldquoMy fatherrsquos ancestral home was separated from that of his cousins by the community fields of Sahar village which everybody tilledrdquo says Dias ldquoPart of the international airport and the Air India colony rose there The community had no real concept of money then They ate what they grew and clothes were sown at home With no investments they could not buffer that loss With mouths to feed my grandfather worked as a watchman in a nearby factoryrdquoFleur cites the example of the Misquitta family who owned large expanses of land at Vile Parle 180 acres of which was acquired by the government at a return rate of R1 per square yard ldquoDuring WWII 1100 acres of land was acquired for what became Sahar airport Despite promising to do sordquo she says the land was never returned to the original ownersrdquo She quotes from a letter received from the Secretary of the Revenue Department Government of Bombay at the time of acquisition of these tracts in 1942 ldquoIt is not the intention of the Government to deprive the people of their homes or places of worship The land acquired if not in use will be givenreleased to the original ownersrdquo Fleur fears that with privatisation of airports these lands may be used for hotels carparks convention centres and other money spinnersEvery East Indian we spoke to is as proud of being the original steward of this land as she is dismayed by the lack of recognition even among neighbours When Ferriera thought of serving traditional East Indian meals at his bungalow his neighboursmdashsome of whom have lived next to his family for generationsmdashasked ldquoArenrsquot you from Goardquo ldquoEast Indian food is subtlemdashnot spicy as in some parts of south India nor oily like north Indiardquo says Ferreira ldquoGoan food uses vinegar while we use vinegar and a bit of kokum The bottle masala unique to each household is made up of 28 spices and 20 to 30 different dishes can be made out of itrdquo His kitchen makes breads such as fugias and chitiaps khimat a spiced drink made out of country liquor and homemade winesAs recently as 30 years ago East Indians remember idyllic villages over which now squat McDonalds KFCs and Cafeacute Coffee Days ldquoWe had a wadi in Gorai with coconut tadgola and mango treesrdquo says Ferreira ldquotappers would come in the morning and wersquod get fresh toddy for breakfast I canrsquot quite describe what it tasted like nothing today comes close to itrdquoDias remembers chickoo tamarind and gulmohar flowers scattered on the mud path of Kalina ldquoThere were at least five wells and the village children swam in themrdquo he says The home of his maternal grandparents in Thane was no different ldquoThe paths were only wide enough to let tongas horse drawn carriage pass The cottages were so close together that we could jump from garden to garden while playing chorpolicerdquo he remembersNames of these gaothans come from their Konkani or Marathi names ldquoKole Kalyan which is the valley of kole or kolah jackals became Kalinardquo says DiasldquoVankola the jungle of jackals became VakolardquoThe Portuguese were more concerned about guarding the harbour than building a city ldquoMost forts were built by themrdquo informs Lambah ldquoINS Angre is a prime example of Portuguese architecture with men in traditional hats and pantaloons flanking the doorway and a sundial inside The Bombay fort then named Casa da Orta after the nobleman who leased the island from the crown was one of the first forts built by the Portuguese then therersquos Vasai Fort and St Andrews church in BandrardquoIn the lsquo80s and lsquo90s there was a backlash against Christians and ldquothe youth could only get jobs as courier boys and waitersrdquo says Dias ldquoThen they went on ships as part of the hospitality staff Eventually there was an exodus to Australia Canada and the USA and lately New Zealand where they continued to work in hospitalityrdquoThe year is 2022 CE Mumbai is entirely occupied by glassclad skyscrapers and glistening shopping malls Well not entirely One small village of indomitable East Indians still holds out against the invadersmdashKhotachiwadiFirst known a Native Town Khotachiwadi nestled within Girgaon was home to Pathare Prabhus and East Indians Its narrow lanes are still lined by houses built in the Portuguese style Ferriera has been bringing attention to its heritage value for 25 years to fend off those who would convert the prime property into a concrete wasp colonyldquoItrsquos a bit upsetting to not be recognised as the original inhabitants of Mumbairdquo he rues ldquoEven the Bhau Daji Laud museum which has statuettes depicting the communities of Mumbai doesnrsquot represent East Indians No restaurant in the city serves East Indian cuisinerdquoThrough heritage walks his design studio homestays and art popups Ferriera is trying to keep the interest in Khotachiwadi going ldquoThere is no incentive from the government to preserve the buildings Our neighbours have been replacing wooden windows with ironandglass sliding onesrdquo He has been picking up as much of the typical furniture and other objects as he can ldquoMy 3BHK flat in Boisar is stuffed with itrdquoAlphi DrsquoSouza state Sarpanch of Mobai Gaothan Panchayat assumes about five lakh East Indians live in Mumbai and Vasai today ldquoWe try to hold food festivals and bazaars where we can exhibit our culture customs and traditionsrdquo he says ldquoA wooden cabin in Manori on land leased by the Theresa Fernandes family serves as a museum People from the community have donated old cooking vessels grinding stones mud pots and artefacts The traditional Lugra nine yard saree has made a comeback and women are wearing it at celebrations Two or three people have started fresh production of these in Santa Cruz and Uttan The men are also wearing shirts made out of LugrardquoDias is reviving drinks made by his maternal grandmother Bertha Azevedo under the label The Good Catlick using organic ingredientsmdashginger ale plain and spiced apple cider coconut brew and four fruit ciderldquoThe Bombay East Indian Association and the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat among others are rallying the community togetherrdquo says Fleur ldquoA dictionary of commonly used words has been published Food festivals song competitions celebrations of festivals such as Agera the harvest festival and Introz before Lent keep some cultural traditions aliverdquo Gaothan Voice a monthly bulletin shares news and views on everything East IndianBesides being the first citizens of Mumbai an East Indian had proposed Home Rule as early as 1900 Joseph Baptista aka Kaka Baptista founded the Home Rule League with Bal Gangadhar Tilak in 1916 A garden on Mazagaon hill is named after him as is the museum in ManoriBain DrsquoSouza graduated in the first batch of independent Indiarsquos IAS He served as the cityrsquos municipal commissioner and state chief secretary Journalist Olga Valladares was one of the first chroniclers of Bombay History and Marcellus Gomes was in the hockey team that represented India in the 1984 Summer OlympicsAlphi speaks for every East Indian when he says ldquoWe welcomed everybody with open arms without discrimination and suffered the most in the bargain We lost our landrdquo5LApprox number of East Indians in Mumbai amp VasaiThis article is part of Middays Mumbai Konachi series that looks at those who played a critical role in building BombayRead earlier pieces from the series hereBombay before Mumbai