A hidden treasure amidst chaos….

TheEastIndianMuseum,Manori

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I was in my final year of architecture doing my dissertation. My site was located around the Kolis settlements. This Koli community are the original inhabitants of Mumbai city. Koli settlements commonly known as, Koliwadas are located on the sea shore of fishing communities who still make a
living from the sea.Before getting going with the project, it was crucial to understand the life, history & culture of Kolis.I surfed the internet looking at the museum or galleries looking into history & culture of Kolis. After a long
hours of search, I eventually came across one and only museum dedicated to Kolis, located near Manori.The Manori is part of the Dharavi Bhet belt that also includes Gorai & attain. Alphi D’Souza was the Sarpanch of Gaothan Panchayat and caretaker of the museum. I somehow managed to make his number from the internet and book a museum visit the following day.
The museum was located inside the manor village. After taking a jetty from, I finally landed to Manori.Outside jetty there was a line of rickshaws, but the irony of this was, most of rickshaw alas wasn’t even cognizant of the museum. Few of them said, It’s too far and we won’t get a passenger from there,
(Lamba hai madam , waha se bhada bhi nhi milta).Finally, after 10-15mins long hunt I manage to get an auto driver agree to take me to the museum.He wasn’t aware of the exact location so I accepted to navigate him throughout by using Google maps. After arriving at the location, the auto driver exclaimed, some hotel name, saying, Beta ye hotel ka naam bolne ka na, ye to muje pata tha. Irony, a new established hotel is a landmark for the area and know by everyone. But an old, rich museum is not even recognizing and known.

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Reaching the place, I came across an old villa .The museum was in a wooden villa with a little garden around it, and entrance gate with the name “The East Indian Museum”. I was surprised looking at the villa which was dilapidated and downtrodden looking structure. I was expecting at least average size museum, which we always see. Merely looking at this, I knew this was going to be a different experience although. The museum has been curated by several East Indians from
across Mumbai. Alphi D’Souza, the caretaker took me on a guided tour of the museum.

I was enormously proud of the museum and the community efforts to preserve the East Indian traditions and way of life & culture. There were many artifacts donated by the East Indian families, clothes they wore, and even texts from the earliest times. I also encounter utensils, trunks, pictures and sculptures from the olden times.

The museum takes 10₹ fees from visitors, but since I was a learning student and came all the way to visit the museum, he didn’t call for a single penny from me .I still recall his words ” you are still learning my child and your love and passion towards the rich old history and culture makes me proud that you the future generations adore and respect the old heritage.
Further, He added “We have lived here since the 18th century and have a rich heritage, but, we have been paying a heavy price in the name of development for the longest period of time”. We want to preserve our tradition and culture, we bid to showcase it to everyone. But we hardly get any visitors, and the one who visit comes here to spend their time before sunset. Some even argue to pay 10₹ for
such small structure, stating it’s too much “.We want development, it is important and necessary, but not at losing of the heritage and the lives of the natives.

Impressed with his efforts and passion, I returned back with another bunch of memory and immense learning.
Nature is beautiful and amazing no doubt, but try to visit such hidden gems at least to appreciate the effort of the community to preserve their culture. Your small visits and contribute can help them and motivate to stand strong for longer runs.