Invisible
The fisherfolks of Girgaon Koliwada
In 2017, I went for a walk in the intertidal zone to watch bivalves and other wonders of the intertidal zone, organised by a group called The Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM), led by Pradip Patade. The place was Girgaon Chowpatty, a narrow strip of sand where Mumbaikars go to experience the sea and mostly to eat. It felt like the most unlikely place to find interesting life, considering the amount of pollution and the number of feet trampling the sand here daily.
I was wrong. If you need to know what life is like in this wonderful place, I recommend a book by one of the walk leaders of MLOM - Sejal Mehta. It is called Super Powers on the Shore.
However, I was more interested in the fisherfolk who lived nearby and worked here. If you happen to go there, I recommend you keep an eye open for them.
In Mumbai, the old traditional ways exist alongside the fast-moving city dancing to the rhythm of the tides and not the synchronised clocks of our mobile phones and smartwatches.
The rocky outcrops were a giant statue of Ch. Shivaji was supposed to be built but never took off, and it is not far from here. That place is also rich in marine life, which supports the traditional fisherfolk here.
