Migrants, Settlers & Originals: Cecilia Vaz
Duration: 00:34:43; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 357.583; Saturation: 0.258; Lightness: 0.327; Volume: 0.170; Cuts per Minute: 0.115; Words per Minute: 152.574
Summary: Cecilia Vaz is a home maker and lives in Kalina. Kalina consists of Christian village, Muslim settlement and some gentrified housing colonies (Air India, India Airlines). The comparatively cheap location also attracts stray foreign students and young migrant professionals: African students in Bombay University which is situated close by or North Eastern BPO employees and so on. It is an old village which has witnessed hectic urbanisation in last two decades due to its proximity to a newly developed business district in Bandra Kurla complex. East Indian people by religion belong to Catholic church and linguistically Marathi. The origin of the term East Indian is not clear, though it is obvious that it has something to do with the British colonial rule. Along with Kolis (fisherfolk's community), Pathare Prabhus (white collar Hindu Marathi community), Bohras (Gujrati speaking Muslim traders' community), Parsees (Gujarati speaking Zorastrians) and a few others, East Indians are the early settlers in the 7 Islands of Bombay. Cecilia Vaz, who happened to be our neighbour as she lives next door to Majlis office, is known as a volatile person in the neighbourhood. Her articulation combined with a wide range of anecdotal memory made us request her for an interview. The interview was taken in two phases in two years. Though there was not much to interview in the face of her 'stream (deluge!) of consciousness' style of speaking. The first phase of the interview was conducted by Hansa Thapliyal and Nandini Ramnath. The second phase was conducted by Renu Savant and Madhusree Dutta.
CV: (On Sonia Gandhi) Now she is coming, what they are saying, you are not a bahu of this village, but they forget whomever they say: 'barefooted came the beggar made before the king copeth war', you all know that? 'In arms across the breast she laid...then she became a beggar maid, she became a queen'. Whoever you bring to their house, we change our surname and we come here no? You bring somebody else, change the surname and come. We come to serve you all. We leave our parent-hood, we leave all the obligation, we come to take care, we bear children for you. How can you say she is not a daughter-in-law of this house? It is wrong, because she is a woman. Indira Gandhi was a like terror, even Margaret Thatcher never liked her, afraid of her. So, they don't want to see she's coming up...why, is she not a daughter-in-law? She may be a foreign born, but she has come over here. She is behaving like the Indians, her children are over here, let us try now. These are all culprits, I tell you, all these fellows are one worse than the other. One worse than the other! I have seen them, seventy-five years old, I have seen from the very beginning what election is and what Lal Bahadur Shastri was, Ambedkar is nice! See what he did for these down people. I have seen with my own eyes, how they were ill-treating these downcast people
Cecilia Vaz being interviewed in the courtyard of her house at Kalina village. She refers to contemporary national politics. The president of National Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, is being maligned by the Hindu parties on the ground of being a Italian born and a Christian. The campaign is that she would not fit the post of the premier of India as she is an outsider. Ms. Vaz agrees that some of the women premiers turned out to be fascists, but that should not be any reason from discriminating the women politicians from public office.
babasaheb ambedkar
campaign
chauvinism
citizenship
corrupt
daughter-in-law
election
foreigner
gender discrimination
hindu party
image
indira gandhi
lalbahadur shastri
leader
malign
margaret thatcher
married women
mass
migration
national
people
politics
premier
propaganda
public office
rights
sonia gandhi
Kalina
Kalina village, Bombay
acquisition
bandra
bombay
british
christianity
city
class
community
conversion
convert
demography
displaced
east indians
extortion
land
migration
native land
neighbourhood
original
plague
portuguese
relocation
urbanization
war
CV: With my own eyes, even these East Indians over here, all these people were brought as farmers to work for us, but they were given the handle. They had very hard days, he gave them a lead. Today at every Government office those people are there. There have ten thousand, twelve thousand as salary. Our boys are not getting even with all their education. See how he did! And he is an ordinary fellow. Do you remember when Britishers were here what there was a saying for him, he was harami also haan...when I was in Khalsa college acting with Shammi Kapoor, some Danny boys, they were called, you know how they start teasing, for these Negroes, Paul Robson was the singer and they used to never like these negroes "Nig Nig Nigger doll, wishy-washy whitey face" Britishers used to say and we have sang the song "Nig Nig nigger -doll", today if you say they will shoot you. So, these Britishers were like that, what do you call that...skin conscience, colour conscience and that time Ambedkar was there, he was ordinary man.
Ms. Vaz rambles about the racism of the British rulers which had seeped down to the ordinary people - the labyrinths of colonial culture. She also mentions the social discrimination that her own community, East Indians, have faced.
african
babasaheb ambedkar
black
british
discrimination
east indian
education
farmer
government
hate politics
job
negro
office
opportunity
peasant
policy
racism
shammi kapoor
white
Babasaheb Ambedkar, the author of the Indian constitution. He came for the 'untouchable' caste and modest family background. His struggle to achieve a significant space in Indian politics and administration was also coupled with the wide political and social movement for the untouchables/dalit communities. Under his leadership large number of dalits converted to Buddhism as a protest against the caste hierarchy in Hinduism.
Bandra
Kalina
Who helped him (Ambedkar) to take education? He had no money. His Uncle helped him, just like my uncle helped me and plus Maharaja of Baroda helped him. For the all constitutions it is written by Ambedkar, for the full world he showed one finger, learned man. After which, two wives he had and life became...but he was a good man, I've seen him. He was not rich, those days Britishers never liked him, Because they were fond of fair skin. Lord and Lady Wavell and Bishop Roberts was there those days, they didn't liked him, but he only showed good to everybody, backward classes and today we have become backward class. East Indians are supposed to be high but today we have become backward because land property is gone, we are still in these small small huts. People go to raze the huts, all are coming down the area. What to do?
agricultural
babasaheb ambedkar
backward
bandra
black
british
buddhism
caste
citizens
class
compensation
constitution
construction
conversion
dalit
demolition
development
east indian
economy
hierarchy
hindu
hut
kalina
land
leadership
market
neighbourhood
poor
property
race
racism
real estate
rich
saltpan
shaty
social
state
status
untouchable
urban
white
And the Bandra people are telling me, Madam, you from Bandra, you moved with us, all your life is gone with us playing and all, whatever few years. How you start fighting for OBC (other backward classes). That's what they are telling me, how are you fighting for OBC, for backward class. I said yes, that's alright, I was in Bandra with you all. That is like before 1953, I enjoyed my life in Bandra, I cannot forget but after when I got married in Kalina, you did not come to see the haalat (condition) of these people, how they are pulling on, what they're...you all know I never got two bites to eat, I was starving, a girl brought up like a Princess was starving. And just because we had the izzat (respect) with us, we had that, what do you call it, self-confidence, we asked God to help us, I am living today, I have ten bottles of blood still in me. Ten bottles of blood is filled in me.
CV: You wont know where the village (Kalina) is, if you stand over there, you wont know where the village is covered, a thick jungle. So I stayed here, the air was very pure, fresh air was coming form the military camp and they were rearing pigs, fouls and you know those pythons, they were coming in the evening to rob our piglings and all, hard days but I don't know, I pulled on. My parents used to come and see me, my uncles were coming, my aunties were coming from father's side, with parcels of sweets and all and say "don't leave your husband, please, we are begging of you, don't leave him". At that time I used to get lots of jobs, but they said no, even I was getting a job in Glasgow, no they said don't go to work. After marriage no, before marriage, Parsi girls were there for interview, I had an interview with Mr. Hudson, this man came and stood near that gate. He said where she wants to go to work now? She is saying no only to me, her father says yes and she is saying no. and young also no I was, I didn't want to get married.
Cecilia came to the lowly Kalina village from a fashinalble neighbourhood of Bandra after her marriage. The dream (and also maybe an imaginary homeland) of solvent and suave Bandra never left her. She had also declined job offers in order to accommodate her marriage and matrimonial set up in the under developed Kalina village. A strange mixture of resentment, pride, envy and riotousness.
Ms. Vaz also talks about the change in the class status of the East Indians. The community lost their agricultural lands and saltpans to various urban development schemes, which in turn have reduced them to backward to a community in need of state assistance.
1953
Bandra
Glasgow
Kalina
Kalina
address
adjustment
ambition
animal
arranged married
aspiration
bandra
blood
city
class
compromise
desire
development
development
dignity
energy
envy
family
foul
gentrification
glasgow
home
husband
in-laws
interview
job
kalina
kalina
marriage
marriage
marshland
matrimoly
matrimonial
memory
neighbourhood
norm
nostalgia
obedience
opportunity
parents
phythons
pig
regret
relationship
resentment
rustic
settlement
social
status
topography
tradition
urban
urbanization
urbanization. spirit
village
village
Cecilia reminisces the good old days of romance and youth. Bombay, the dream city of Bollywood. Eventually all popular memories get entangled to the story of popular cinema. The cinema city Bombay and its citizens!
NR: How old were you when you got married?
CV: It became 22-23 when I got married but this boy he brought to me, three years before only. Yes no yes no yes no. Yes no no yes no yes. And he used to come and Parsi girls were giving him to eat also, hotels and all. Yes! Bhelpuri at Lands End, Rs. 2, such a lot of Bhelpuri, Nargis, Raj, Neptune ball and all, they were very big hearted, very nice. And what Sunil Dutt is saying in the papers? Something wrong he is saying, Nargis was our friend. Raj Kapoor was staying at Maheshwari Garden, but he was elder to me, he was not my friend. Shammi Kapoor! Chalta hai na (Everything works). Here also when we got, here also there was a film studio. My husband was also looking like a hero, they said they had come to take him also in the film. He should've gone. (Laughing) Ya, he should have gone.
Lands End, Bandra
Maheswari garden
age
bhelpuri
brag
bride
bridegroom
friendship
generosity
generous
growing up
hero
hindi film
marriage
memory
nargis
nostalgia
parsee
raj kapoor
romance
shammi kapur
star
sunil dutt
young
youth
NR: Aunty, please smile for the camera.
CV: Well, see my state and all, how I am.
NR: You look very nice now. Whats wrong with your state, your state is perfect.
CV: Acha! (Really!) And what you're going to do with this smile? Which boyfriend you are going to give? I'm too old now. All are dead and gone. My boyfriends, all dead and gone. No, mostly are all dead and gone, only memories are sweet.
The interviewer teases Ms. Vaz to the obvious reaction.
age
beauty
boyfriend
chat
flattering
flirting
light hearted
looks
old
romance
romantic
smile
vulnerability
Cecilia of Kalina after two year, in the same setting of a comparatively rustic neighbourhood. She still flaunts her childhood connection with Bandra, the glamour zone of western suburb. It shows the hierarchy of the urban topography and maps the graph of people's aspirations. But this time we found her little more impatient.
(M): What is your full name?
(CV): After marriage? My name is Mrs. Cecilia Vaz. Husband's name is Joe Vaz.
(M): And before marriage?
(CV): Miss Cecilia Rodricks, from D'Monte Street, Bandra.
(M): So you lived in Bandra, so how you came here?
(CV): See I studied in St. Joseph's Convent Bandra. Those days it was metric. I studied upto metric. Then I was a teacher under father Longines, who is dead and gone, Bishop Longines. Then those days we belong to our community, we're originally Maharashtrian no, we cannot make a choice of our own. Even if I had someone in my mind, I was scared of my father, so I could not say I want this and I want that...todays what you all are doing. So I had listened to my father. This man who I had got married to, he was a boy, he was quite good. And he was an apprentice to my daddy in central railway. 1937 he joined. 42 years service he put. So my father says, baby you have to listen to us. Even if you fall in love with somebody, I will not allow you to get married. You have to get married to the boy I choose. That's how he gave me over here. Yes or no there was no question at all. Though I was matriculate and these people were not studied at all.
Bandra
D'Monte street
arrange marriage
bandra
bombay
catholic
christianity
city
colonisation
convent
conversion
d'monte street
east indian
educated
education
english
family
language
location
neighbourhood
obedience
orthodox
partner
suburb
urban
The pre-urban settlements of Bombay. Today the locality is at the centre of urban development which also means impending forced and voluntary displacement of the native inhabitants, yet again.
when I came 52 years ago in this village in 1953, this village was a godforsaken place. Full of muck, cowdung and mosquitoes. That's how I got filaria. There were not so many houses, very few houses were there. The village was looking more like a jungle type, understand. So today it is much clean, there is no sickness like filaria and all, but its thickly populated, roads have become cleaner, but I am too old to even get out of the house.
amenities
area
bombay
development
epidemic
filaria
locality
mosquito
neighbourhood
populated
public health
town planning
urban settlement
urbanization
village
(M): So your family, friends mainly are in Bandra?
(CV): lots of Parsees. (Imitates) Kem Cho...farvane aavech ke? Lots of Parsee friends I had. They were very affectionate and loving to me. And Parsees those days were living in bungalows, all along the Hill road, Perry Cross road, Turner Road. I moved around with the Parsee girls since I met them in St. Joseph's convent and they were very affectionate to me that I cannot forget them, but I don't know where they are today. That time those days, 8 annas a cone ...they were getting 5 rupees a day pocket money, because fathers were barristers, engineers and architects and I was not upto that standard. But they were so fond of me, without me they..If I don't go to their house anytime they would come in 3-4 days to my balcony and say Cecilia farvane aavech ke? And that time no they treated me very nicely, they liked my company, I don't know why.
Cecilia's good old childhood when she could be friends with upper class girls who were Parsees. Education in a convent school in those days could create such temporary pockets transcending class hierarchy. More than economic capacity there were cultural class difference between the agriculture and saltpan based native community of East Indians and the migrant professionals of Parsee community who were exposed to modernity brought by the colonisers.
Perry cross road, Bandra
Turner road, Bandra Hill road
affluent
alienation
allowance
bandra
catholic
class
colonial
community
convent
culture
east indian
english
friendship
hierarchy
hill road
joseph's convent
language
mimic
parsee
perry cross road
pocket money
popular
profession
school
st
stereotype
turner road
white collar job
youth
Conversion, both forced and voluntary, to the religion of the rulers, the Portuguese followed by the British. So East Indian is a generic term to depict the whole mass of Marathi speaking locals from various communities (fisherfolks, saltpan workers, farmers, urban migrants etc.) who converted to Christianity. The colonized converts, though lost their livelihood in the crusade of city building, are proud of their affinity to the queen's religion.
(M): Tell me why you call yourself East Indian. What does it mean?
(CV): Why we are called East Indian. See it's a long story. Portuguese came. Where did Portuguese come. Portuguese came to Vasai. Shivaji..Sambhaji's father fought with them and all. Vasai is the place where Catholics came in the 17th century, understand. They converted some catholics, we were originally Maharashtrians, one type of Maharashtrians. Patahare Prabhu, agris, kunbi, kolis, everybody, originally. After that, after the conversion, each one, now my husband is Pathare Prabhu converted from them. Pathare Prabhu you all know? I am not actually Pathare Prabhu. My father was actually Agri, means saltpans holder. We had lot of property in Wadala, which the Britishers took from us forcibly. That time we were under the Britishers so we had no voice of our own. We could not fight as we are fighting and debating today. But they treated us nicely. We were Catholics no, Chritsians, its alright.
Vasai
Wadala
adaptation
agri
british
catholic
christianity
coastal
colonial
community
conversion
convert
cultural identity
east indian
exploitation
hindu
history
language
linguistic group
maharashtrain
marathi
pathare prabhu
pluralism
profession
race
regional identity
religious identity
saltpan
tradition
Cecilia Vaz has her own order of events on history stemming from her agony over the land possession. Sasoon Docks is founded by Iraqi Jew David Sasoon in order to facilitate import Export trade.
(CV): We are called East Indians. East India Company was founded in Calcutta. It was a trading company in those days and that's how they were getting jobs. And the Britishers were collecting lots of taxes and that's how that came to Bombay, and we East Indian people joined that company, understand. Before that Bonaparte had come, Alexander had come, many had come. Then we east Indian people joined that company that's how we are called East Indians. We were converts. And till today we are called East Indias only, because we are originals..like adivasis we are converted. Understand now? And that time nobody was there. They say... history tells before us Israelis were there, Jews were there, Sasoon Docks were there, before many years before. After that we came.
advasi
alexandar the great
bombay
british
colonial
colonialisation
cosmopolitan
david sasoon
east india company
east indian
history
indigenous people
inhabitant
invasion
jews
migration
napoleon bonaparte
orginal
sasoon docks
settlers
urbanization
The origin of the term East Indian is not clear. It could be something to do with the East India company taking the lease of Bombay islands from the queen of England (@ 10 pound per annum) in 1668. It is unlikely to have any connection with the eastern part of India. Native East Indians are distinctly different from the other migrant Christian communities.
(CV) We were converted and they named us East Indians, because also there were Goans. To separate us from Goans, Mangloreans were very few. To separate us from Goans we were called East Indians. (Madhu attempts to ask a question when CV interrupts) (CV): and we have no native place. Remember that all East Indians... Bombay is the native place of all East Indians. Wherever they are. My son is in America now, but he is not an American, he is born to us. Home Sweet Home, however humble it is. Their native place is Bombay. They are spread everywhere because no jobs are there for us. No preference is given. Under the Britishers, first jobs to Christians were given, but nobody cares for us now.
America
Bombay
abode
acquisition
bombay
christians
community
conversion
converts
east indian
economics
extortion
goa
goans
home
identity
inhabitant
land
mangalore
mangaloreans
migration
native land
original
political clout
race
religious affinity
rights
By Presidents' rule she means suspension of democracy and ceasing power from the elected legislatures. The sentiment could have come from the experience of corruption and immorality in the election process. But like many other disgruntled middle class people Ms. Vaz believes that dictatorship brings equality, opportunity and solvency as the administration machinery runs more efficiently and objectively under dictatorship. She talks about the olden days when the class hierarchy might not have been so severe and the leaders were more accessible.
(CV): We must have President rule here, then everything will be alright.
(M): then president will give jobs to East Indians?) (CV): I do not know... my hair have become gray, I have seen Bal Thackrey...I mean I've seen Dr. Ambedkar also. I've acted in Khalsa College as a young girl. Before I could come to Bandra, all our village was taken, all our saltpans were taken, we were driven from there. That very Khalsa college and Don Bosco..Don Bosco was built in front of me. We were chased from there..our houses were taken and then we went to stay in Maheshwari garden. You know Maheshwari garden? There I met Shammi kapoor, he was schooling with me in Wadala school. I don't know he's become old now. Shammi kapoor and Raj Kapoor were close to us. We went to staying in a building system with 19 rupees rent because we were chased out from there. And now we had Baughs there Chameli baugs, Mango gardens, then those buildings were not there. Then Bishop Robert came and cut the ribbon. Lord Wavell, Lady Wavell of Don Bosco. That time I was acting in Khalsa college, where Dr. Ambedkar I met. He was staying in Matunga in the chawl system. Those days..late 30's 39-40 like that.
Bandra
Chameli Baug
Don Bosco
Khalsa College
Mago garden
Maheswari garden
Matunga
accession
acquisition
administration
aspiration
babasaheb ambedkar
bal thackrey
bandra
chawl
childhood
church
compensation
democracy
dictatorship
disappointment
dislocated
displacement
election
exploitation
extortion
film star
golden past
land
memory
nostalgia
ownership
political naiveté
president's rule
private
property
public
state mandate
Some pockets of Bombay and the neighbouring districts, still carry signs of marriage and cultural alliances with the Portuguese. Sprinkles of Portuguese words, cuisine, clothing, rituals, surnames etc. are evident all over the city. Though Madras and Calcutta, the other two port cities, carry signs of alliance with the British, for Bombay and its outskirts it is more of a Portuguese influence.
For Ms. Vaz the disappointment with the independent nation-state turns into resentment towards the vaguely defined 'outsiders'.
(M): Mrs. Vaz, where are the East Indians concentrated. Earlier and now.
(CV): All from Colaba.I.you that..where East Indians are thre..Khotachi Wadi. Khotachi wadi, Gai Wadi...east Indians. Then Sitladevi, Mahim.. East Indians. Then upto Dahanu. You go to Dahanu just now also you'll find with long saree, which I showed you know my lugda photo..upto Uran, Cheul, they were spread. As we say na, these Portuguese came, got married to our girls, and then they started using the Maharashtrian saree. Our saree is a little bit different from Maharashtrian saree. That's why... I've taken out photo, I've got one photo with me. They call us East Indians. No native place. This is our native place, you all are come to Bombay you please go away.
(M): But if we go away, will Bombay be Bombay?
(CV): I will like the greenery, the open sky, the birds singing, the animals going...I will like everything. And though salary was less, we got no so much tension as we get tension today. Happy go lucky. In my time, there was gold 20 rupees a tola (an unit of measure). I have used. 5 rupees quarter tola. Before that 14 rupees it was there. And today the gold is so much costly. And people with little salary, they were eating rice, vegetables and dal (lentil) was not so much..some chichoni pakoni they were doing and they were buying gold also.
Cheun Bombay
Colaba
Dahanu
Gai wadi
Khotachi wadi
Sitladevi, Mahim
Uran
adaptation
alliance
aspiration
bombay
clothing
colonial
colonization
conversion
convert
cultural exchange
culture
custom
demography
development
east indian
economy
fashion
food
gold
hostility
inflation
invasion
local
marriage
native place
original
photo
portuguese
price rise
resentment
salary
saree
settlement
solvency
survival
urbanization
valuable
As Bombay gets more and more populated and access to resources becomes more contested, the older settlers turn aggressive with their claim of being the 'original' inhabitants. Though in reality the situation has aggravated as the state is turns more market oriented and abandons all welfare schemes which could have addressed some of these issues. But in public life these kinds of articulations are encouraged by the identity politics in order to invoke racial and communal violence periodically.
(M): Mrs Vaz, I know this and you were also saying that East Indians were in the prime places and then they are pushed out. If you tell us more about that.
(CV): From which prime places? From Khotachi wadi... East Indians are starting right from Colaba upto Dahanu to Cheoul, Uran upto Vasai East Indians are there. Kaka Baptista, he was an East Indian, he's got Kaka Baptista college. So East Indians are here only. They are born here, they are bred here...Kaka Baptista went to London as a barrister, he studied and he's seen the fate of our people, how we are treated.... Britishers are taking the taxes and enjoying on all the taxes. These government land they got..from where they got..this from our East Indian place. If you cannot pay tax... come on give it. But first preference was given by the Britishers for the job for us. Very few were there no, very few East Indians were there Catholics those days. And then first Parsee that came in 1640 to Colaba, he came from Sanjan, first Parsee. That also I've got with me. Then he started many things and East Indians were there. But East Indians they don't know how to earn money and what to do.
Cheul
Colaba
Dahanu
Khotachi wadi
Sanjan
Uran
Vasai
accession
advantage
aggressive
colonial
competition
east indian
exploitation
hierarchy
inhabitant
local
mandate
migrants
migration
money
native
native land
original
parsee
policy
populace
property
race
real estate
resentment
resources
rule
state
subjects
survival
tax
welfare
Pre-modern family structure of East Indian community still deprives women from inheritance. Since property is mostly agricultural land it follows feudal system where it is easy to exploit the women and the weaker members of the family.
The epidemic of plague haunted Bombay at the beginning of 20th century. The record shows that the state introduced various regulation at that time as concerns of public health. Many of those regulations later turned out be the beginning of instances of state surveillance and censorship.
(CV): One thing is there among the East Indians, their very bad nature, if our property is there no...we are landowners, they will never divide the property nicely. That is the backwardness in us. If there is a widow they'll never give the proper share. Selfishness. They never do justice as the Parsees do. Parsees will do yey ramu ko yey ganga ko (this much to so and so, this much to...), that they'll never do. Now my mother-in-law when my husband was born two and a months and my mother in law lost her husband, plagues were coming. In 1922 was the last plague. My husband was born in 1921 on December 29th and the plague came in 1922 and he lost his father. He was only two and a half months old. No sooner his father died, eldest son, his uncle cheated him, youngest uncle, took all the property and didn't give him anything. This is what we do among the East Indians. The very house we are staying in was purchased by my father-in-law at that time and that land also purchased and poor fellow died of plague within one night.
1921
1922
east indian
epidemic
exploitation
family
family dispute
feud
gender
girl child
inequality
inheritance
male chauvinism
norm
plague
property
public health
regulation
victim
widow
(CV): Those days plagues were coming to Bombay and how they were coming there is a reason for it. Why East Indians have become drunkard there is also a reason for it. We were not drinking by bottles but by kupta, you get one earthen pot and chaunis(unit of penny), Portuguese time. Only that we were drinking. So it happened that plagues were coming, they were coming from Africa. Britishers had a colony in Africa. And there was a route..the only access to Bombay was the harbor, Bombay harbor. There was no airport route. So when they were coming to Bombay harbor, the plague was coming over here, from Africa and that how people were dying. East Indians were in Bombay and they were dying. Most of the houses in Bandra, they were locked. Father mother died in one days time and nobody would go to bury the person, they were so scared. My grandfather had one uncle, Mamu Mamu (uncle) they say, and a cancer hospital is starting at Parel, he says my uncle..my grandfather used to tell me (sentence in marathi), because they are definite that when their land comes to you, you will die. That is definite, there is no survivor for that. One in one thousand will live, like that. So these East Indian people no one to bury them. And so everyone started drinking, to take the body to burial. Therefore they started drinking then. And liquor was not bad those days. Good liquor, good stuff was there, not like nowadays what you see. So that's how we East Indians began to drink liquor. And Khetiwadi (cultivation) no..have to work in the fields.
Africa
Bandra
Bombay
Bombay harbour
Parel
The epidemic of plague also created large scale exodus and displacement from the city. It is possible that East Indians, being one of the largest communities in those days and also being poor and semi rural, were the main victims of plague. Even today East Indians are famous for their alcoholism. In Bombay's popular Hindi films the stereotype for any East Indian character is the one with a bottle. Cecilia explains the origin of this image and characteristic, albeit in filmy narrative style.
abandon
africa
agriculture
airport
alcohol
bandra
bombay
burial
community
contagious
country liquor
death
east indian
epidemic
harbor
import export
plague
port
public health
sailor
sea front
sea route
stereotype
survivor
trade
urban
Family legacy. A time of transition - working both in the agricultural field or saltpan and within the office structure.
(CV): Now my grandfather, though he was a Patel's son from Wadala, he was educated, my grandfather was very much educated, much more than my father, my father didn't study so much. And all my uncles also...in those days matriculation means what. So my grandfather was educated, he was working in the saltpans also and working in the office also. I like my grandfather very very much.
Wadala
community
east indian
education
family
inhabitant
matriculation
original
profession
race
saltpan
traditional
transition
work
Cecilia Vaz renders an excellent post-colonial antidote to the official history of the world. How much of the resources from the colonies and from the colonial subjects were extorted to finance the world wars - wars in Europe!
(M): You told Renu how East Indian people were pushed out from one place and how...
(CV): Yeah how we were removed from Wadala. What business they had to chase us. These Britishers think we are taking their land, we are taking their saltpans, why don't you give us alterations? They didn't think of us. Just get out, get out, get out..where to go? You all are come from out, you all are come from England to...they are very tricky people, they came too do trading and then they captured. Han, isn't it? The very crown also they captured and the gold also they captured. Did you think of the local people? No that they didn't do. They kept us hand to mouth. Now one of sons is in America and when he come to my home sweet home then he's mine, my husband is still waiting, his wife is here. Others all went to America and came. But they never thought of us. They took this airport land of this Kalina people. Did they think what will they eat. They took it for what reason? 1939-40 they said the war is going on we need an airport. Whose war was going on? Are we East Indians fighting? No. The war was with the Germans, the name of Hitler at my door would shiver. Hitler my gosh... he was all over sovereignty. But lot of things from Germany - things used to come to sell us. Kaichi bichi..4 annas such a big scissor machine made. So what happened -war was going on with Germany and Scotland, those days and the Britishers went to help Scotland and that's how he took all our land. There was no one to say anything. Britishers took the airport.
America
Germany
Kalina
Scotland
Wadala
accession
acquisition
airport
big history
british
chauvinism
colonization
colonizer
colony
commodity
construction
destruction
development
dislodged
displaced
east indian
ecology
eurocentric
european
exploitation
extortion
germany
hegemony
history
hitler
iind world war
import export
kalina
livelihood
local
market
relocate
resources
rule
saltpan
sovereignty
subjects
urbanization
Agricultural land was extorted for the development of the city which was in turn to assist in the war related activities. In the process the agricultural land, water resources, saltpan, ecological balance got destroyed and the native East Indian community were rendered resourceless.
Kalina
Kurla
Marol
Panch Pandancha Talav
Vakola
Vile Parle
(CV): These people Kalina people were very very rich. Kalina, Kurla, Vile Parle, Vakola, Sar all Marol..they were well to do, East Indians. They were cultivating lots of vergetables they were cultivating, tomatoes, beet root, cabbages, onions, whatever they wanted to..there was a talav there, which was known as Pandavancha talav, Panch Pandavancha talav. They were getting plenty of water, and they were cultivating and lorry full of vegetable was given to the wholesale market. When they took that land, why they took it? Some of them still got their papers. What the British said was that whatever land we take for the airport, remaining land we'll give it back to you. Did they give it back. Why did they do like that to poor people? And that's how these people have become beggars. When they took the land, their cultivation is gone. They are originally farmers no. cultivation is gone, no source of income. And plus they never gave job also in the airport for us, for our children. See all outsiders are working. So what good they did?
accession
agriculture
airport
class
construction
cultivation
demography
development
document
east indian
ecology
exploitation
farmer
income
inhabitant
job
kalina
kurla
land
land deed
livelihood
mandate
migrants
mineral
nature
outsider
pauper
pauperized
pre-urbanisation
property
real estate
saltpan
solvency
state
subjects
town planning
urbanization
vakola
victim
vile parle
village
water resource
In a clear display of her shrewd political observation Ms. Vaz attacks the king of chauvinist politics in the region, Bal Thackrey. Her oblique reference is to the fact that the socalled majority community whose exclusive rights over the resources of the city that Thackrey claims to champion and assert, have come to Bombay only in early 20th century at the beginning of industrialization. Thus, in the opinion of Ms. Vaz, they too are 'outsiders'.
(CV): It is not Bal Thackrey's land or anyone's land. Everybody got a native place only we got no native place. We East Indians got no native place. So this airport they took and all these farmers became hand to mouth. Hand to mouth, nothing to eat and drink. And there was a time, I have seen ----- I was not married. One day I came to Kurla to one of my relations house selling gundis you know this juris of grass I said...(in marathi) Hello, why are saleing: They said, land and all are gone, what is there to eat?Shall buy rice for an ana (unit of penny)... That time it was cheap..two anna paili it was. So these are the days they gave it to us. Then some Colori people started distilling then they became alright.
Kurla
accession
acquisition
agriculture
alcohol
bal thackrey
chauvinism
colori
country liquor
development
displaced
distillery
economy
extortion
farmer
home based industry
land
native place
pauper
politics
property
racism
regionalism
(M): Your family knew Portuguese, I mean they learnt Portuguese?
(CV): My mother-in-law knew, my grandmother they knew..I don't know. Little little we understand. But in my young days we learnt French. (says something in French), like that... we had a teacher from France in St. Josephs Convent. I do not know how to speak Portuguese, but my mother-in-law knew, my grandmother knew, olden days. So...Portuguese people they came to Bombay, they never robbed us anything, they never took us anything, they are the ones who converted us. Portuguese people converted us not the Britishers. It is a wrong idea. One day I read an article..when Devi lal became a minister, he said all Christians must go to England. That is a wrong thing. British people never converted us, Portuguese people converted us..1937 Vasai and ...that's how we became Christian. We were all Hindus before.
Cecilia Vaz goes back to the contradiction of the glamour of being converted to the religion of the white rulers and the tragedy of being colonized and exploited.
1937
Bombay
France
Vasai
accession
acquisition
british
chirstianity
colonial
compensation
convent
conversion
development
east indian
education
extortion
government
inhabitant
land
language
livelihood
missionary
original
pauper
pauperized
policy
portuguese
state
urbanization
welfare
The claim of the original or of the displaced?
(CV): Its high time they realize and give us something. (... interview is on, come in). Its high time they give us something...something or the other, because we are the original... now see all the surplus land they took of the airport, all hotels have come. Did they give us back? No. they are not bothered, I tell you no all stupid ministers. I've seen government but I like Lal Bahadur Shastri.
administration
betrayal
citizen
claim
community
compensation
demography
development
east indian
government
lalbahdur shastri
leader
original
resentment
reservation
settler
social
state
urbanization
welfare
Cultural practices - food, clothing and language being prime in that - often transcends political and social hierarchy. The colonial campaign also carried cultures from one end of the world to the other through spices, seeds, recipes, words, textiles, fashions, faunas and marriage alliances.
(M): People say that there is similarity between Portuguese cooking and East Indian way of cooking.
(CV): See we learnt all dishes from Portuguese people. Olden days when I was young..South America, Brazil ,Argentina and all..very good cooking... they bought chilies and all... masala and all. Portuguese people ... they taught us to cook certain dishes, very much. Otherswise these people knew to make chicauni-rice, but they gave us different different types of taste, how to use masala (spices) in the vindaloo... then what you call... Portuguese cakes and all. They gave us different different... Marzipan... they taught us all that.. they taught us and we learn from them. (inmarathi) what was the point of the airport... nobody gives job to our children.
Argentina
Brazil
South America
alliance
brazil
chili
coloniser
cuisine
culture
east indian
exchange
marzipan
masala
portuguese colony
recipe
seeds
south america
spanish colony
spices
vindaloo
The development policies and market economy create metropolises -opportunities and infrastructures get concentrated there, which in turn attract influx of people from the deprived regions. The demography changes. The earlier inhabitants whose resources are extracted to create the metropolis feel betrayed and resent the new migrants. The metropolis turns into a volcano of hatred, resentment, rivalry and exclusivity. The pattern is universal, almost classical yet maintained as the most reliable development model. The post cold war trend of anti-Islamic campaign, both internationally and nationally, gets to Cecilia Vaz too. The Muslims who are simply not good, the British who extorted their lands, the Indian migrants who took away the jobs, the Indian state who have not provided any welfare scheme - all become an undistinguishable mass of enemy.
(CV): Now when you all are going to vacate Bombay and give us preference?
(M): What you are going to do with a vacant land? Bombay will have no job again.?
(CV): As it is where we got jobs. Which of my sons has got jobs in Bombay? One I think grandson is coming from the ship tonight, he must have come also. All outside jobs. Good atleast that desert is open that side, Dubai and all...in my time no Dubai was there, 1960's it came. And good Americans and all calling them, otherwise what we'll be hand to mouth. Outsiders have come they are all cheaters. From where they got money to build buildings and all. They are bringing black money from somewhere and doing something. All Muslims are not cheaters. See they came all the Moghuls and how lovely they've done northern India, palaces they made no... this side Muslims are all naughty. There are Konkani Muslims also... Bhaiya muslims are not nice. UPwalas they cheat you. And today whole Bombay is full of..they say Bombaiwa banayega. Machchiwala bahiyas, gadiwalas bahiyas, rickshawala bhaiyas, telephone wala bhaiyas, kandabatata wala bhaiyas. There is no place for other people to have any trade in the hand. And why in that Bihar nothing is there to eat and drink? Why they are coming...I want to know why all people are coming to Bombay, it is become like a New York for them. And Bombay people are starving. First give the necessary... at least we don't want to be rich but at least daal pani ka...some rozi-rozgar (basic livelihood)..when our children are educated give them some job. That they are not doing...that they are not doing. So what if they want to bombs fall on Bombay..its better..I am saying it is better. (Madhu: Ok)
Bombay
Dubai
New York
aspiration
bhaiya
bihar
bombay
citizen
compensation
corruption
demography
disappointment
dislodged
displaced
el dorado
equality
greed
illegal
influx
inhabitants
job
livelihood
market
migrants
migration
muslims
new york
opportunity
original
outsider
pauper
population
prejudice
resentment
service industry
settlers
small trade
stereotype
survival
up
urbanization
victim
welfare
The indignity and exploitation under foreign rule is being hailed as a better option than the democracy with corrupt politicians at the helm of affairs.
CV: we were happy under British rule though we were under them we were happy, but now we are not happy. All chor dhandha... all chor(thief) buggers are here. A-Z all ministers are naughty, only one minister was nice that is Lal bahadur Shastri. Understand..huh. My hair have become grey, I've seen Ambedkar, I've seen everybody but I tell you. (Says something in marathi) Do they give any pension to us Bombaywalas? My husband started working at the age of 16 at 8 annas (unit of penny) per day.
babasaheb ambedkar
bonhomie
british
brotherhood
christianity
colonial
compensation
job
opportunity
pension
reservation
rule
social security
subject
welfare
working class
The distinction between personal tragedy of being deprived of family inheritance and historical fact of being exploited by the foreign rulers become blurred and emerge as a single narrative of being wronged.
(R): RS: Mrs Vaz tell us how you were made to shift her from Wadala to Bandra and Kalina. (CV): When I came from Bandra, Bandra was pushed here, this village was very dark. Few houses were there, so many houses were not there, marshy dark. (R: why did you come from Wadala to Bandra) CV: they chased us, Britishers chased us. They took our houses, they took our salt pans, there was nothing left for us and we could not fight. Those days the priest also were very naughty. Olden days no they were respecting priests, understand our priests also were not very good. One father Vaz was a monsignor (?) , he was a great grand uncle of my husband. When the airport land got sold at the rate of 6 paise 2 annas (units of penny), some little money they had, that is ancestors property no..some 2500 of the airport. Now my husband had no father, so the father was...when old custom house they gave the money, so when they called out the name, so his uncle who died, his youngest uncle said, I have nobody all died. So one of the members stood up and said...no no one brother is dead of his, his children are there and his other brother is living. So what they did no they stopped the money. You have to share with everybody because ancestors property, whatever it was 2500 those days it was valued. Today it would be 2 and half crores I think. So it was valued. So what happened that father... those days the father, the preference was given to the priest. He says I will do the justice. I will bring the money and I will distribute it. He took the money and he never gave one --- to my mother-in-law, my husband.
Bandra
Kalina
Wadala
accession
acquisition
arbitration
bias
british
compensation
corruption
development
dislodged
dispossessed
exploitation
extortion
family property
feud
inheritance
land
mandate
marshland
monsignor
moral
negotiation
price
priest
relocated
salt pans
social guardian
town planning
urbanization
widow
The pain of living in an insignificant and lowly neighbourhood.
(R): What was happening in Bandra at that time?
(CV): Bandra was great, it was queen of suburbs. It was a great queen of suburbs. What was the style of ours, the talking, the boys and girls were very nice, lovely mixed, and good manners - no drugs and all was there. If you are walking on the road, how the boys will respect you... hello miss, good morning miss. Not all this whistling and all. It was more respective, it was queen of suburbs and I have seen that that type of Bandra is not there today. The Muslims also were there..I was from D'Monte street, but the muslims never interfered with us. Bandra was great, beautiful, people were very nice, that's how they told me now, they ring up to me, madam how you are fighting for OBC (other backward castes), I say shut up... those days were different, I was there - alright I enjoyed, when I came in Kalina in 1952, you all saw what life I led here, talk about the present.
1952
Bandra
D'Monte street
Kalina
bandra
cityscape
civic
crude
culture
d'monte street
development
gentry
hegemonic
kalina
manners
pedestrian
rowdy
settlements
social hierarchy
sophistication
suburb
topography
western culture
But Bandra people were selfish, they should have interfered with the Suburbs no. how the suburbs are getting on. They didn't bother. Bandra was queen of the suburbs. They should have seen each village, how they are what they are doing. Now they are interfering. Its all too late. I've become old I can't go. I can only talk. My brain is working alright, but physically I am not fit. They ring up to me sometime. My age people are all dead, my boyfriends and all are all dead. What to do, but they ring up to me. So there is a madam.... why you are fighting for OBC (other backward castes), so I said, yes those days were beautiful but you are selfish and we lost all. You see East Indians are jealous of each other. They are never co-operative type. That is one nature in us. They get all jealous and jealousy outs them out and never do the share nicely. That's how we are gone down. What have you to say? You girls are getting frightened to get married... how I must have got married.
The infrastructure gets improved upon only in the gentrified neighbourhoods. The lesser mortals from neighbouring locations feel resentful, but not strongly enough to turn it into a class issue.
Ms. Vaz trails into series of overlapping emotions and issues....
bandra
citizen
civic
development
east indian
insular
old age
suburb
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