Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 1
Director: Abeer Gupta
Duration: 00:34:48; Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1; Hue: 15.680; Saturation: 0.070; Lightness: 0.350; Volume: 0.188; Cuts per Minute: 31.662; Words per Minute: 3.850
Summary: This event, along with others under the category of Koli in the same site, depicts the day cycle in the life of a fisher woman in Versova fishing village. The event starts at around 11'0 clock in the morning at the Versova beach. The fishermen come back after the whole night trip into the deep sea. The casual workers store the catch in baskets and carry them to the market which is in the close proximity. The women take over from this point and run the trading starting around 3pm. Versova is a wholesale market and mainly people from retailers' markets and big hotels and restaurants make their purchases here. The trading of fish in Mumbai is traditionally a women's field. The Koli women are a distinct feature of Mumbai. Before the small islands were joined together to make a big city this region was full of salt pans and fishing hamlets. The fisherfolks are called Koli community. In the community tradition Koli men go to the deep sea to catch fish. While the women run the entire marketing section. Marketing involves wholesale market, retailers' market and door to door vending. Some women are connected with fishing boats and some others buy fish in the wholesale market and sell in the retailers' market. In the process Koli women often dominate the public space of the city with their impressive gait, professional confidence, 9 yards sarees and antic jewelry and stinking merchandise. They can be seen in the local trains, taxis and 3-wheeler auto rickshaws and in the pedestrian by-lanes making brisk business.
Mumbai's fish markets - almost 800 of them - is another special feature. These markets are mostly ran by Koli women. They are the licensees of the Municipal Corporation and the licenses are inherited along the women's line - mother-in-law to daughter-in-law to grand daughter-in-law. But currently the spree of development and gentrification in the city the Koli community and their livelihood have come under serious threat. The fishing is affected seriously as hi-tech trawlers owned by corporations are killing the business for the small and traditional boat owners. Moreover, the construction projects around and over the sea (buildings, bridges and chemical spewing establishments) have driven the marine lives further away from the coast. On the other hand, the fish markets, once considered as an important characteristic of the city are under threat of extinction. In the real estate development policy the single story markets on prime land are considered as colossal waste of property. In the name of public health and development there has been a scheme to demolish some of the markets. The third angle is entry of migrant workers from other parts of the country into the fishing trade. Many migrants from the Uttar Pradesh, popularly called as Bhaiyyas, these days are either working for the fishing boats or vending fish at door steps. The traditional base of Koli community is threatened by the vitality and enterprise of these migrant male workers. The right wing political parties Shivsena and Maharashtra Mahanirvan Sena (MNS) have taken this opportunity to turn the issue into a communal clash. In recent years there have been many violent incidences around the conflict between kolis and migrant workers in fish market. While actually the issue is that of an organized sector (the Kolis) and unorganized labour force (migrant workers). Unfortunately the labour movement or feminist movement never paid much attention to this issue, resulting it to fester into a communal clash.
This event is part of a series to document the Koli community in that context.
Around 10'o clock in the morning. The fishing boats arrive at the Versova beach after fishing in the deep sea whole night. The boats are generally owned by the Koli families, often a boat being shared between a few families. The men folks of the family go for fishing along with some casual workers. The fishing and the manual labour around the fishing boats are done by the men. In this clip the night's catch is being unloaded by the casual workers. The small fishes divided into small cane baskets to be taken to the market.
Mumbai
Versove
cane basket
catch
containers
deep sea
development
fish
fisher folk
fishing
fishing boat
fishing hamlet
goods
jetty
koli
livelihood
market
merchandise
migrant workers
morning
night
product
relay system
trawler
versova beach
wage workers
Versova Macchimar Nagar, Mumbai
The colourful flags on the boats flutter in the sea breeze while the ambience noise of the work and the sea water create a buzz in the jetty. Large sea fishes are carried separately. Multiple plastic buckets are carried on a wooden shaft. The blue color of the plastic is a metaphor for the urban landscape of Bombay. The blue plastic shades on the shanties and blue plastic containers of the vendors are dominant parts of Bombay landscape.
Mumbai
Versove
beach
blue plastic
casual workers
catch
cityscape
fish
fisher folks
fishing
fishing boat
fishing hamlet
flags
jetty
koli
livelihood
market
plastic containers
sea breeze
urban landscape
vendors
versova
vocation
wage workers
In various innovative ways the merchandise is being unloaded. The basketsful of fish glisten in the sun. The colouful boats, many are painted in the colours of Indian national flag, with their ropes, bamboos, nets, hoisted flags, engine rooms and good omen signs - gently rock in the sea water. The sun baked dark skin of the workers in the context of the colourful boats creates a distinct visual.
Mumbai
Versove
arabian sea
bamboos
basket
catch
diesel engine
fish
fisher folks
fishing
fishing hamlet
fishing nets
flags
jetty
koli
livelihood
merchandise
omen
poles
prawns
ropes
sunlight
versova
Around 4 pm. The open air wholesale fish market at the Versova beach. Mostly the fisher women of retailers' markets purchase fish from this market. So the buyers and the sellers are broadly from the same community and same class. Loud noise of bargaining ascends slowly.
Mumbai
Versove
afternoon
along women's line
bargain
bazaar
business
class
community
fish market
fisher folks
fisher women
koli women
legacy
license
matrilineal
open air
permit
retailer
sell
vendor
wholesale
In a quieter section baskets of small prawns are being covered with crushed ice for preservation. In the hot and humid weather of Bombay in the month of May, it might be quite a task to preserve the fish. Then the women put the cane baskets into a large plastic container and male workers carry it away. In the background the sea can be seen. The strong sea breeze messes up the audio track.
Mumbai
Versove
arabian sea
blue
cane basket
crushed ice
fish
fisher women
koli women
livelihood
month of may
plastic container
prawns
preservation
professional
sea breeze
vocation
A more busy and noisy part of the market. Lots of women, large plastic containers and noisy bargaining. The traditional nowaree (the cotton 9 yard saree worn with pleats at the back) sarees, a trademark of the Koli women, have become rare. Mostly women are wearing standard synthetic sarees. Some younger women are wearing contemporary salwar kurtas. In the background can be seen the scaffold to dry fish. Usually bombay duck (Bombil), a long and slender fish is hung on this scaffolds to make sun baked dry fish. There are a very few men in the market - some wage workers and a handful of buyers.
Mumbai
Versove
bombay duck
bombil
buyer
dry fish
fish
fish market
fisher women
koli women
livelihood
navvari
nine-yard saree
plastic containers
salwar kurta
scaffold
sun dried
trademark
traditional
wage worker
wholesale market
Camera stays on a grand matron. Long lines of time are etched on her dark face, the over used piercing in her ears have come down till the edge of the lobes - she watches the going on with an habitual ease and experienced confidence. Her lack of inhibition or interest towards the camera is remarkable. Another woman in the middle of the activities. Her voluptuous body, easy gait, long and glittering mangalsutra (a necklace made of black beads and gold, a signifier for married women), bunch of gold and green bangles (a signifier of fertility), confident handling of money make her a representative of her tribe.
Mumbai
Versove
business
confidence
currency
experienced
fertility
fisher women
gait
glass bangles
gold jewelry
green
inhibition
koli women
livelihood
mangalsutra
married
matron
money
posture
professional
public space
veteran
vocation
voluptuous
A younger woman does brisk business. She is wearing a bright pink synthetic saree - the attire makes her look like any other lower middle class working woman. But no other woman handles so much money in cash standing in a public space. She bargains with a male customer. Bargaining and loud noise is so much part of the fish market culture that any hard bargaining or loud argument is termed as 'like fish market'.
The customer selects large quantity of a variety of long and slippery looking fish. He is either a retailer or shopping for a hotel.
Fisher woman: you must give 500...500 only.
Male customer (off frame): In 350...
Fisher woman (screams): No...no...
Male customer: I shall pay a penny more that 400...
Fisher woman: Don't even talk like that. Not a penny less than five hundred...I am telling you in advance...no less than this...
Male customer: this is an expensive bargain. Reduce Rs.110...
Fisher woman: If it is more then I shall pay Rs.200...
Mumbai
Versove
argument
bargain
business
buyer
cash
confidence
customer
ease
fish
fish market
koli women
loud
money
noise
pink
public space
wholesale market
working women
Camera comes back to the matrons' section. There are quite a few of them including the two mentioned earlier. They are distinct with their voluptuous bodies, long mangalsutras, heavy earrings and lots of glass bangles. Even if one meets them outside the context of fish market, they would immediately be recognized as koli women. The younger generation is not as distinct in their race characteristics.
Mumbai
Versove
bejeweled
characteristic
community
distinct
earrings
fertility
fisher women
glass bangles
gold jewelry
green
koli women
mangalsutra
race
signifier
trademark
voluptuous
By now the sun has started setting. The scaffold for drying fish in the weaker light appears like some kind of boundary. The vendors appear more relax and chatty, the market noise reducing.
Mumbai
Versove
arabian sea
bazaar
dry fish
fish market
fisher folks
fisher women
koli
noise
open air
scaffold
sun set
vendors
versova
A woman writes accounts on a book. Evening sets, the sky looks purplish. Some stray shot of the market, a few details of the faces, of the hands, the silver of the fish does not glisten any more.
Mumbai
Versove
account
bazaar
close up
fish market
fisher women
glass bangle
gold
green
hands
koli
money
professional
profit
trade
working women
Crawford market
Long shot of the market. The flags on the boats against the evening sky, on a few boats lights come up, women start packing up, male workers get busy again. The women speak in smattering Hindi to give instructions to migrant workers.
While we document the vitality of this community and the exclusively women's trade, the evil of development slowly creeps in to destroy this culture and livelihood. Real estate aggression, gentrification of the city, pollution of the sea, the corporation ran hi-tech trawlers, fanatic vegetarianism have begun to threaten the survival of the kolis and their livelihood practice.
Mumbai
Versove
Woman: Put it in this, otherwise it will get spoilt. Where has the other one gone?
Male worker: He is going that side, to the trucks.
Woman: Now you carry this container...the fish will get spoilt here.
Male worker: I take this and later I shall empty this one...I shall bring it back...now I keep it there...
Woman: Where is the other boy? You did not bring a container?
Male worker: I have not...
arabian sea
community
construction
corporations
crawford market
culture
dawn
development
evening
fanatic
fish
fisher folks
fishing hamlet
gentrification
hindi
ice factory
koli
livelihood
merchandise
migrant
open air market
packaged
pollution
practice
preservation
real estate
sell
sky
survival
trawlers
urbanization
vegetarianism
versova villge
vocation
wage workers
wholesale market
Late evening inside the Versova fisherman's village. The fisher women come straight from the beach side bazaar to the ice factory. Even after the days hard work they good humoredly chat and laugh. Inside the ice factory they package the remaining fish in plastic containers with beds of crushed ice.
At 4 in the morning next day the trucks will pick up the fish containers and the women and ferry them to the other side of the city - Crowford market. That part is documented in another event titled: "Koli Women: Livelihood Practice 2"on this site.
Versova Macchimar Nagar, Mumbai
bazaar
blue container
crushed ice
day cycle
documentation
fish
fisherwomen
ice factory
koli women
market
preservation
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