Over two thousand years ago,
Mumbai was an archipelago of seven islands, inhabited by the kolis. These
tribal fisherfolk still live here in tightly knit communities that the
passing centuries have scarcely touched. The best place to see them is
in the 600-year-old Worli Fishing Village that stands on a sliver of land
jutting into the sea. Plunge into one of its winding gullies and you will
instantly be assailed by the smell of drying fish, and colourful koli
women, their dark skins offset by chunky tribal jewellery. At the end
of the village is a small Portuguese fort with remnants of an old armoury,
soldiers' barracks and thick ramparts. Before the Raj, when Portugal ruled
Mumbai, this was a strategic vantage point to counter attacks from the
sea.
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