Koli women bring coastal flavour to Carter Road

The sun is still up, the breeze is warm and salty, and the promenade at Carter Road hums with familiar sights and sounds of joggers, dog walkers and evening strollers. But weekends now smell different. Steel bowls lined with marinated bangda and surmai glisten under the late afternoon light, waiting their turn to hit the hot oil. A few women in aprons and hair caps stand behind the stalls, deftly frying the day's fresh catch as curious passersby slow down, sniff the air and settle in with a plate.Since May 2, the far end of Bandra's popular waterfront has taken on a new identity, at least from Friday to Sunday evenings. That's when the Koli women of Khar Danda, who sell raw fish by day at the local market, turn into chefs by sundown, marinating, frying and serving up traditional seafood dishes — halwa, pomfret, surmai, kolambi fry, prawn biryani, fish samosa, crab lollipops, and even sweet Maharashtrian ukadiche modak from BMC-allotted stalls just steps from the sea that sustains them.At the heart of the initiative are five stalls run by five Koli self-help groups, each comprising ten women as part of an initiative to promote the culture of Mumbai's Kolis. At one stall, Meenakshi Pore stands behind trays of surmai fry, prawns, bangda, shellfish and prawn biryani. "My stall is called Aai Mauli, named after our kuldevi," she says. For Pore, the move from Danda Market to Carter Road isn't about a change in view. "It's a chance to show our culture.""Whatever we eat at home, that's what we use to prepare these. This is not some YouTube recipe. It's ours," adds Kunda Haresh Kale, secretary of the Danda market, proudly gesturing to the spread. "Look at the variety… big surmai, halwa, fish fingers. And see the crowd coming back. That's how we know it's working."The stalls may be new, but many of the faces are familiar. Preeti Mangesh Sawant, who runs the Satli Bachat Mahila Bachat Gat stall, also sells at Khar Danda market. "We're making prawns, koliwada prawns, shellfish of different varieties," she says. "The feedback has been good. Some people eating here even remember our names." But not everyone is feasting. The initiative has run into resistance from residents group IMPACT (Citizens Movement for Environment and Civic Action), who argue that the Carter Road promenade is being "sacrificed for commercial gain." A member of the group told TOI, "Carter Road, like Marine Drive or Bandstand, is among Mumbai's most treasured open spaces. Why has the Maritime Board allowed permanent structures to be built here? This is a walking space, not a food court."The group also pointed to signs along the promenade that prohibit eating in the area. "Why make exceptions? We're not against the Kolis, but there's space closer to their village, just a few metres away. Why wasn't that considered?" They also allege that when objections and suggestions were invited in December 2024, no public hearings followed. "It was a farce," said one resident. "The authorities never listened."The BMC, however, has stood by the project also backed by local MLA Ashish Shelar. Civic officials told TOI that the plaza was developed along the lines of the Mahim seafood plaza, designed to support fisherwomen while offering citizens a taste of authentic coastal fare. The women are mindful of the scrutiny. Sawant shrugs off the criticism. "We're the original inhabitants of this land. If these stalls help us earn, why the resistance? Our rights to fish are already under threat from infrastructure cutting through the seas. Why object to one small source of income?" Kale adds, "We wash the space with soap water every night." Rajanpur agrees. "We clean everything before we leave."That effort isn't lost on regulars like Roshni Juneja from Santacruz, who pauses mid-walk with her son to take a look: "Everything gets dirty eventually. The whole stretch smells of fish anyway. At least here, they're feeding people and doing a good job." Among the evening walkers at Carter Road, opinions are split. "We've been watching them set up for weeks," says Sunil, a Bandra resident out with his wife, Soni. "Today we finally tried it. Taste was superb, the pricing's fair. I think it should continue." Soni isn't as convinced. "We come here to walk, not battle fried temptation. It's messing with my fitness routine!" Joyeeta Patpatia and her friend Arnold Fernandes hadn't planned on a seafood stop either. "We were playing pickleball at the YMCA and just wandered into this," says Patpatia. A snack of prawn cutlets and pomfret won them over. "It's just good fish, more reasonably priced than restaurants. No gimmicks," said Fernandes. They don't see the stalls as a disruption. "People in Bombay need fresh air, fresh fish. Carter Road is full of restaurants. Most of them don't keep their frontage clean. Here, I haven't seen a scrap of litter." Both believe the women — and the fish — have earned their spot. "Let them have their space," they say.