For 37 long years, Prajakta Keni grew up along the shores of the Mahim Beach. But it was the year 2023 that brought a sea-change to her life. Once a homemaker who managed her household, she signed up to run a stall at the Mahim Seafood Plaza as a part of Mahila Bachat Group. Kicking off her day at 3 am to purchase fish at the Sassoon Docks, the group puts in 20 long hours managing, planning recipes, cooking, selling and cleaning before wrapping up the business past midnight.
But, Prajakta is not complaining. “I no longer have to ask for money from my husband. When we go to restaurants, I offer to pay the family bills now. I pay for my daughters education and even bought a sofa for my home with my first earnings. This is a wonderful feeling,” said Prajakta, who now manages the Kadeshwari Mahila Bachat Gar seafood stall along with nine other women for her family.
Prajakta is amongst the 130 women who run at least 13 seafood stalls at Mahim beach, in a plaza which is fast emerging as a haven for seafood lovers from the city and beyond. Situated against the picturesque Arabian Sea with a view of the Bandra Worli Sea Link and the Coastal road’s bow-string arch bridge, the plaza menu provides an array of Koli culinary delights in the way of Thalis, Curries and Tawa Fry preparations for visitors. On offer are fresh catch ranging from Pomfret, Surmai, Lobster, Rawas, Bombil, Squidfish, Mandeli, Prawns, Gaboli, Bangada amongst other seafood.
With the catch of fish at Mahim beach dwindling, the women at Koliwada commence their day at 3 am to reach Sassoon docks for purchase of the freshest seafood. ( Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
It was in the year 2023 that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had first floated the idea of starting seafood plazas operated by women self-help groups. Aimed at promoting local cuisine and boosting tourism, the civic body aided the community with basic infrastructure like sheds, chairs, tables and pavements before the women took over the operations .
While the initiative drew feeble responses in the first year, business started booming as news of the Koliwada spread through social media and viral reels.
What started with six sea food stalls in 2023 has today grown into a thriving plaza of 13 stalls, run entirely by women. Each stall is manned by a group of at least 10 women residing in the Mahim Koliwada nearby where every person is tasked with a specific job.
For the Koli women of the area, the business unfolds with clock-work precision. With the catch of fish at Mahim beach dwindling, the women at Koliwada commence their day at 3 am to reach Sassoon docks for purchase of the freshest seafood. Upon arriving back to Mahim by 9 am, they store the fish in ice to prevent rot, complete household chores before convening at the sea-food plaza at 2 pm. For three hours thereafter, the ladies get to work cleaning lobster, squid, prawns etc, boiling fish eggs, marinating the fish till 5 pm. After a small break, the women come back to the plaza by 6.30 pm to start cooking for sale.
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By 7 pm, the plaza comes to life as it opens for business and a steady stream of visitors start trickling in. Each stall serves fresh seafood to hundreds, with the average footfall across the plaza surpassing 3,000 customers on weekends. While most visitors line up to enjoy the seafood delicacies, some come to purchase fresh, raw fish from the stalls run by the self-help group.
“As a Koli woman, I can just hold a fish and know whether the fish is fresh or not. Nobody knows the seafood like we do. We bring this life-time of knowledge to our stalls and make sure only the best quality of seafood is purchased in the markets and then served on our customers’ plates,” said Savitri Mangesh Keluskar who is amongst the 10 women that helm the Dariya Kinara Mahila Bachat Seafood Stall at the plaza.
Savitri, who earlier worked as a fish vendor, added, “We would all cook for our family. But, now, with our own stalls, we have become chefs.”
Open on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the plaza ropes in customers not only from Mumbai but also from places as far as Pune, Nashik and Palghar. On days, when the stalls are shut, the businesswomen grow restless. “We work hard and end our business by 2 am after cleaning and dinner. Yet, if we don’t come to the stall, we go mad. We have become more independent,” said Priti Clan, who works at Sagari Mahil Bachat Gat fish stall.
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Clan’s sentiments are echoed by women across the stalls, for whom, the plaza has also opened a new source of income at a time when fish catch is fast depleting in the seas.
Buoyed by the success of the initiative, the BMC is now planning to replicate self-help group run sea food plazas across the Koliwadas at Versova and Colaba. Meanwhile, until the plaza shuts during monsoon season, business at Mahim Koliwada plaza continues to boom amid summer vacations break in May.
With the catch of fish at Mahim beach dwindling, the women at Koliwada commence their day at 3 am to reach Sassoon docks for purchase of the freshest seafood. ( Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
BMC is now planning to replicate self-help group run sea food plazas across the Koliwadas at Versova and Colaba. (Express Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)