In Photos: An Old-School Indoor Fish Market Run By Women in Mumbai

Glance into the Khar Danda Town fish market through the Quint Lens to experience a centuries-old Bombay.

As you step into the indoor town fish market at the Khar Danda Koliwada in Mumbai. the rancid stench of thousands of fresh fish and blood fills the air. They’re sold by at least a hundred women dressed in vibrant sarees, neatly tucked in as they loudly negotiate prices with a hundred more customers.

The floor is constantly wet, as are the seating blocks. The women keep throwing buckets of water while using their hand to sweep the blood and guts away from their stalls down into the drains. Two dozen cats and twice as many more egrets also share the space, waiting and watching for scraps to snatch away.

Never has a stereotype been truer.

Who Runs The World?

The Kolis are the original inhabitants of Mumbai since when it was nothing but a group of seven suspended islands. Of them, some like Kolbhat (now Colaba), Palva Bunder (now Apollo Bunder), Dongri, Mazagaon and Worli were named by the Kolis. The name Mumbai too comes from Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the Kolis.

They are a deep-sea fishing community spread across the city, living in pockets known as Koliwadas (“a home that opens to the sea”). Each Koliwada has a fish market, usually at the beginning of the village and these are run and maintained entirely by women, generation after generation.

"No, that's too expensive. I don't want it." @TheQuint pic.twitter.com/HbqmgfTJE1

— Pallavi Prasad (@pallaviprsd) March 8, 2017

For Sale

The Other Original Inhabitants

Where there is fish, there will be cats...and egrets. At least 20 cats and as many slender, white egrets share this indoor space with hundreds of people at peak hours. They quietly skulk around, on the stairs of the seating areas, the floors, the iron rods along the roof, hypnotised by the smell of blood and the sight of flesh.

It’s also a perfect example of humans living in harmony with nature. The animals are all but trained. They don’t swoop in or steal fish from the stalls. Only fallen, discarded or generously offered fish is fair game.

Koli Women In Action

"It becomes muscle memory after you do it for 30 years. I've been doing this since I was a girl; I can do this in my sleep or even blindfolded." At the fish market in Khar Danda Koliwada, #Mumbai #incredibleindia #500px #magnum #cityofdreams #bombaydiaries #fishmarket #fisherwoman #slowmotion

A post shared by Pallavi Prasad (@pallaviprsd) on Mar 8, 2017 at 2:59am PST

Muscle memory of the Koli women, running their community's fishing market for centuries now. How much the family makes of what the men caught in the sea depends on how sturdy a bargainer you are, how loud you can speak, how long you've been around and how well you've displayed your fish. At the Khar Danda Koliwada, #Mumbai #fisherwoman #fishmarket #bombaydiaries #cityofdreams #incredibleindia #fastforward #whateyesee #passionpassport #ig_cameras_united

A post shared by Pallavi Prasad (@pallaviprsd) on Mar 8, 2017 at 3:07am PST

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