Koli Style food interspersed with stories from Thal, a village by the sea and my life as an honorary Parsi.
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Monday, October 02, 2006
Me Pun Koli
If you are from the Koli community pl. comment here. I would love to know my own people are reading my blog. You can make requests and tell me what you would like to read here. Come on lets make it interractive. Feel proud you are Koli!
Came across this page while searching 'Koli' on google. I am a Mangela koli and proud of it!! Nice to know that there are others who feel the same about their 'Koli' origins. Please check 'Kolis' and 'Datiware' pages on wikipedia. You may be able to add a link or expand.
hi iam suryaprakashkoli iam residing in banglore.iam kannadiga.iam working to uplift the fishermen community.www.nafindia.com one of the best website of our community. my email id suryaorama@gmail.com mobile number 09448660250 .
Hi Anjali, great to see your interesting blog for our koli community. I live in the United States and have come across a many (to my surprise) Kolis who have excelled in what they are doing. Smart, intellectual community we are! Keep up the good work and hopefully we shall have more 'Me Pun's waving in here soon :) -Raunak Koli
Hi Raunak thanks for your comments. Would you like to write a post on this blog it would be a pleasure. You could write about your hometown or even about your current location. Do reply.
I am Darshana here. I stay in mumbai, and working as a software engg in TCS. Was just looking and searching for our Koli community in wikipedia and came acroos to this site . It really feels very proud and good when we know @ community. --Darshana Patil
Cindy I was touched by your mail. Your experiences are similar to what my Dad went thru as a Koli at school and at work fortunately I was lucky and did not have to face it.
Hello.. This is Baranidharan. Currently i work as a project manager in an Indian owned IT MNC in Chennai(MADRAS), Tamilnadu.
My childhood experiences were similar to that of Cindy. No one at school / college wanted to continue their friendship with me after knowing that i come from a fisherman(pattinavar)community. Though no one at my home does fishing for living for nearly 3 generations. Even i have plans to start an export business sometime soon..Its not a shame to do Fishing either if i dont have money to live.. Fishing is not Begging..Stealing.. or pro*tituting.
I want to share one of my miserable experience : A so called friend turning to foe.
I met this guy at a software training center's cafeteria in Chennai during 1997, when i was a freshman after my engineering in electronics. On our interaction we learned we are same town folks which is 300 kms from chennai and this united us as friends. Chennai was a new city for us then and this bonding happend instantly. This relation went on great till i entered a nice job.
Reason: That chap left his job and went to USA, returned from the US of America jobless after some months due to his poor skills and he approached me for his stay at my flat in Bangalore(2000) which i welcomed for few months(then i worked for HCL). He extended his stay for months without sharing room rents and taking my money too, which i fondly accepted for i was happy that im investing on a friend. Then when i moved to Chennai(2001) on a new job with a new employer he wished to join me again as my roomie. By now he got a job and a decent paycheck to run his life. Now when i insisted him to practice self reliance and not be so dependant(parasite). He turned violent and this snaky creature, spread the news about my caste to all my friends who i introduced to him at Bangalore and Chennai. Some good hearted friends called him dog and asked me to keep him miles away. That never was the end of story and he spread the news to other friends too at my new company company in Chennai. After that those i knew were behaving unusual at tea breaks with me.. enquiring me with ostensible empathy about my family, background, as if they all died in the recent Tsunami..hahahh..Even after repeated answers they look at me in groups from a distance as if im a onge(a tribe from andaman and nicobar with no clothes).
I repeatedly tell myself then that these other caste curs/mongrels are jealous about a fisherman competing them. We have to ask Dr. APJ Kalam ji about his childhood and personal life!
Im happy about what im and looking forward to start my own multimedia gaming company soon. Im 34 years young now and still unmarried.. waiting to find the right girl who doesnt see the world through colored glasses.
Hi..., It is interesting that Koli's face taunts regarding their caste and generally regarded as backward... I was brilliant in my school and nobody dared taunt me but there was always a suspision in my mind somehow I am not treated equal because of me being 'koli', and when I went to college it was worse as people called me 'machwara' in a castiest way... when I was leaving India for good, a custom official made a remark, " so now a koli is going to foreign land" I am a architect by profession and considered a top asset whereever I work, am respected for my knowledge and integrity and can compete with anyone in the world without hesistancy... Koli's are also responsible for their lot as they harbour 'inferior' complex about their race and allow other people to think for them. It must be noted that culturally we are distinct from all the caste system...wwe must not allow us to be branded and have tremendous faith in ourselves, aas we belong to the most original inhabitants of India. we also treat other tribes like katkari, agri, warli with contempt and generally think we are above them... this should stop too!
hey Zen ahi I am impressed with your insightful comments. you are exactly right about how we as a community perceive ourselves and our attitude towards other castes whom we consider inferior to us. would like to keep in touch.Are you in USA by any chance? 8707352129
My great grandmother was from Mahim , not sure if she was from Mangel wadi though. I think she moved to Kelve Mahim after her marraige and then to Virar. My mom still has some relatives in Mahim ( ?? Mangel wadi). I also knew a Nurse when i was a resident doctor in Cooper , i think she was from mangel Wadi. Does the name Manisha Dhanu sound familiar to you?? Pankaj vaidyapankaj@hotmail.com
Pankaj I'll connect u up with Cindy. Zen ahi has not mentioned an email id.
Good you wrote in response to him. I have not gone thru the emotions of being treated differently and sometimes am not able to identify with them so know not how to react.
Thanks for making this place what it set out to be.
Thank you Anjali. I am very excited to know that there are other Koli's like me who are proud of their culture and want to impress that feeling onto this world. Though I personally believe that meaningful peaceful stressfree coexistance amongst humans can only be achieved by diffusion of our identities and egos I do not think that is an attainable goal. It's nothing but an idealistic philosophical but, an impractible view. So lets try and emphasize our cultural identity , not as a defensive reaction to our negative social experiences but as a response to that 'feeling' which stirs up inside us when we come upon anything uniquely 'KOLI'. Like Zen Ahi mentioned we are a 'distinct culture' but over the ages have almost vanished in the 'Khichdi'that is India.
Hey Pankaj, I live in Sydney, Australia. I have a lot of relatives in Mahim, Dharavi, Shivdi, Madh, Mandvi etc. but I am not in touch with anyone.... have not met anybody for more thsn 10 years. My email is t_koli@hotmail.com Keep in touch, mate
I am from Shivdi koliwada :)) after marriage migrated to: Diva Kiliwada (Airoli - Navi Mumbai.) , still tagged to root During college days I really enjoyed being koli as everybody used to finish my tiffin , actully there was always a competition for my dabaa. One of my friend was Agri and other was kokanstha brahmin . But the brahmin girl was fond of fish so the agri boy used to flick my dabba and they were fighting each other over it. And I used to get her tiffin , that time I came to know @ different veg food like Dadpe Pohe ,kadbole etc. anyways I really miss those days. Till this day my friend missed our masala which we prepare for the entire year . She visits Mumbai once in 3 years that time she reminds me to pack her share of masala which she can take to US.
Darshana that is a familiar story most Kolis would tell. Our food is yummy and gets so many salivating :);) We too share our home made Koli masala with many of our friends and in the end I don't get it often or enuf!
hiiiiii, i m not a koli but i m crazy abt koli food.can plz give the recipe of home made koli masala.i stay in mumbai so if its readily available plz suggest where can i get it.plz share some more recipes. thanx
Hi came across this blog while searching for mangela samaj site and i was really very surprised to find one. I to belong to mangela samaj and i am proud to be one. I think we should all come together to work for welfare of our community.
hello , i am an AGRI and i am proud to be one ,i live in usa and i love our food which is just like how koli food is ,i carry 5 kg of our agri bottle masala,but i miss the bhakri . rani thakur
Hi Brothers n Sisters... I am Bharatha Pandiyan,from the FISHERMEN community of South Tamilnadu,ie)Paravar. I am proud to be a PARAVAR (Sea Warrior)...Im so glad to meet my akins here
Hi came across this blog while searching for mangela samaj site and i was really very surprised to find one. I to belong to mangela samaj and i am proud to be one. i am a member of koli daryacha raja community in orkut & facebook. this community member want to help our koli people they all are young and new. I think we should all come together to work for welfare of our community.
Hi all, Great to read all the posts actually i have been looking for some agri cuisines and hence came accross this blog...i have lived a small part of my life in Bhayander, Mumbai and had few Agri friends...Trust me guys they the most lovable and trustworthy people around...i am a muslim and was less accepted amongst densly populated Gujrati community in Bhayander...None the less it was wonderful to have Agri friends and i have lot of respect for this great culture...I live in singapore now with my husband and wish all my Agri brothers and sisters a very happy life:)
I am Suryavanshi Kshatriya and indenting to marry a Mangela Koli. Want to know all the customs of samaj and trying to be completely one of you. Please help me with some tips.
hello.. im a culinary arts student from mumbai...im interested in ur amazing koli and agri food culture(a big fish fan tooo)....pls pls can somebody help me with this....
Came across this page while searching 'Koli' on google. I am a Mangela koli and proud of it!!
ReplyDeleteNice to know that there are others who feel the same about their 'Koli' origins. Please check 'Kolis' and 'Datiware' pages on wikipedia. You may be able to add a link or expand.
Pankaj jam bara vatla vachun. Tumhi aiya comment karnare pailech hau! Yet rhya!
ReplyDeleteTranslated:
Pankaj I am really happy to read. You are the first one to comment here! Keep visiting!
hi iam suryaprakashkoli iam residing in banglore.iam kannadiga.iam working to uplift the fishermen community.www.nafindia.com one of the best website of our community. my email id suryaorama@gmail.com mobile number 09448660250 .
ReplyDeleteHi Anjali, great to see your interesting blog for our koli community.
ReplyDeleteI live in the United States and have come across a many (to my surprise) Kolis who have excelled in what they are doing. Smart, intellectual community we are! Keep up the good work and hopefully we shall have more 'Me Pun's waving in here soon :)
-Raunak Koli
Hi Raunak thanks for your comments. Would you like to write a post on this blog it would be a pleasure. You could write about your hometown or even about your current location. Do reply.
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteI am Darshana here. I stay in mumbai, and working as a software engg in TCS. Was just looking and searching for our Koli community in wikipedia and came acroos to this site . It really feels very proud and good when we know @ community.
--Darshana Patil
Darshana welcome here! Keep visiting and hope you have fun here.
ReplyDeleteCindy I was touched by your mail. Your experiences are similar to what my Dad went thru as a Koli at school and at work fortunately I was lucky and did not have to face it.
ReplyDeleteHugs to you dear.
Hello.. This is Baranidharan. Currently i work as a project manager in an Indian owned IT MNC in Chennai(MADRAS), Tamilnadu.
ReplyDeleteMy childhood experiences were similar to that of Cindy. No one at school / college wanted to continue their friendship with me after knowing that i come from a fisherman(pattinavar)community. Though no one at my home does fishing for living for nearly 3 generations. Even i have plans to start an export business sometime soon..Its not a shame to do Fishing either if i dont have money to live..
Fishing is not Begging..Stealing.. or pro*tituting.
I want to share one of my miserable experience : A so called friend turning to foe.
I met this guy at a software training center's cafeteria in Chennai during 1997, when i was a freshman after my engineering in electronics.
On our interaction we learned we are same town folks which is 300 kms from chennai and this united us as friends. Chennai was a new city for us then and this bonding happend instantly. This relation went on great till i entered a nice job.
Reason: That chap left his job and went to USA, returned from the US of America jobless after some months due to his poor skills and he approached me for his stay at my flat in Bangalore(2000) which i welcomed for few months(then i worked for HCL). He extended his stay for months without sharing room rents and taking my money too, which i fondly accepted for i was happy that im investing on a friend.
Then when i moved to Chennai(2001) on a new job with a new employer he wished to join me again as my roomie. By now he got a job and a decent paycheck to run his life. Now when i insisted him to practice self reliance and not be so dependant(parasite). He turned violent and this snaky creature, spread the news about my caste to all my friends who i introduced to him at Bangalore and Chennai. Some good hearted friends called him dog and asked me to keep him miles away.
That never was the end of story and he spread the news to other friends too at my new company company in Chennai. After that those i knew were behaving unusual at tea breaks with me.. enquiring me with ostensible empathy about my family, background, as if they all died in the recent Tsunami..hahahh..Even after repeated answers they look at me in groups from a distance as if im a onge(a tribe from andaman and nicobar with no clothes).
I repeatedly tell myself then that these other caste curs/mongrels are jealous about a fisherman competing them. We have to ask Dr. APJ Kalam ji about his childhood and personal life!
Im happy about what im and looking forward to start my own multimedia gaming company soon. Im 34 years young now and still unmarried.. waiting to find the right girl who doesnt see the world through colored glasses.
Hi All!!
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to come thru' this blog.
I m Sharad Chauhan here from Vadodara! Doing here Job as a Civil Engineer! I am intersted in searching Koli History.
Hi...,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Koli's face taunts regarding their caste and generally regarded as backward...
I was brilliant in my school and nobody dared taunt me but there was always a suspision in my mind somehow I am not treated equal because of me being 'koli', and when I went to college it was worse as people called me 'machwara' in a castiest way...
when I was leaving India for good, a custom official made a remark, " so now a koli is going to foreign land"
I am a architect by profession and considered a top asset whereever I work, am respected for my knowledge and integrity and can compete with anyone in the world without hesistancy...
Koli's are also responsible for their lot as they harbour 'inferior' complex about their race and allow other people to think for them.
It must be noted that culturally we are distinct from all the caste system...wwe must not allow us to be branded and have tremendous faith in ourselves, aas we belong to the most original inhabitants of India.
we also treat other tribes like katkari, agri, warli with contempt and generally think we are above them... this should stop too!
zen ahi thank you for your expression. Keep visiting.
ReplyDeletehey Zen ahi
ReplyDeleteI am impressed with your insightful comments. you are exactly right about how we as a community perceive ourselves and our attitude towards other castes whom we consider inferior to us. would like to keep in touch.Are you in USA by any chance?
8707352129
hey Cindy-Prarthana
ReplyDeleteMy great grandmother was from Mahim , not sure if she was from Mangel wadi though. I think she moved to Kelve Mahim after her marraige and then to Virar. My mom still has some relatives in Mahim ( ?? Mangel wadi). I also knew a Nurse when i was a resident doctor in Cooper , i think she was from mangel Wadi. Does the name Manisha Dhanu sound familiar to you??
Pankaj
vaidyapankaj@hotmail.com
Pankaj I'll connect u up with Cindy. Zen ahi has not mentioned an email id.
ReplyDeleteGood you wrote in response to him. I have not gone thru the emotions of being treated differently and sometimes am not able to identify with them so know not how to react.
Thanks for making this place what it set out to be.
Thank you Anjali. I am very excited to know that there are other Koli's like me who are proud of their culture and want to impress that feeling onto this world.
ReplyDeleteThough I personally believe that meaningful peaceful stressfree coexistance amongst humans can only be achieved by diffusion of our identities and egos I do not think that is an attainable goal. It's nothing but an idealistic philosophical but, an impractible view.
So lets try and emphasize our cultural identity , not as a defensive reaction to our negative social experiences but as a response to that 'feeling' which stirs up inside us when we come upon anything uniquely 'KOLI'.
Like Zen Ahi mentioned we are a 'distinct culture' but over the ages have almost vanished in the 'Khichdi'that is India.
Pankaj
http://www.facebook.com/people/Pankaj_Vaidya/845825607
Yes Pankaj, this blog stand for that special pride of being a Koli, to me it is about simple people who have huge hearts:)
ReplyDeleteHey Pankaj,
ReplyDeleteI live in Sydney, Australia. I have a lot of relatives in Mahim, Dharavi, Shivdi, Madh, Mandvi etc. but I am not in touch with anyone.... have not met anybody for more thsn 10 years.
My email is t_koli@hotmail.com
Keep in touch, mate
Zen Ahi good to see you here again !
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting for anyone with connection in Colaba Koliwada, Thal, Mahul, Trombay :)
hey all,
ReplyDeleteI am from Shivdi koliwada :)) after marriage migrated to: Diva Kiliwada (Airoli - Navi Mumbai.) , still tagged to root During college days I really enjoyed being koli as everybody used to finish my tiffin , actully there was always a competition for my dabaa. One of my friend was Agri and other was kokanstha brahmin . But the brahmin girl was fond of fish so the agri boy used to flick my dabba and they were fighting each other over it. And I used to get her tiffin , that time I came to know @ different veg food like Dadpe Pohe ,kadbole etc. anyways I really miss those days. Till this day my friend missed our masala which we prepare for the entire year . She visits Mumbai once in 3 years that time she reminds me to pack her share of masala which she can take to US.
Darshana that is a familiar story most Kolis would tell. Our food is yummy and gets so many salivating :);) We too share our home made Koli masala with many of our friends and in the end I don't get it often or enuf!
ReplyDeleteI love koli food specialy Pronz koliwada.I also like koli songs like paru-ga-paru
ReplyDeleteGautam
Will mail you soon Zen Ahi..
ReplyDeleteDo you have a facebook profile??
You can click on my name and it will direct you to my facebook profile.
hiiiiii,
ReplyDeletei m not a koli but i m crazy abt koli food.can plz give the recipe of home made koli masala.i stay in mumbai so if its readily available plz suggest where can i get it.plz share some more recipes. thanx
Hi came across this blog while searching for mangela samaj site and i was really very surprised to find one.
ReplyDeleteI to belong to mangela samaj and i am proud to be one. I think we should all come together to work for welfare of our community.
hello ,
ReplyDeletei am an AGRI and i am proud to be one ,i live in usa and i love our food which is just like how koli food is ,i carry 5 kg of our agri bottle masala,but i miss the bhakri .
rani thakur
Rani welcome here! Yes Agri and Koli cultures are almost identical.
ReplyDeleteI am Mukesh Paltil i am developing my website www.agrisamaj.co.in . please send me details about agri samaj on my email id : mukesh@gorai.com
ReplyDeleteHi Mukesh
ReplyDeleteI am not Agri so I don't think I am the right source for the information you are looking for.
Hi Brothers n Sisters...
ReplyDeleteI am Bharatha Pandiyan,from the FISHERMEN community of South Tamilnadu,ie)Paravar.
I am proud to be a PARAVAR (Sea Warrior)...Im so glad to meet my akins here
Hi came across this blog while searching for mangela samaj site and i was really very surprised to find one.
ReplyDeleteI to belong to mangela samaj and i am proud to be one. i am a member of koli daryacha raja community in orkut & facebook. this community member want to help our koli people they all are young and new. I think we should all come together to work for welfare of our community.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteGreat to read all the posts
actually i have been looking for some agri cuisines and hence came accross this blog...i have lived a small part of my life in Bhayander, Mumbai and had few Agri friends...Trust me guys they the most lovable and trustworthy people around...i am a muslim and was less accepted amongst densly populated Gujrati community in Bhayander...None the less it was wonderful to have Agri friends and i have lot of respect for this great culture...I live in singapore now with my husband and wish all my Agri brothers and sisters a very happy life:)
ya kohlis are damm good.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI an Amruta
I am Suryavanshi Kshatriya and indenting to marry a Mangela Koli. Want to know all the customs of samaj and trying to be completely one of you. Please help me with some tips.
hello..
ReplyDeleteim a culinary arts student from mumbai...im interested in ur amazing koli and agri food culture(a big fish fan tooo)....pls pls can somebody help me with this....
hi all,
ReplyDeleteplease join our agri-koli samaj group on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/agrikolisamaj/
Facebook : Agri-Koli Samaj
Hi i am mahesh bhande suryavanshi koli
ReplyDelete