TFA Gallery Cycle 2
Project inquired about the slow loss of Koli dialect. It maps comparative anecdotes of fading Koli dialect from Chendani Koliwada and Vitawa Koliwada. Chendani village has lost its native language decade back and the native language of Vitawa village is on a verge of extinction.
It starts with an engagement with villagers to write words and meanings later culminated into a socially engaged dictionary which will be displayed in the Pop-up Museum.
Koli Words has its own rhythm, sounds that trigger our desire to move and dance. We are inviting three Koli folk song Bards Ramesh Nakhwa from Chendani, Damodar Koli from Vitawa and Pundalik Mhatre of Ulwe, who have written few of their poems.
These three poets are last generation folk bards who know the dialect of their own village appropriately, the interesting part about Vitawa and Chendani village is that they face each other and in between lies the Thane creek (Ulhas River creek). Fishing in Chendani village and Vitawa Village is slowly vanishing because of increasing water pollution due to industrialisation and urbanisation.
Ramesh Nakhwa and Damodar Koli are folk Bards well known Koli Shahirs of Mumbai their songs are about festive occasions, ocean and fishing culture, and Pundlik Mhatre’s poetry is rebellious and feature current issue of the ongoing displacement of Ulwe village, as the Navi Mumbai Airport is encroaching into his village and part of the sea.
Display of the socially engaged word bank at Chendani Bunder (port).
Display of the socially engaged word bank at Vitawa Bunder (port).
Workshop & competition collecting words from Culinary Arts.
Workshop of Aquaponics with Local children.
Artisnal/ Traditional fishing nets shared by locals.
Film screenings at Vitawa Bunder.
