East Indians get green Christmas gift this year, a community-themed project in Juhu

Culture kaleidoscope: A window to the community

The East Indian community has just got a green Christmas gift, a community-themed project is to come up in Juhu, called the Kaka Baptista Garden. Kaka Baptista was an East Indian freedom fighter and one of the founding members of the Home Rule Movement. The movement was established in 1916 with an aim of mobilising public opinion in favour of self-government from the British.

The museum in Manori

Political promises

MLA Ameet Satam from Andheri (W) said work on the Kaka Baptista East Indian Garden with some specialised community inclusions, too early to spell out now, "will be starting in mid-January 2022". He said, "All I can say is that there is an open pagoda planned, a Kaka Baptista statue will be installed as a tribute to the freedom fighter. The money for the work will be from my MLA funds." When asked if this will be brought to fruition as promises made by political leaders are often and with valid reason looked at through a sceptical lens, Satam assured the Juhu project is ready to take off in the second week of January next year. "This has been on the anvil for a while, and we will see movement now. It has been done after requests from the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP), the apex body of the East Indian community," he explained.

Some features

The community has some highlights planned and chalked out like a pergola, which will be an area "with a roof made to resemble an East Indian home, to give it a distinct look and feel," said project director Saviya Lopes. Lopes stated that they would need to walk a tightrope as there must be a balance between including East Indian features and "inclusivity, as this should be a space for all", the artist said. Lopes added that a museum area is planned, "both as a shoutout to the history and a fount of knowledge. We cannot have any permanent structure, so we are thinking about a portacabin as museum".

Legislator Ameet Satam said the money for the work will be from his MLA funds

"The garden will also include a children's play area, along with an occupation space or different zones which will depict the East Indian community subcastes like Kunbis, Bhandaris, Agris and Kolis," said project conceptualiser Gleason Barretto. "There are also other features like a replica of a ‘well' which was a speciality in an old Gaothan, an amphitheatre and a library being planned," said a community representative.

Special space

Barretto added, "These seem like ambitious plans on paper, but they do indicate that this project is going ahead, after waiting for years. This is a present for a community that once had so much land, the Kalina University, Bandra-Kurla Complex, the airport lands… we now at least will have a space of our own, a showcase for our culture. It will illustrate how the original inhabitants are now a thread in the tapestry that is Mumbai."

MGP founder-trustee Alphi D'Souza stated, "We had originally asked for a Bhavan, but we are happy with this garden space too. We will eventually shift our museum, which is currently at a venue given to us by a kind person in Manori, and bring it here." D'Souza said of the green project that should put the yahoo into Juhu for the elated East Indians, "It is truly special for all of us. It is the first time we will have a space of our own. We want to make it a happy mix of both, a window to our community and salute to current co-existence." The Juhu space earmarked is approximately 10,000 square feet, and those involved with the project are expected to do a recce of the area in a day or two after Christmas.