Mahul festival also known as Versova Mahul Koli Seafood Festival is held once a year during the months of October and November. It is the mother of all seafood festivals with a huge variety of seafood cooked in different styles in one place. Even you will not get so many varieties in big restaurants or hotels. If you are a seafood lover and especially mad about crabs, prawns, and Fish of different tastes, trust me Koli seafood festival is the best place for you to roam around.
Mahul Koli food
Over 100 Koli women and men participate in this event to prepare the food served. The women are decked in traditional attire and Jewelry – they do the cooking and run the show there are around 50-60 stalls each stall has a family manning it. There are over 20 varieties of fish served including Pomfret, Surmai, Basa, Mackerel, Tuna, Ghol, Shellfish, Mandeli, Rani, and Bombil as well as crustaceans like king prawns, lobsters and crabs. There’s much to choose from: bombil pakoras, grilled king crabs, fish curries, prawn biryani, and even a simple bangda (mackerel) fish fry can be delicious.
This is a 3-day festival to celebrate. Here, people of all castes and communities throng this event to have a blast- watching the Koli dancers and folk musicians performing onstage.
Mahul Koli dance
During the Koli Festival, the community celebrates their cultural heritage through music, dance, and food. The festival usually begins with a traditional Koli dance called “Ghoda Nacha” (horse dance) in which dancers dress up in vibrant traditional costumes and dance to the beat of the drums. Other traditional dances such as “Lezim” and “Koligeet” are also performed during the festival.
IMPORTANCE
The aim of this festival is to empower the fishing community across the Konkan coast and raise awareness about the issues faced by the Koli. And to inform about how this community help in safeguarding the coast.
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE of Mahul Koli
Generations of these KOLI’S have been in this fishing occupation as their profession along the coast of Maharashtra stretching from Palghar up to Terekhol, the southern tip of coastal Maharashtra with very distinctive customs, and social, religious, and cultural lifestyles.
Apart from dance and food, the Koli Festival also includes various competitions and events, such as fishing competitions, boat races, and beauty pageants. The festival is a celebration of the Koli community’s rich culture and traditions and is a way for them to showcase their way of life to the wider world.
