Phiroza Tafti: Championing The Living Heritage Of Dahanu

I was born and brought up as a true Bombay girl, but grew disillusioned with the pseudo-materialistic lifestyle and felt far removed from nature. So, in 1979 I married a horticulturist and settled down in Dahanu to get closer to nature. It was the best decision of my life.

In a city, you lose touch with what is really important to the human race's survival. Living close to nature and working with the Warlis (an Adivasi community that live on both sides of the Maharashtra-Gujarat border) has taught me and continues to teach me that we are doomed unless we work with nature and not against it.

I joined hands with Nergis Irani and became an environmental activist protesting against the Dahanu Thermal Power Plant. It was an interesting experience but also frustrating at times. When Nergis Irani offered me her post of Convenor of INTACH Dahanu Chapter, I took it up as an opportunity to do something proactive and positive for Dahanu. This was around 2003-2004.

The Dahanu Notification of the Supreme Court has protected Dahanu's ecologically fragile status. INTACH was one of the funding agencies working to protect this status. Only 13 areas in India have protection of this kind, and it is important that Dahanu continues to be protected.

I was teaching in a local school when I realised that the local kids needed more knowledge about the cultural heritage of Dahanu. I started taking them on field trips and also became a resource person to conduct workshops to create awareness about the Warli community.

Since then, I have been conducting many programmes, especially with school children and youth groups, such as mangrove beach cleaning.

INTACH Dahanu Chapter wanted to encourage the youth to take interest in the cultural heritage of Dahanu. This led to the first "Discover Dahanu" Festival. The following World Heritage Day (2012), MTDC sponsored an event, "The Amazing Rickshaw Race." Based on this success, 2013 saw a bigger two-day event, renamed as "Chikoo Festival," in partnership with MTDC and other local groups, which 2,500 visitors attended. In 2014, this grand event was renamed "Chikoo Utsav" with the aim to boost tourism and make local entrepreneurs avail of the opportunities in the tourism sector.

We also undertook a Cultural Mapping Exercise around 2015, which the Delhi Head office appreciated. The study documented the intangible cultural heritage of the tribal Warli people to identify the nature of the linkage between the tribal culture and the environment, to map the folklores, dance forms and art of the community, and finally to assess the rapidly disappearing traditional knowledge in the community and the mode of transmission of the knowledge from one generation to the next.

The "noco" project was sponsored partly by INTACH and partly by a Japanese NGO. We decided to document a traditional Warli hut and build a model hut using the techniques of the Warli tribe to create a sustainable design for future generations to refer to when they decide to revert to the good old eco-friendly houses.

Chikoo grown in the Dahanu-Gholvad region has earned the GI tag. A wide variety of chikoo products are sold during the two day festival. Apart from Chikoo ice creams and kulfis, people love the dried chikoo chips and chikoo powder (which is used in milkshakes and ice creams). The interest shown by visitors has encouraged local women to start investing in small-scale industries such as drying chikoos to cater to orders year-round.

During the festival, visitors can also go on a paid conducted tour of a chikoo farm where they can watch and take part in chikoo plucking, washing, grading the fruits, etc.

To begin with, I realized that Dahanu had a lot to offer in terms of natural heritage—the beach, the flora, the Sahyadri hills, lakes and the sacred groves apart from its cultural attractions.

The surrounding countryside is a trekkers’ paradise—you can visit the Bahrot Caves, Mahalaxmi, Gambhirgadh, and Asherigadh.

There are instances of built heritage, such as the Dahanu Fort and temples.

You cannot ignore the living heritage of Dahanu. People from diverse communities live here, such as the fisherfolk of Dhakti Dahanu, the Kolis, Mitnas, Mangelas, toddy tappers, basket weavers, potters, Warli painters, and horticulturists.

Dahanu is an interesting place to start tribal tourism showcasing the eco-friendly rural life, art, culture and heritage, enabling interaction between visitors and the locals for an enriching experience.

Depending on how much time visitors have on their hands, there are plenty of options. During chikoo season, it is possible to visit a chikoo farm, albeit with prior permission, to watch how the delicate fruits are plucked from the tree using a "belni," which is a bamboo pole with a metal net—it requires a lot of skill. Attending a chikoo auction (where the fruits are bid for, graded, packed and loaded into trucks) can also be fun.

A visit to Masoli will acquaint you with the Mayavanshi community, who weave baskets and make bamboo artefacts used for commercial packing and transporting of fruits. Or you can stop by The Dahanu fort, which today houses the Tehsildar Office and the jail.

Although a flyover now connects the Dhakti Dahanu fishing village—located across the creek—to the mainland, you may still visit the creek to watch the fisher folk taking their boats out to the sea.

Or, drive through the "gam" to get the feel of what was once a sleepy town. Turn nostalgic as you glimpse the surviving old homes with their archaic architecture, the wooden pillars and "otlas" and overlooking balconies—Portuguese style.

A drive along the beach road is also very interesting. Dahanu's heritage is a living and breathing entity, encompassing its people, buildings and natural assets. However, there is a fear that the proposed port for Dahanu will devastate the livelihood of the indigenous fisher folk, and also bring about changes in the traditional and ecological aspects of Dahanu.

Everything is a must-see here. But I would suggest a visit to Prabhakar Save's amazing Eco-Agro tourism venture Tarpa. You can stay here, take a guided farm tour, and learn rural life skills such as fishing, crafts or Warli painting.

Khosbad Nursery and institutions continuing with Anutai Wagh's social reforms and educational work are also interesting places to visit. Or, visit a Warli painter's home and learn about "Lagna Chauk," or the square paintings on the walls, which used to be made as part of wedding rituals.

The number of homestays have increased over the years especially after the Chikoo Festival drew hundreds of tourists to Bordi. The Jungle Camp at Aswali run by Suryahas Chaudhary has trained local guides to accompany travellers on hikes and share their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the area. I have trained a first generation teacher at Karbatpada to hold Warli village tours.