Over 100 homes, community centres in Worli Koliwada repaired, painted; know more

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Amid Mumbai’s hustle and bustle, many tourists find beauty in the city’s every day life, and one of the many settlements is the many Koliwadas that the city boasts of even today amid the high rises that have defined Mumbai’s skyline. 

Keen to highlight this co-existence and heritage in Mumbai, a new project has helped to repair and repaint more than 100 homes and four community centres in Worli Koliwada, one of Mumbai’s oldest fishing neighbourhoods. 

Taken up by The Heritage Project (THP), which is an initiative seeded by the RPG Foundation, and having worked closely with the locals, they have added colour to Worli Koliwada, one of Mumbai’s oldest and most culturally significant fishing settlements. Situated in a neighbourhood that houses some of the tallest residential and commercial skyscrapers, the Koliwada stands as a living testament to the city’s original communities and coastal heritage. 

It is characterised by its vibrant homes, narrow pathways, and deep-rooted traditions, and represents a unique cultural fabric that continues to thrive amidst rapid urbanisation.

With the aim to celebrate and preserve this legacy, The Heritage Project has been undertaking various initiatives under Worli Koliwada Transformation Project to revitalise the precinct and strengthen neighbourhood identity, while supporting the living culture and livelihoods of the Koli community. 

Over the last two months, the project, for which they collaborated with Birla Opus Paints, focused on revitalising the area’s streetscape through colour while preserving the distinct cultural character of the Koli community. Homes along Golfa Devi Road up to Goda Dapkal Ground, as well as Sonapur Lane, were repaired and repainted as part of the effort. 

Drawing inspiration directly from the Koli way of life, they used a vibrant palette to create mirroring the flamboyant hues of their hand-painted fishing boats, the deep blues of the Arabian Sea, the warm golds of traditional Koli jewellery, and the joyful marigolds and festive motifs found throughout the neighbourhood.

Given Mumbai’s harsh monsoons and challenging coastal conditions and with the Koliwada located along the sea on rocky terrain, the painting comes in time ahead of the rains. 

Manda, a local fisherwoman who participated in the repainting of her own home, along with 25 other women, said, “Our Koliwada looks renewed with the new paint. Now my home looks as beautiful and colourful as the homes I admired in Bandra.”

“Worli Koliwada reflects a heritage that continues to evolve with its people. Our work here is about strengthening that identity through small interventions that honour the past while supporting how the neighbourhood lives today,” said Radha Goenka, founder, The Heritage Project.

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