Mumbai's East Indian Community Celebrates 'Introz' Before Lent Begins

As they prepare for Lent, Mumbai's East Indian community has a last celebration before the austerity of the holy period.

The celebrations are called 'Introz' and the festival is similar to the carnivals before the Lenten period. Sometimes, the celebration is compared to the 'gatari' tradition before the Hindu holy month of Shravan.

"Introz is a community festival just before Lent and is usually celebrated a few days before Ash Wednesday. It is held on the Saturday or Sunday before Lent. There is good food and traditional sweets," said Amarylisa Gonsalves, a resident of Juhu.

The festival is organised on one of the days before Lent. The gatherings are family get-togethers or a parish event like the one in Juhu a few days ago. Residents of a locality, or pakhadi, also have their events. Sometimes, families that share a surname, or Gothra, have their gatherings.

Gleason Barretto, a resident of Kurla, attended one organised by his mother's family, the Pereiras of Juhu. One feature of the festival is the communal cooking which was traditionally done by the men. "The men would cook traditional dishes like mutton khuddi. Sometimes there is a potluck feast and everyone brings a dish that they share with others," said Barretto.