Mumbai, October 6: East Indians, one of Mumbai’s indigenous communities, celebrated Agera, their annual harvest festival, on Sunday. In areas like Gorai and Manori, where the community still preserves agricultural and fishing traditions, the festival featured processions carrying a holy cross to paddy fields, where priests cut sheaves of paddy awaiting harvest. In city churches, paddy brought from the villages was used in the celebrations.
Traditional Processions and Blessings
Men and women dressed in traditional attire, accompanied by brass bands, carried bundles of paddy to church for a blessing. Families then placed paddy at their entrance or on home altars, followed by a traditional meal and thanksgiving prayer, said Gleason Barretto, founder trustee of Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, a community association reviving fading traditions.
Homemade Wine and Community Toasts
The celebration is incomplete without a toast with homemade wine or khimad, with shouts of ‘sukhala’, the East Indian equivalent of “cheers.”
Blessings for Farmers
The Archbishop of Bombay, John Rodrigues, issued a special message to the community, especially those still engaged in farming in Mumbai’s periphery. He prayed for farmers facing difficulties caused by uncertain rainfall, emphasizing the importance of preserving agricultural heritage.
