Eating Against the Tide: Stories, Recipes, and Research from Mumbai’s Coastline
A six-month-long storytelling and public engagement project that spotlights Mumbai’s Kolis and their evolving relationship with the sea.
An impact campaign inspired by the film Against the Tide, the Mumbai Koli Project aims to spotlight the city’s original fisherfolk, the Koli community, and their evolving relationship with the sea, while encouraging Mumbaikars to make more sustainable, seasonal, and inclusive seafood choices.
The Koli community—or indigenous fisherfolk—is at the frontline of the food systems in Mumbai. The original inhabitants of this coastline, they face numerous challenges posed by rapid urbanisation and the ongoing climate crisis, often resulting in not only their displacement, but also a loss of livelihood and heritage. Despite these pressures, the Kolis have managed to stay afloat.
The documentary film Against the Tide (2023), directed by Sarvnik Kaur, is an attempt to bring some of these issues to light, through documenting the lives of two fishermen and friends, Rakesh and Ganesh.
Both Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the community’s rich, longstanding knowledge system—a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has retained his faith in traditional fishing methods, while Ganesh has moved away from them, embracing technology. Against the Tide is a tale of deep friendship and rising resentment between the two men, as close as brothers, against the backdrop of a seascape that is turning hostile due to rapidly changing climatic patterns.
Led in close collaboration with the film’s impact team and community leaders like Ganesh Nakhawa, the Mumbai Koli Project doesn’t just amplify a film—it carries its story forward. The campaign reflects the joys and turmoil of fishing and food, and the community’s affinity for music and dance, while highlighting traditional as well as modern practices of fishing in the shallow and deep seas.
Through storytelling, public engagement, and community-informed action, the Mumbai Koli Project aims to bridge the growing distance between those who eat seafood, and the communities that harvest the sea for a living.
Additionally, it attempts to encourage urban consumers to engage more deeply with the idea of what it means to eat locally and in accordance with the season.
“Even today, over 70% of the world’s population is nourished by small- and medium-scale farmers and fishers, yet industrial systems continue to deplete natural resources and displace those who harvest sustainably. Against the Tide was made in deep collaboration with Ganesh, Rakesh, their families, and the Koli community in Bombay—whose quiet heroism in the face of climate catastrophe deserves urgent attention.
To me, success is when Against the Tide becomes more than a film—used as a tool to support coastal rights, provoke public discourse, and challenge policy built on extraction.
The film has often been described as ‘life itself’—and I take that to mean it holds space for contradiction, fatigue, forgiveness, and love. To me, success is when Against the Tide becomes more than a film—used as a tool to support coastal rights, provoke public discourse, and challenge policy built on extraction. I want the film to reach classrooms, courts, ministries, and waterfront communities. I want it to be screened by the sea, for those most impacted, and be used in coalition with those resisting ecological injustice.
This is my ode to the Kolis of Bombay—and to the radical act of living with grace amid climate collapse.”
– Sarvnik Kaur, Director, Against the Tide
Outcomes
- Increase awareness about the film Against The Tide and of Mumbai’s Koli community.
- Highlight the interconnected issues of fishing, climate change, and livelihoods.
- Shift consumption patterns of urban dwellers, nudging them towards more seasonal and sustainable seafood choices.
- Engage the next generation of chefs, researchers, and urban consumers to think deeply about food systems.
- Build a city-wide conversation on where our seafood comes from and who sustains it, by changing perceptions around local markets and fishing communities.
- Create an inclusive, participatory platform where chefs, artists, researchers, and residents can contribute meaningfully.
If this project helps even a few people meet their local fisher, experiment with lesser-known local varieties of seafood, or show up for a Koli-centred event, not just out of curiosity, but with respect and intention, I’d see that as a positive outcome.
“Success, for me, would mean that more people in Mumbai begin to recognise the Koli community not as a fading legacy, but as an essential part of the city’s living, breathing food culture. If this project helps even a few people meet their local fisher, experiment with lesser-known local varieties of seafood, or show up for a Koli-centred event, not just out of curiosity, but with respect and intention, I’d see that as a positive outcome.
It’s about moving from passive awareness to active solidarity, and building relationships that last beyond the campaign.”
—ChefTZac, Founder, The Locavore
Eating Against the Tide: A new book from The Locavore that explores Mumbai’s relationship with the sea through the lives, knowledge, and food traditions of its Koli fishing communities
Building on the questions raised in the documentary film Against the Tide (2023) directed by Sarvnik Kaur, this book carries the film’s concerns into the everyday reality of the city: What does it mean to live with the ocean today? Who harvests our seafood? And what knowledge, resilience, and uncertainty lie behind the fish we eat? This is an invitation to Mumbaikars to eat seasonally, sustainably, and locally, and to recognise the human stories behind the catch.
Stories
Nine editorial features and photo essays spotlighting individual Koli community members and the pressures facing their livelihoods. While we did not shy away from the real pressures facing the Koli community, we were equally intentional about bringing in joy, pride, and celebration of Koli food, craft, and resilience.
Ganesh Nakhawa on Why He Won’t Be the Last Fisherman of Mumbai
Fisherman-activist Ganesh Nakhawa talks to us about navigating tradition and technology, the shrinking coastlines of Mumbai, and what keeps him tied to the sea as a Koli fisherman.
An Essential Reading Guide to Mumbai’s Changing Seascape
Mukta Patil, Projects Editor at The Locavore, curates a list of essential readings on sustainable fishing and the Koli community.
“You should’ve come when we get bombil. It is beautiful, every surface of Mandav is covered with it”
—Leela Solanki, who dries fish at Versova village, Mumbai
“Now there’s not even a drop in the cold rooms; it’s all dry”
—Sagar Hamav, worker at the Versova Ice Factory, Mumbai
“They’ve started dumping cement there. It results in smaller, less meaty oysters that take longer to form”
—Ratna and Alka, Koli fisherwomen, Mumbai
For Rakesh Koli, Time Moves Differently Out at Sea
In this photo feature, Sharvin Jangle and Sarthak Chand accompany fisherman Rakesh Koli as he walks them through his daily rhythms, shares sea stories and childhood memories, and speaks of what it means to work with the tide.
ChefTZac’s Guide to Buying Seafood
How to choose good fish anywhere in India For anyone who cooks seafood, whether once a week or once a month, learning how to buy the right fish is the
Kalpana Padmakar’s aspirations are clear: a bigger hotel serving her fish-based delicacies—“someday”
—Kalpana Padmakar, who runs Koli Katta, a small kitchen serving Koli-style fish, rice, and chapatis.
What Mumbai’s Liminal Coastal Spaces Stand to Lose
Through a series of photographs taken over the last seven years, Gautam Doshi illustrates the many relationships Mumbaikars share with the sea—of grieving, playing, working, loving.
Recipes
Twenty recipes spotlighting lesser-known seafood varieties from across India’s coasts, offering delicious ways to cook with species beyond the usual favourites while supporting more diverse and seasonal seafood choices.
Mandeli Masala
This light Mandeli curry is cooked with fresh hirwa watan and traditional Koli masala.
Mud Crab / Kekda Masala
This Koli-style mud crab curry is rooted in Bhavesh’s childhood trips to Thane Creek with his grandfather.
Koli Masala
Bhavesh Koli shares his family’s recipe for Koli masala—a spice blend made using four kinds of chilli.
Engagements
In order to cater to wide audiences, we deliberately designed a spread of event formats, ranging from heritage walks through Koliwadas (traditional Koli fishing settlements within Mumbai), pub quizzes, screenings, and panel discussions, culminating in Where the City Meets the Sea, an exhibition which brought together photographs, stories, recipes, and fragments of lived experience gathered throughout the project.
Screenings
‘Against the Tide’ Screening and Conversation at MuSo, Mumbai
An evening of cinema and conversation with the makers of ‘Against the Tide’ (2023)— held as part of The Locavore’s Mumbai Koli Project— explored the shifting tides of Mumbai’s Koli community and their changing relationship with the sea.
Other screenings we organised include:
- IHM (Institute of Hotel Management), Aurangabad: with 78 hospitality students on 4 October 2025.
- St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai: with students of public policy on 17 November 2025
- Nayanta University, Pune: with 25 students of political science and sustainability on 12 December 2025
- Azim Premji University, Bengaluru with 22 students of research methodology on 17 February 2026
- IIHS (Indian Institute for Human Settlements), Bengaluru for a general audience on 20 February 2026
- Screening organised at Mindscape, Navi Mumbai on 18 January 2026 for 155 attendees with a post-screening discussion at the festival.
Walks
Sassoon Dock Walk, Mumbai
Facilitated by Aditya from No Footprints, Mumbai, the walk explored the many facets of Sassoon Dock, a central node of the city’s fishing economy.
Worli Koliwada Walk, Mumbai
Facilitated by No Footprints, the walk was a comprehensive exploration of the many facets of Mumbai’s Worli Koliwada.
Worli Koliwada Walk, Mumbai
Facilitated by Khakhi Tours, this slow, story-rich walk through Worli Koliwada traces Mumbai’s original fishing village where faith, livelihoods, and everyday life continue to unfold at the edge of the sea.
Versova Koliwada Walk, Mumbai
Facilitated by Go Hallu Hallu co-founder Aslam Saiyad, and led by Koli community leader Rajhans Tapke, this guided walk explored the many facets of Versova Koliwada.
More Engagements
Mumbai Koli Project Exhibition: Where the City Meets the Sea
Photographs, stories, recipes, and fragments of lived experience gathered through the Mumbai Koli Project were brought to life through an exhibition held in Mumbai.
Rethinking Seafood Consumption
A session focused on the urban consumer’s plate, examining how our seafood choices shape marine biodiversity, local livelihoods, and culinary diversity.
Hook, Line, and Thinker: A Quiz Night with ChefTZac
A pub quiz brought Mumbai’s coastal stories, indigenous Koli knowledge, and the documentary ‘Against the Tide’ into one lively night with ChefTZac.
The Mumbai Koli Project is the official impact campaign of the Against the Tide documentary, led by The Locavore in close collaboration with Sarvnik Kaur, Ganesh Nakhawa, and Sonia Parekh. It is supported by the Doc Society’s Climate Story Fund which enables independent media storytelling and impact strategies from around the world.
