A tale of Mumbai’s earliest migrants

Retellings of this cityrsquos history often start from the Portuguese gifting the islands of Bombay to the British as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza when she wed King of England Charles II in 1661 Mumbairsquos story in fact began much before that but far too little has been documented on the cityrsquos history before the Portuguese arrived We know of Mumbairsquos indigenous inhabitantsmdashthe Koli and Agri communitiesmdashbut who were the people who migrated to and settled in Mumbai in the medieval eraItrsquos to fill in this blank between ancient and modern history that archaeologist and author Sandeep Dahisarkar has edited his latest The Historiography of the Shri Bimbakhyana The Dark Phase of Medieval History of Mumbai Itrsquos based on manuscripts of Shri Bimbakhyana a Marathi account of the political history of Mumbai as well as a record of the earliest known migration to the city in 1140 CEThe manuscripts talk about these Marathispeaking migrants who settled in the islands that would go on to become Mumbai shaping the regionrsquos history between 1138 CE to 1512 CE Thatrsquos 375 years of historyAn interest in history would have been reason enough for Dahisarkar to write the book But he also has a more personal connection to this period ldquoThere are around 66 clans who count Mumbai as their native placemdashone of them is minerdquo he says adding the these include the Pathare Kshatriya Pachkalashi community Yajurvedi Brahmins Suryavanshi Kshatriyas Pathare Prabhus and Sheshavanshi KshatriyasDahisarkar says all 66 clans had originally migrated to Mumbai and Sashti or Salsette island from Champaner Gujarat along with Prince Mahi Bimba son of Raja Pratap Bimba Research shows these clans were affiliated with Raja Bimbarsquos court They arrived in Paithan around 1138 CE before moving to MumbaiA little known fact is that modernday Mahim gets its name from Raja Bimbamdashthe island had been named MahimaBimbasthana which roughly translates to region of Bimba Dahisarkarrsquos book touches upon Mahim but focuses on the history of Sashti islandThere were three earlier versions of Shri Bimbakhyana that had been published in 1877 in 1924 and 1973 all in the Bakhar format which is part prose part poetry Dahisarkar discovered a fourth poetic version at the Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal in Pune that had been written by Lakshuman Prabhu This makes Dahisarkarrsquos book part of Akhyana literature narrative history and not a Bakhar ldquoSo far we know of only four such manuscripts R P Rane who published the first version in 1877 mentioned that he had seen such manuscripts even with East Indian families These are important because they document prePortuguese historyrdquo says Dahisarkar adding that the 66 clans that migrated from Champaner had their own manuscripts too Each of these manuscripts if uncovered and studied could shed more light on this eraOther historical researchers have in recent years also highlighted the role of Mumbais other original residents Agris saltpan workers Sonars metalmsiths Kumbhars potters Bhandaris toddy tappers Kolis fisherfolk Kunbi agrarians in shaping the cityHowever Bimbakhyana is the only available Marathi text from Maharashtra which comes from the dark phase of the invasions a period after the fall of Yadavas with less historical sources says Dahisarkar adding ldquoIt is the oldest text which highlights the concept of Maharashtra Dharma for the first timerdquoThis book is a tribute to Historian V K Rajwade who had edited and renamed the manuscript of Bimbakhyana as Mahikavatichi Bakhar in 1924 Dahisarkar has published his version of the manuscript after a gap of 100 yearsHe has been researching Bimbakhyana for 16 years Elaborating on why the medieval period of Mumbai takes longer to research he says ldquoWe find descriptions of this period only in Marathi and that too in two manuscripts We donrsquot have anything else except the recently discovered Hambirrao inscription from BARCrdquo He highlights that the BARC inscription is of importance as it provides archaeological evidence confirming Mahim as Bimbasthana offering proof that Raja Bimba was not just a mythical king Another interesting aspect of the book is the specific use of Marathi words ldquoSince this is the history of Mumbai I wanted people to use Marathi terms instead of Hindirdquo he says Dahisarkar has also added a glossary of old Marathi words with diacritical markings and meanings in English to help future study on the subjectJogeshwari CavesThe sixthcentury caves are not as wellmaintained as hoped but as one of the earliest Hindu cave temples this shrine to Shiva is worth a visit Head to Gupha Tekdi Jogeshwari West to see this historical landmarkBrahma KundA few steps away from Mukteshwar Temple in the Madh Island you can see the remains of the Brahma Kund where sacred bath rituals were performedMukteshwar templeA key medievalera Shiva temple in Mumbairsquos history Mukteshwar temple is located at Madh Island The locals call it Killeshwar Mandir owing to the Madh Fort behind itHaraba Devi templeSitting on a hill on Madh Island the Harbha Devi temple stands out with its vibrant yellows and reds Inside there are idols of Harada Devi Sitla Devi and Haraba DeviRemnants of the medieval eraSandeep Dahisarkarrsquos book offers a glimpse of the revenue and taxes of that period with original Marathi names of villages that were once part of the Malad and Marol administrative subdivisions Some places mentioned in the manuscript exist to this dayThe book has been published by Aprant Publications Pune094036 05783