Marol Gaothan marks Agera with paddy procession

Freshly harvested paddy travelled by bullock cart through Marol Gaothan on Sunday as hundreds of residents marked Agera, the East Indian community’s harvest thanksgiving festival.

The procession began at the Villagers’ Cross, erected in 1948, and travelled to St John the Evangelist Church with a brass band. Fr Peter D’Cunha, parish priest of Amboli Church, led a service in East Indian Marathi, followed by cultural programmes.

Agera is observed on the first Sunday of October. Its name comes from *ager*, meaning paddy field, and the festival gives thanks for the harvest. Marol resident Godfrey W Pimenta said the occasion recalls a time when rice cultivation was the principal occupation in the village, before SEEPZ’s establishment in the 1970s accelerated urbanisation.

Families prepared dishes including wedding pickle, pork sorpotel and fugias. East Indian songs formed part of the programme, while an exhibition displayed agricultural tools, household equipment and vessels once used in village life. Participants also wore shirts made with lugda fabric, associated with the nine-yard sarees traditionally worn by East Indian women.

In Juhu, the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat held its first Agera programme at the newly opened East Indian Bhavan in Kaka Joseph Baptista Garden. Community representative Alphi D’Souza said Agera celebrations were held at about 100 churches across Mumbai, Thane, Vasai and Raigad, concluding on Sunday.