Ancient name: Velhe Padle
Anglesized : Parlem
Vile Parle Church Exterior and Inderiors
Baptismal font for many a baby, today has no place within the chruch, left out in the open to bear the elements
In the early 1500’s Ville Parle, locally went by the name of Velhe Padle, and known by the Portuguese as Parley. It was washed on its western shores by the Arabian sea with Jewe now Juhu sitting on a ridge between Parlem and the Arabian sea. The marshy bay touched the present S.V. Road, formerly Godhbunder road and at high tide lashed the shores just 200 meters from the villages of Bhandarwar, Sutarwar, Pond and Irla. Parlem then formed the western periphery of the plains of Salsette. Juhu at high tide was completely isolated by this large body of water right up to Versova in the north and Koliwadato the south. Just sixty to seventy years ago (I myself have seen this), it was dangerous to step out after nightfall as snakes and foxes came out. The foxes came to the village in search of hens and ducks, which were reared by practically household. There was no electricity, and the streets were feebly lit by kerosene lamps. Every evening the lamp lighter came to trim and light the lamps and every morning he put them off. So also every Saturday evening at around 4:30 pm the Dhe-vundee peet-tau-na-ra or news announcer came to the village and stationed himself at the village cross sounding loudly his brass thali to assemble the people, he then read out in Marathi all the important news and the new orders or Laws made by
It was
around the latter part of the 16th century that most of the villages
were converted to Christianity, those who did not convert left the village and
settled in other places of Vile Parle especially towards the north east. The people whose main occupation was agriculture
made Vile Parle famous for its vegetables and the farmers from all over north Salsette ans Bassein came here every year to procure vegetable seeds. During the British Days, Vile
Parle was known as the Vegetable Queen of the Suburbs. In 1929, the B.B. &
E.I. Railways Company started the Bazar Special train
which was run every morning from Virar to
The famous vegetables grown at Vile Parle were the Cucumber, Snake Gourd, Gousalee, White Pumpkin, Brinjals or Egg plants, Bendas or Lady fingers, Drumsticks and the special Mash Melon which is rarely see today. There were also two types of Rice grown here viz: 1) Rice Coarse (Patni) mainly used for making hand breads and 2) Rice fine (Coloum)
Parlem comprised of four ancient villages viz.: Pakady, Sutarwar, Bhandarwar and Pond. In 1560, Fr. Paulo-da-Trindade, vicar of Amboli, records that these villages as mentioned above, all comprised of the Parish of Ambivili and by 1589 there were in this parish 1637 adults and 400 children.
Villages of Vile Parle:
Pond
Pakady
Sutarwar & Bhandarwar
Courtesy: Teddie Rodrigues
POND GAUTHAN
pro. Po-und
The
The
The People of Parlem had to travel by bullock cart to the church at Amboli every Sunday and Feast days and it was a difficult journey for the old and
sick, hence through the efforts of the Vicar of Kalina Church that it was decided to build a Church at Vile Parle itself and from 1848
to 1850 the villagers were asked to provide the land for the church. The people
were most generous in bequeathing their lands to the church which extended upto the present
Persons who donated lands, in order that the St. Francis Xavier Church be built (1850)
Mr. Joseph Micheal Misquitta,
Patel of Parla
Mr. Pascal Misquitta
Francis Luis Misquitta of Worli, Dadar,
Mr. Agustine Misquitta,
Mr. Vincent Vaz and
Mrs. Roman Vaz.
Since most of the donated lands belonged to the people of Pond in 1908, Fr. Vittorino D'Souza brought the Relic of St. Francis Xavier from
By 1917, the native Christian lost their majority in the Vile Parle outnumbered by the Hindu Gujrathi and Maharashtrians who poured into the place. After the new land survey in the late 30's, six town planning schemes were laid out in Vile Parle Nos.3 & 6 on the West and Nos. 1,2,4, and 5 in the East. The clout of the Hindus was now already growing and the helpless native catholic could not stop them from acquiring their lands through legislation as the British did not help.
A 10 feet road joining Pond to Juhu with lock gates at intervals constructed in 1930's by the Airport to control the sea waters at High Tide from flooding the airport.
The father of Anthony Misquitta donated the lands for the Police station.
---: Courtesy: Mr. Teddie Rodrigues :---
News update (2010)
Pond Gauthan boasts of a renewed community in the Vile Parle Catholic Association (VPCWA). the villagers having come together to claim back the land which was meant for the Old People's home. Many a East Indian Competition was held with the aim of getting funds to start up this projects. Over the years the land had been encroached and sought to be disposed. Now the youth have strengthened the arms of the old, and with the guidiance of the stalwarts within the organisation, they aim to make the VPCWA go far beyond just the limits of the village Pond Gauthan.
BHANDARWAR & SUTARWAR
The Villages of Suterwar & Bhandarwar or Parle (West)
Going Back a hundred and fifty years when Vile Parle had its first church built in 1850, we see that, between the church and the twin villages of Suterwar & Bhandarwar lay dense tall graces of Kahir trees (Acacia Catechum) keeping the place cool and in a perpectual twilight. The twin villages lay serene overlooking the tidal marshy sea water lagoon to the west and the freshwater lake to the South towards which the villages sloped gently downwards. An atmosphere of unhurried rural peacefulness prevailed. The sound of the chisel on stone, the creak of bullock cart moving towards the vai se and the sing song of the coir rope and the tatch makers were the only sounds that disturbed the stillness in these villages of a highly industrious people, that made Vile Parle famous throughout the Konkan of those early days.
The scenic beauty changes eighty years later in the early 1930's when we find most of the Khair trees chopped down to make way for the governments town planning scheme, Now one can see from the villages the twin spiritual towers of the church of St. Francis Xavier to the north , the railway lines to the east, the land fills and bungalows coming up to the west and the north west and to the south, the scene remains the same till 1950's when lake filled up.
The name Suterwar is seems
was originally Sumbterwar in the vernacular Marathi which is the local language meaning the abode of rope and tatch makers and there are also pather
vats or stone artisans that made the place famous. The industry produced the
large grinding stones called Danthnis ment
to separate the rice from its husk, the Garatts for makimg rice flower or bhirad (fine broken rice for preparing porridge a staple breakfast diet of the
farmers, the stone Ukhals to pound the spices or polish the rice etc. They also made beautifully designed
corbels for supporting wooden pillars of the house and for the support of the
cross beams as also artfully decorated door stoppers and rectangular or round
shape basins for co-bees for feeding
slop to pigs. One may still see these creations in the different villages all
over
These
products in the stone were sold all over
The village of Bhandarwar were mostly engaged in the pursuit of agriculture and were also timber and firewood merchants and bullock cart transport. It was these people who carted the Kurla black stone for the new church and the fourteen stations of the cross from the Cathechal of Our Lady of Expectation Cathedral at Bhuleshwar in 1941. The main Altar in the present church made form imported Italian marble was donated by Mr. Sebastian Misquitta of St. Braz Road and the present beautifully sculptured Altar Table depecting the last supper was donated by the Mendonca Family.
The twin
villages have three main access roads. The
---: Courtesy: Mr. Teddie Rodrigues :---
PAKADY
One of the oldest settlements in
Vile Parle originating prior to 1257 AD when a part of the people who came
along with their Chieftan Bhim Raja and occupied the Western periphery of the plains of Salsette.
With the large Padhmale Fresh Water lake the east of the village where today stands the
The Pakhadi Village Settlement is on High Ground. If one walks
from the Railway level crossing on the east towards the south on the Old Mahar-o-da Road now called the Vir Makarand Ghanekar Marg, one can easily observe the drop in the land which is
about sixteen feet at the subway which was originally a Railway culvert from where water drained into the sea during monsoons, all this
area East and West of the subway was a inlet and creek. The Pakhadi
Villages has three main streets viz: the
The Village had a Death Benefit Fund and has a hundred and twenty six year old Railway travelers Association which is still functioning. This Association presented the Church with 24 long pews shich are either side of the main aisle of the nave. They also presented complete set of new Vestements and Altar Clothes for all the Altars when its celebrated its Centenary. The Death Benefit Fund presented the Church a teak wood Altar Table, designed like a chalice, when the Latin Rights were changed over. The Village presented the Statue of St. Xavier which graces the main Altar.
They have also given the Church five Priests viz: The Late Fr. Cabral, The Late Fathe Joeseph Misquitta, Father Vincent Gonsalves. Father Jarvis D'Souza and Father Anthony Fernandes.
The Large Land Holders lost practically all with the rapid development of the City. What mostly contributed to this result was the Civilization from without abnormally grafted upon the country especially facilities of Communication. As the Railways led to Centralization in towns, the development of Manufacturing Units, Credit and its accompaniment of speculation, all to the detriment and destruction of Agriculture. The Railways instead of promoting agriculture were competing with it and promoted the development of Manufacture and Credit Finance
Today the younger generation has forgotten agriculture and independence. They are soley dependant on working for others and seem to be satisfied with it. They should instead take to education and Commerce in a big way to regain all that is lost.
---: Courtesy: Mr. Teddie Rodrigues :---