The Draft Colaba

By A Draft Colaba Correspondent

At a time when the fear of contracting COVID-19 overcomes all logic, and the second wave sent migrant workers scurrying back to their villages in anticipation of a complete lockdown like the last time around, Colaba's 'jamadars' stayed put like frontline warriors themselves...and remained unsung.

Sweeper Budhmasi Valmiki who works at Sukh Niwas Cooperative Housing Society in Third Pasta Lane, now for over six years, as a jamadar to pick up residents' daily garbage and clean the building was entrusted with the task of sanitising the entire building and the four floors of each of the two blocks during the first wave of COVID-19 last year. And, even as most of Mumbai's watchmen, private security guards and liftmen left for their villages, Budhmasi stayed put and with a smile. He sanitised his workplace religiously when few would dare to venture out. Why, as the days passed and residents began to contract COVID-19 themselves, he would bravely sanitise the insides of their homes even as the victims' neighbours stayed indoors with their doors shut for good for fear of contracting the virus.

FEARLESS: Sukh Niwas jamadar Budhmasi Valmiki even sanitised homes of the infected

Budhmasi's bravery at a time when little was known of the virus spread and fears ran high, was commendable. Now, in the second wave, he continues to work without hint of fear. The father of four is a firm believer of God, of Christ he says who is great! Endorsing his faith in the Almighty is the fact that he got his daughter married at the onset of the second wave and that too in Delhi without a hitch. Maintaining the distancing, mandatory numbers, the rules laid down by the government, Budhmasi realised his dream too. And till he makes his ceremonial visit to the nearby Bombay Baptist Church again when times get better, he continues slogging away doing God's Work.

In Dubash Lane, popularly known as 'Sade Teen' locally as it lies between Third Pasta Lane and Fourth Pasta Lane, sits 'Dada' as known by the Lane's children. The octogenarian Shivcharan Valmiki aka Dada has been a permanent fixture at the entrance of Franconia building for now nearly six decades since he arrived from his village in Uttar Pradesh. Shivcharan stays in a modest 'room' in Franconia with his son Vinesh, three granddaughters and a grandson.

DADA: Octogenarian Shivcharan Valmiki is a permanent sight at Franconia building

"Agar hoga toh hoga," quips a fit-as-a-fiddle Shivcharan. "Isse kitna darneka," he says and walks the talk as he stayed put at the site in Dubash Lane for all of 2020 while nearby buildings started registering cases of COVID-19 and the rest of migrant workers left for their homes in Uttar Pradesh. "Ab yahi toh ghar hai hamara," says Shivcharan when asked about why he didn't move. And Dada stayed back with his family - three generations in all.

This, despite a next-door building's watchman's family having suffered two back-to-back deaths to COVID-19. Till date, Dada's face doesn't reveal a glimmer of fear. Shivcharan's journey speaks volumes of the grit of a man who braved all to serve people at a time when few would.

Son Vinesh Valmiki continues to work at Munshi Chambers in Third Pasta Lane and demonstrates the grit of his father as his original work as a sweeper and a pump operator has extended to guarding the building too, in the absence of the regular watchman who recently left for his village.

LIKE FAMILY: Munshi Chambers' jamadar Vinesh Valmiki

Vinesh has been working as a jamadar at Munshi Chambers for the last 22 years and considers it his home. "Ab yahan ke sabhi log mujhe apna ghar ka sadasya hi samajhte hai," says Vinesh, popular with the residents of Munshi Chambers.

It's this feeling of social responsibility and familial bonding which places jamadars of Colaba apart from the rest of their sort, read Watchmen and Security Guards, at housing societies across the rest of the city.

Sixty-year-old Henry Lewis, a local fisherman and a ground floor room resident of Sukh Niwas B Block, has volunteered to perform the role of a 'watchman' for his building after the regular watchman left for his village. Third-generation resident Henry is known to everyone in the society and feels strongly for the safety of everyone.

SELFLESS: Henry Lewis, a resident himself, volunteered to guard when others left for their villages

"We were struggling to find a decent watchman, one who would be loyal to the building and stay put, particularly during this crisis period," says a building resident. "When Henry volunteered to work as a watchman during the day, we were so relieved. He, besides being trustworthy, feels strongly for the welfare of the building and the area," he says.

Colaba's jamadars, residents of the buildings themselves for years on end, are a socially driven lot. They not just have a personal connect with residents but also share a bond with the zone. It's the COVID-19 lockdown last year followed by the swift exodus of migrant workers from the city that brought the work and contributions of the jamadars to the fore. Their work is no less important than frontline workers. As the resident sums it up, "About time we thank them for their selfless contributions from the bottom of our hearts."

(Note: Some subjects may have removed their masks only to be identified in photographs to be used with this news report. COVID-19 appropriate behaviour has been maintained at all times)

Click the image below to view the print version of the news report.