Fishermen celebrate Nariyal Poornima in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Aug (ANI): Members of the fishermen community known as Kolis in Maharashtra celebrated the annual festival of Nariyal Poornima, by breaking and offering coconuts to Varuna, the sea God.

The significance of Nariyal Poornima is to please the sea God, as the fishermen resume their fishing activities after a brief 'break' during the monsoon, since fishing is prohibited during the months of June and July when monsoon and rough tidal waves pose danger

Members of the Koli community, residing in Worli area of Mumbai participated in a significant Puja in the morning by breaking coconuts, while the juicy white kernel pieces of coconut were distributed as 'prasad' (divine blessing).

"Lots of boys are breaking Nariyals (coconuts) over here. Then in the evening we are having a very big feast. We will be taking coconut from the starting point of Worli Koliwada (colony of fishermen's community) to the end of Worli," said Philomena, a local resident.

"So, we will perform the Nariyal Visarjan (releasing the coconuts into the sea) in the evening and then we will celebrate it with joy and we will be having dance and lots of fun joyful moments," Philomena added.

The fishermen mark the auspicious festival by painting and decorating their boats and trawlers with colourful flags.

"We worship the sea God to avert our problems and then we toss the Nariyal (coconuts) into the sea as our offering. After that we return to our houses and have feast. We celebrate this festival every year in the same way," said Anand, a member of Koli community. (ANI)