Ambu Island: A Rare Mumbai Island Where Hindu, Muslim & Christian Traditions Coexist

Ambu Island, off Madh Island in Mumbai, is a small island with a unique religious significance of having a Hindu temple, a church, and a mosque, all in one place.

Every year in September devotees to Mother Mary make the 10-day Novena to Ambu island to commemorate the birthday of Mother Mary which falls on September 8. While many would’ve visited Our Lady of Velankanni in Chennai, Mt. Mary’s Basilica in Bandra, Our Lady of Velankanni in Irla and Our Lady of Velankanni, Bhatia, near Uttan, not many are aware that the novena is also held on this island, which is around two kilometers into the sea.

Villagers in this East Indian fishing village and a few Hindu believers have been conducting the novena to Mother Mary since 1995 and this year marks 30 years since the devotion began. While access to the island is available throughout the year, during the month of September, a festive spirit prevails.

Villagers from Madh, Erangal and Aksa and elsewhere attend the services in large numbers. Residents provide a free boat service from Madh to the island and back after the mass. “After the rosary we begin the mass by hoisting the Velankanni flag,” says Moses Dhake one of the organizers, while adding that the hoisting of the flag is in keeping with the Portuguese rulers who set foot at Velankanni in then Madras, (now Chennai) centuries ago. The blue flag of Our Lady of Velankanni is hoisted every day during these nine days of the novena until the feast day.

On the island, one can feel the connection the devotees have towards mauli as they lovingly call Mother Mary. After the mass, at the veneration of the statue of Mother Mary, you can see devotees offering garlands, murmuring prayers, some with teary eyes with a wisp of praise on their lips. Fr Allwyn Misquitta, sdb, who celebrated the mass, says that the fisherfolk community has a strong connection with god who is supposed to be protector and assistant. “This concept of mauli is very spiritual in their lives.”

“On September 8, which is the feast day, we have a grand celebration, wherein a huge crowd visits the island, with people bringing in their families and spending the entire day here in a symbol of unity and peace. We provide food to all the devotees on this day. Families can pitch tents and leave whenever they want as the boat service runs throughout the day,” says Roman Koli, one of the organizers.

The island got its name when a Hindu fisherman installed a statue of Ambadevi on the island many decades ago. Years later a dead body was found afloat at Madh Island. The local authorities, not knowing what to do with it, left it to the villagers to bury it on the island. A belt around the waist identified the person as a Muslim. Thus a dargah was built on the island. In 1995, villagers from Madh Island decided to install a small statue of Our Lady of Velankanni. A devotee bought a marble statue of Mother Mary from Rajasthan and installed it on the island between the Muslim dargah and the temple. The crown on the head of Mother Mary is made of pure silver. Thus began the regular visits to the island for novena services.

“Once people knew that a statue of Mother Mary was on the island, donations poured in from all over. Slowly we built a grotto and an altar for holding mass service,” adds Dhake. “Today as you can see we have a concrete structure to hold mass services which was once again from the donations received from the villagers. The original grotto has been retained. We never sought money, in turn we asked them to pay in kind for the construction, lighting and sound system. This structure was built in 2017 with the support of Monsignor Fr Francis Correa who was then our Parish Priest at Our Lady of the Sea church. It was he who started the novenas on this island. This new church was inaugurated by Fr Correa and Bishop John Rodrigues in May 2022.”

Dhake says that while construction was on for the church, three laborers fixing the roof and plastering the walls had a fall, but miraculously all three escaped without any injury all due to the protection and blessings of Mother Mary.

Fr Sandeep Borges, Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Sea has been a spiritual supporter to the villagers and a guide in helping and advising them for the church and on creating more amenities for the growing number of people who visit the island. “Presently we do not have a washroom for our devotees and the nearby mosque has been kind enough to let us use their facility. So we are trying to construct washrooms and also build a small sacristy.” While mass service is limited to the 10 day feast, since the last year, the island has also held a mass during the season of Lent. Fr Borges is also responsible for setting up the angelus bell which rings simultaneously at his church as well on the island.

A walk round the island takes about an hour maneuvering tall grass and dangerous rocks that surround it. The ruins of an old Portuguese tower with gun slits on all sides, standing stoic right next to a small lighthouse, and a bastion with the inscription ‘Union of India Territory’, is testimony to an era gone by.“My grandfather once told me that Portuguese sailors would visit this island and helicopters would land here. The soldiers used to come for training purposes,” recalls Dhake.

While no one inhabits the island, visits to the island can be arranged by the East Indian Koli community for devotional trips at no cost, says Aby D’Mello, one of the residents who oversees the mass services on the island, while Charlie Dhake who looks after the boat trips, says that its only during monsoon that they stop the boat service. “Otherwise for the rest of the year anyone can visit.” The island which can be reached by a 10 minute boat ride is also visited by the Muslim and Hindu community for their festivals.

A visit to Ambu island will give you an opportunity to experience this almost obscure yet beautiful and peaceful little island offering you stunning views of the ocean and the shoreline of Madh. It is a wonderful feeling when you are there, to experience peace, pray in solitude, and make you feel refreshed. It is such a wonder to know that the island houses three communities on an island. It befits to be also called - Amar, Akbar, Anthony island.

Legend has it...

Legend goes that in the mid 16th century a Portuguese merchant vessel was sailing to Colombo and was caught in a violent storm. The sailors on board knew their end was near and fell on their knees and sought Mother Mary’s help under her title – Our Lady, Star of the Sea. They vowed to build a church in her honour at the place where the boat docked. Miraculously the sea became calm and the battered ship hit the shores of Velankanni on September 8. The sailors fell on their knees once again and praised God for saving their lives. In honour, an existing chapel was rebuilt and many years later around 1962, a church was built which came to be known as the Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Our Lady of Velankanni.