In Iran, it was called mahalleh, which not surprisingly became mohalla in Arabic, meaning to settle or occupy. In Navsari, it was synonymous with Vad (or Vaar in Parsi dialect). Individual homes seamlessly merged into the collective identity of the moholla. Like twins conjoined at the waist, houses in a Navsari moholla, even though constructed at different points of time, mostly had a common wall with the neighboring house. Stand-alone meant you were super rich, and your house was then termed a bungalow.
The moholla ensured transparency. Privacy was an alien concept. Unless there was enmity, Goolamai walked merrily into Jaijimai’s......