30 July 2023

I have lived in Mumbai all my life and passed by Dharavi an endless number of times but never have I thought before of venturing into the heart of Dharavi- the largest slum of Asia. I only got interested when my niece from the States visited India with her kids and expressed a desire to visit Dharavi. I instantly got interested as I love walking tours and the format allows for a guide who explains all the details of the place. I looked up the internet and booked us for a free walking tour. The guide Jitendra got in touch on social media to enquire if we were really interested as it was the monsoon season in India and it’s quite a messy affair with the rains. Since we were short on time, we confirmed and inspite of moving the date from an evening to the next morning we showed up all armed with raincoats and rain footwear to know about Dharavi

We began at 11:00am. He walked us through the business district first where we walked through narrow mucky lanes with water dripping on our heads through overhanging wires and leaking tarpaulin roofs. We visited a plastic recycling unit first. He explained about how in Dharavi the recycling is done more as an incentive for business rather than the western idea of conservation and sustainability. We also saw a leather manufacturing unit, soap factory, biscuit factory, bakery and many tailoring units manufacturing designer outfits to bags.

We continued through the maze all the time being reminded to stay close to the guide lest we lose our way. In the residential side of Dharavi we were amazed to see the houses stacked on top of each other with minimum support. It surprised us to find no houses with private bathrooms. They have water facility for 2 hours each day whereby they fill huge tubs and the men and boys bathe outside the house and the womenfolk use the public facilities. That’s the reason for Dharavi being called a slum inspite of the fact that every household has all the luxuries and comforts that are available in the city. There are all different communities living together in Dharavi.

It is also remarkable to note that there are no beggars to be found here. In the business side of Dharavi the labourers live in the factories and fend for themselves after 10-12 hours of work with an average of 300-500 rupees per day. And on the residential side, all are employed as blue collared jobs like postmen, delivery men, sales jobs etc.

We finished the tour exactly 2 hours since we began, so it was great time management by our tour guide Jitendra. I would say it was a lifetime experience that every Mumbaikar living in the city must do. For me and my family it was enlightening to see how differently people live and thrive to make a living. It was an eye opener to appreciate and value the comforts that we take for granted.