Bombay is home to 21 million humans. That’s the entire population of Australia squeezed into one city. Over 60% of these people (around 13 million) live in slums.
During my stay I visited Dhavari slum, one of the most densely populated places on earth.
Dhavari is home to around 1 million people and spans approx 2 square km. To give some perspective Sydney holds 4 million people within 12,000 square km. Something to remember the next time I catch myself complaining about Sydney being too busy.
The word ‘slum’ in India literally means government owned land vs land you own. You could have a 1 billion dollar mansion but if you build it on government land you live in the slum.
My guide was Rajesh from Reality Tours NGO. Rajesh doesn’t believe in marriage, enjoys his life as a bachelor, is a practicing Hindi and is obsessed with retired Aussie cricket players and chilli papadums.
Reality Tours have been running conscious tourism programs in Dhavari slum for over 10 years. The tours are conducted with full permission and engagement from the community. No photos are allowed, privacy and respect for the local people is paramount. 80% of profits from these tours goes back to the community via their sister charity Reality Gives.
Just like any community, Dhavari is home to people with many different skills from lawyers to beauty therapists (you can get a kick ass bejeweled manicure in the slum). Community and family is so important here that the majority of higher income people stay in their family home rather than leaving the slum.
India has 2 economy’s – the ‘formal’ (government regulated and taxed) and ‘informal’ (everything else, from taxi drivers to black market traders).
The informal economy exists largely outside government oversight and, in the case of slums like Dharavi, without government help or encouragement. Dhavari has its own infrastructure, it really is a city within a city.
The main industry’s within Dhavari are plastic recycling, leather goods and clothing manufacturing. We visited the plastic recycling plant where men work from 9am – 9pm, 6 days a week in stifling heat and pollution, melting down plastic goods into pellets to be re-used. Average wage is 300 rupees (6 AUD) per day.
We navigated tiny walkways, stooping often to avoid electrical wires and stepping carefully over potholes whilst small children played in the open drains. The living conditions are hard to put into words. I kept imagining how I would react if our lives were swapped. I was there for 2 hours and even though I’m so glad I visited, I was desperate to get away from the stench and heat, straight back to my room with a fan and a cold shower all to myself. These people don’t even have access to a toilet (the women literally wait all day until it gets dark and they can go without being seen).
I don’t know why I was born in idyllic English countryside to loving parents with miles of open space to run around in and these children are born into this.
I don’t know why, with all our wealth, we are still not happy, we are still not satisfied.
As I write I know that so easily I will forget what an incredible life I have and my mind will be busy fabricating multiple ‘problems’ that make happiness seem like a far away illusion.
But that’s not good enough. I have a responsibility to humanity to not waste this chance – to do everything I can to improve the world around me.
To check out the work being done in Dhavari – check out Reality Gives. Definitely recommend supporting their tours if you visit.
