Thoughts on Dharavi

After spending a few nights at five-star accommodations in the heart of Mumbai -Nairman Point- our journey to India exposed our bushy-tailed and bright-eyed group to one of the biggest slums in India: Dharavi.

Our RBS group had already been exposed to poverty in India before we reached Dharavi. We had seen make-shift homes around the street corners, under bridges, on sidewalks. Poverty is every where. In both Delhi and Mumbai, our RBS group was approached by peddlers trying to make a rupee. Some of them got lucky and were handed 500 rupee notes. Others were turned away. Being Indian and having visited India a number of times before this trip, I felt comfortable with the poverty in India. It took the eyes of my classmates to show me that this was not really okay. I was not too excited to visit Dharavi. Family members in India were surprised to hear that we were going to the slums, and warned me to take care.

Located in the suburbs of Mumbai, near Sion, Bandra, Kurla, and Kalina, Dharavi is a small scale industry and unlike the beggars on the streets of Mumbai and Delhi, you can sense work-ethic. Our group arrived at the slum around 9 AM. While plenty of stores in Delhi and Mumbai would be closed at this hour, Dharavi was bustling with activity. The slum was divided up into industrial areas: plastics, metal work, leather work, pottery work, and even some popular snacks are made there.