Mumbai slums. Indian slums. India's poor do not consider themselves beggars
I admit, I tried my best to love Mumbai. I strained my will and brains to find in him something dear to my heart. But somehow it didn’t work out very well for me.
Well, one day we went for a walk around the area where we were staying - Colaba. A beggar woman comes up and asks for money for food. My companion gave 10 rupees. The beggar woman was indignant and said indignantly: “Why is it so little? - 10 rupees! Give me at least 50!” After this, a strong-willed decision was made - not to give money to the poor.
But they didn't think about stopping. One day we were in a taxi going about our business. At the next traffic light we slow down. A one-armed granny from a hundred years ago and a one-legged, eyeless grandfather, sensing the scent of a white man from afar, pull their trembling hands straight towards me - either to my neck, or to my wallet. You have no idea how scary it is?! After which another strong-willed decision was made not to open the car window, so as not to get into trouble, even though it was hot and there was no air conditioning. And this couple attacked us more than once; apparently they were “working” somewhere not far from our hotel.
Or, it happened, you walk down the street, don’t touch anyone, don’t even look at anyone, take pictures and are amazed at all sorts of oddities and beauties. Suddenly, a gang of children jumps out from around the corner. If I were the mayor of Mumbai, I would invent such a sign and hang it in tourist places - “Beware of children!” .
They run and jump after you, beg for “vandolar”, refusal doesn’t bother them, and they don’t get tired of running at all. And what do you order them to do – shoot back?
The slums (canvases) of Bombay are adjacent to skyscrapers, spreading their “octopus tentacles” throughout the city. Poor, snotty children are running around, there is complete unsanitary conditions, sewage is flowing everywhere.
Dharavi is the largest slum in central Bombay. Actually, until recently it was the largest slum in the world, then in Asia, but meticulous experts found out that now this is not the case. But that's not important. About 4 (according to other sources 6) million people live in Dharavi throughout its territory (for comparison, in my hometown - Rostov-on-Don - a little more than a million people live).
There are schools, factories, mosques, bakeries, churches, factories, and, of course, huge garbage dumps. The houses are made out of whatever they can find, covered with whatever they can find, and they also live there... just anyone.
Slums like I've never seen in my life.
Often three generations live in one house with an area of 10-11 square meters, i.e. about 8-10 people. There are schools in the slums, both private and government. In a private school, education is paid, it costs approximately 200-300 rupees per month or 4-6 dollars.
Take a closer look; in the lower right corner there is a wooden ladder leading to the second floor. And also pay attention to the satellite dishes... I can’t even imagine why they are hanging there. Maybe they're just covering holes in the wall...
Many poor people, unable to pay the relatively low rent for housing in Mumbai, live in poverty-stricken slums on the outskirts.
You can rent a room in a house like this for 3-5 dollars a month.
Why are there slums, some don’t even have such boxes! Quite often I saw rows of sleeping people on the streets, sidewalks and alleys. By the way, they look quite decent. They lay a newspaper on the asphalt, put a wallet under their head and sleep...
At night, it seems as if you are in a war zone and the entire space is strewn with people who did not manage to take cover in time. Morning comes, and all these people who did not have time to find a roof over their heads come to life.
Most of the population of Mumbai is from the "untouchable" caste. Untouchables are not included in the four varna system. They are considered capable of polluting members of higher castes, especially Brahmins. The untouchables are divided according to the traditional activities of their representatives, as well as according to the area of their residence. The most common categories of untouchables are Chamars (tanners), Dhobis (washerwomen), and Dalits. More details on Wikipedia
The slums approach the airport itself. An unfortunate couple of meters separate the runway from the fence.
This is the border between the runway and the slums. Mosque.
And this is footage from takeoff.
In short, the history of slums is this. Until the end of the 19th century, this area was a mangrove swamp where local fishermen lived. Over time, the swamp became filled with coconut leaves, rotten fish, and just plain garbage. Fishermen have lost their trade in the area. When this place finally became dry land, emigrants moved here. Potters came from Gujarat, Muslim tanners came from Tamil Nadu, textile workers from Uttar Pradesh. The very first school in Dharavi was built in 1924.
There is real horror going on inside the slums, children are running around everywhere, there are some animals and there are heaps of garbage all around. A white person going deep into this area is a very rare thing, so every adult or child considers it their duty to say hello or just follow you. Some travel agencies offer excursions to the slums.
After what you have seen, how can you not remember the famous “Everything is learned by comparison”... And be happy for yourself - how great we live!
Of the 21 million people living in Mumbai, 62% (or approximately 13 million people) live in slums in different parts of the city.
Most slum dwellers survive on $1 a day or less, spending 10 hours working hard in the hot sun, using the local river as a shower or toilet, and at the end of the day sleeping on sidewalks or under bridges.
This is what the real one looks like.
When I traveled through India and stopped in Mumbai, I spent several hours in what is considered the largest slum in Asia and one of the largest in the world. The slum is called Dharavi. You've probably heard about them - that's where the main character of the film "Slumdog Millionaire", Jamal, lived, and that's where most of the scenes of the film were filmed.
Walking through Dharavi turned out to be the most enlightening experience of my entire trip to India, and perhaps of all my travels. This place is so populated that it seems like a separate city inside Mumbai, with its narrow dirty alleys, open sewers and huge piles of garbage.
Before explaining what a person sees and feels when visiting Dharavi for the first time, I will give a few facts:
About 1 million people live on an area of 2.5 square kilometers. Dharavi is the most densely populated place on planet Earth.
- The average salary here is from $1 to $2 per day.
- Dharavi is the most productive slum in the entire world with an annual turnover of almost a billion dollars.
- In Dharavi, there is 1 toilet for about 1,450 people.
- The average life expectancy of a Dharavi resident is less than 60 years.
- The slums are divided into communities based on religion in the ratio: 60% Hindus, 33% Muslims, 6% Christians and 1% others.
- Only men are allowed to work in the workshops of Dharavi.
The biggest surprise for me was how incredibly organized life was in Dharavi. Today this area of Mumbai is a giant factory where people work - in difficult conditions - but they work. The slums produce goods that are exported throughout India and the world. You can even order the product from Dharavi online.
The slum is divided into industrial and residential parts.
In the residential part you can meet Indians from all over the country who came here from rural areas, as well as local residents from the state of Maharashtra. The residential area lacks any infrastructure: there are no roads or public toilets. This part of Mumbai was the dirtiest place I have ever seen in my life. The area is divided along religious lines: Hindus live in one part, Muslims in another, Christians in a third. In the residential part there are several temples and churches.
The houses here are small and densely packed with people. I was able to look into one of the houses and see how the locals lived: in a small room, seven people slept on the floor, next to each other, almost huddled together. None had a pillow or mattress. There was no kitchen or toilet in the house.
Life in the industrial part is chaotic, it is very hot, dirty and smells terrible. There are more than 7,000 different businesses and 15,000 one-room workshops, which are filled with thousands of people working from dawn to dusk without air conditioning. When I walked through the industrial part, I saw only men. Men were everywhere. When I asked an Indian friend (I didn’t dare walk here alone) why I see only men in the workshops, he replied that women are not allowed to work in Dharavi.
The most common goods in Dharavi are ceramics, leather, plastic and iron items. There are several smaller industries that engage in recycling. Moreover, they recycle garbage - everything that we in Russia and the West are used to throwing away. Perhaps some of your garbage that you threw away yesterday will end up here in Dharavi in a month, and it will be turned into something that they can sell.
I'm not just talking about paper, plastic, leather, aluminum or glass waste. I've seen workers ripping parts out of old VHS tapes from the 90s to make something out of them. I saw workshops dedicated to recycling bars of soap that hotel guests leave in their rooms.
After several hours of walking through the slums, I was able to look beyond stereotypes and see Dharavi as not just the “largest slum in the world”, but as a vibrant, regulated community with a strong economy. Slum dwellers are very hardworking. Despite the difficult conditions, they all call this place home.
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Author.
We are used to seeing India through fantastic Bollywood films and beautiful nature photographs, but few people remember that India is a third world country. People in Indian slums live in simply appalling conditions, but they are used to it and seem to be happy with everything, or maybe they have simply never seen a better life. We invite you to stroll through the streets of Indian slums, away from the tourist routes, and see the real, harsh other side of India.
Delhi slums:
The most popular garbage dump in Delhi is the river
For obvious reasons, the river smells very bad, even at a decent distance from it
The life of many ordinary Indians is the same as it was a hundred years ago. Cordless charcoal iron
Indian school bus
Outdoor toilet. Indians are not burdened with complexes. Many people generally go to the toilet wherever they have to, without being embarrassed by passers-by
Some men relieve themselves on their haunches, according to some custom
"Internet cafe" and computer club in Delhi
Typical slums in Delhi. India's population is 1.22 billion people. Not everyone has enough decent housing
Some drive cars dating back to British colonialism.
"Cozy" taxi stop
Street hair salon
In addition to people with disabilities, there are firecrackers like these begging on the roads. Seeing tourists, they quickly approach and start patting you on different parts of the body, probably finding out the presence of coins
They immediately began to cleanse the man who died on the street, in front of everyone. They took the money out of their pocket and took off their shoes
A stone was thrown at the photographer and he had to quickly retreat. Maybe this person didn't even die, but simply lost consciousness
Fresh chicken
Horse-drawn transport, 1 ox power
Harsh Indian childhood
You can eat tasty and inexpensive food on the street, but hygiene and sanitation are a problem
Motorcycle traffic jam in Delhi. A great opportunity to find out the latest news and get to know each other
Delhi jungle with wires hanging everywhere
Housing in the city center
As you know, the cow is a sacred animal in Hinduism. Eating beef is taboo. Cow's milk and dairy products play a key role in Hindu rituals. Cows are shown respect everywhere and are allowed to roam freely through city streets. Everywhere in India it is considered a very auspicious sign to give something to a cow to eat before breakfast. In many states in India there is a ban on killing cows; killing or injuring a cow can lead to jail time. Historically, due to the ban on eating cows, a system arose in Indian society in which only pariahs (one of the lower castes) ate the meat of slaughtered cows and used their skins in leather production
Cow slaughter is restricted in all Indian states except West Bengal and Kerala, where there are no restrictions. Cows are systematically transported to these regions for slaughter, despite the fact that transporting cows across state lines is prohibited by Indian laws. In large cities, however, many private slaughterhouses operate. As of 2004, there were approximately 3,600 legal slaughterhouses in India, while the number of illegal slaughterhouses was estimated at 30,000. All attempts to close illegal slaughterhouses have been unsuccessful.
Let's go to another Indian metropolis - Bangalore
On the Delhi-Bangalore train. Indian guides do not have a separate compartment, they sleep on the floor next to the toilet
Bangalore:
Mumbai:
Mumbai (Mumbai, until 1995 - Bombay) is the most populous city in India (15 million people). Center for the entertainment industry. Bollywood film studios are located here, as are the offices of most television and satellite networks in India.
Children's childhood in Mumbai
Washing on the river bank
Another million-plus city in northeast India is Allahabad:
For most Indian cities, slums are a mandatory attribute and look very harmonious. Mumbai is a large and successful metropolis, so the size of its slums is fully consistent with the size of the city. Many tourists have a standard misconception and believe that very immoral individuals and other destructive citizens must live in Indian slums - this is not so.
More recently, Mumbai's Dharavi slum area was considered the largest slum area in all of Southeast Asia. Indeed, the area, whose area is 217 hectares, and whose population varies from 1,000,000 to 3,000,000 people (due to constant migration, it is difficult to count everyone there), has long occupied the palm among slum agglomerations on planet Earth.
History of Mumbai's Dharavi slums
Slums in Mumbai, as throughout India, are another Western invention that has taken root well in India and taken on its own unique form. A well-known fact is that with the advent of the industrial revolution in Europe and America, masses of people began to move from villages to cities in order to gain the desired financial well-being and not die of hunger. The crowds of homeless seekers of a better life that appeared needed to be settled somewhere, but since most of them were outright proletarians, they looked for proletarian apartments for themselves, thus, slum-proletarian ghettos appeared in every big city, many of which feel great and to this day.
It was a similar story in Mumbai. Modern Mumbai is built on several islands (just like St. Petersburg), but in the 18th century many of the islands were still on their own, and there were much fewer inhabitants in Mumbai than now. Mumbai grew and demanded more cheap labor; by the 19th century, the city's population had exceeded 500,000 people, while only 50,000 people lived in London at that time.
The newly arrived peasants began to settle anywhere, and not just in the fishing village of Kolivadas on the island (on which the Dharavi slums are now located), soon the fishing village, like fishing itself, became irrelevant and in its place a slum area began to grow (still slowly) Dharavi. The then owners of India, the British, did not particularly care what was happening in the Dharavi area (this was outside the city), while the European part of Mumbai was built according to architectural plans and similarities to European cities, the slum areas of Mumbai and its environs had complete freedom of action.
By the way, the Dharavi slum area was not the only place where the Mumbai poor lived; the poor lived compactly in many areas of the city, but the time for change came, or rather, the time of the bubonic plague epidemic, which significantly reduced the number of city residents. The sanitary conditions in the places where Mumbai's cheap labor force lived compactly (and they settled everywhere) caused great concern among the British; it was urgent to localize the spontaneous settlements and somehow streamline this process. It was decided to relocate all the workers to one very remote place in the city, namely the Dharavi slum area. It was then that the Dharavi slum area came to life to the fullest and became more and more beautiful every year. This is how the Dharavi slum area appeared, which has been perfectly preserved to this day.
The city government has a great interest in a huge piece of land in the most expensive city in India, on which there are shacks and perhaps very soon all the residents of the Dharavi slums will have every chance of being thrown out onto the streets, as happened with similar slums in Delhi. Of course, the government has beautiful plans to move the poor into comfortable apartments, but this outcome makes everyone smile, including those who came up with such a plan.
Residents of Mumbai's Dharavi slum
It will be wrong to say that the Dharavi slums are a place of residence for non-humans and other obscene public; the expression “Dharavi slums is a city within a city” is better suited here. And indeed, there are also young men who have come here again from all over the vastness of India to earn money, who can rent a room measuring 10 m2 for 3 US dollars per month, while Mumbai is considered the most expensive city in India. In the Dharavi slums there are also real large Indian families who have been living in this area since the very beginning of the construction of the slums.
The slum residents of Mumbai try to live life to the fullest and in no way lag behind the residents of other Mumbai, they have their own schools (both public and private), there is even an area for carnal pleasures, where for 2 US dollars you can get to know Indian girls better , guys, there is also a choice for the most advanced - this is acquaintance with hijras (the so-called third gender, transvestites).
Economy of Mumbai's Dharavi slum
Civilized tourists are surprised when they find out how much money is circulating in the slums of Dharavi, today the trade turnover is 650 million dollars a year, and the average income of a slum resident is 500 dollars a month (here you need to understand that a person working as a servant will have a monthly income of 50 bucks , and the owner of a small waste recycling enterprise is $5,000, etc.).
In the slums they sew clothes, make ceramic lamps and pots, bake bread for city cafes, and grow all sorts of vegetables in small fields, which will also go to the tables of city residents. There is a possibility that the T-shirt you are currently wearing in front of the monitor, purchased in one of the supermarkets in your city, was produced in these slums.
The Dharavi slum area is conventionally divided into different zones, according to the place of residence of specialists of different specialties, tanners, waste sorters, traders, etc. Muslims and Hindus also have different habitats in the Dharavi slum area.
Tourists and excursion to Dharavi slums
Thanks to the famous film “Slumdog Millionaire,” which was filmed in the slums of Dharavi, tourists flocked to see everything with their own eyes, to plunge into the real Indian atmosphere, to walk along the huge pipe that residents use instead of a road, to see all these houses, etc.
Many tourists take excursions and go to the slums of Dharavi as if to a human zoo (how humane this is, let everyone decide for themselves). Having paid a decent amount, the tourist expects some kind of safari, where instead of wild animals there are people, but upon arriving in the slums of Dharavi he sees the same people in front of him. There really is unsanitary conditions, poverty, problems with drinking water and one toilet per thousand rooms - such living conditions can hardly be called pleasant, but the local residents remain human.
In our opinion (accustomed to our cozy mortgaged apartment on the second floor and standing in traffic jams at a credit Ford Focus), monstrous living conditions do not make people unhappy. Unwashed children run and have fun in grimy courtyards, women in bright saris sit on porches and discuss their domestic joys, and men drink masala tea (not vodka) and play chess.
Despite everything, the residents of the Dharavi slums do not seem angry, but on the contrary, they seem polite and open. Stop by to visit someone (they will gladly let you into the house) and see for yourself the life of the residents, as a rule, the tenants inside are very poor, very cramped, but quite clean.
Some tourists who have visited the Mumbai slums of Dharavi rethink many things, including their attitude to comfort and to each other. Indeed, in the overpopulated slums of Dharavi, local residents smile at each other when they meet, treat each other politely and carefully. Terrible living conditions fade into the background, and human relationships come first, instead of endlessly counting money. signs and other modern tinsel.
But there are also those tourists who sincerely want to burn everything with napalm in the hope of making life easier for the unfortunate Indians. Whether you need such an excursion - decide for yourself.
Using the example of the largest slum of this city, Dharavi. More than a million people live on an area of 215 hectares (according to some sources, 3 million people live here), and there are also various social institutions and industries. A blogger who recently visited Mumbai talks about how life goes in this area.
Let's start from the very bottom. The poorest residents of Bombay live in tents. Tents are built near the sea or very close to the railways, where normal houses cannot be built. This is also where they cook, where they throw away garbage and wash dishes.
The life of such tents is short-lived, they are blown away by the wind, and they burn down when residents try to keep warm on a cold night.
In some places you can find entire blocks of rags, tarpaulins, and plywood.
A courtyard in one of the blocks of such slums.
Local residents.
Despite the dirt around, the residents themselves try to take care of themselves, their clothes are clean, everyone washes regularly, the girls dress up. If you meet them in another place, you wouldn’t even think that they could live in tents in the middle of a garbage dump.
They also try to maintain cleanliness in the dwellings themselves and the passages between them.
The main type of Bombay slums are these multi-storey houses made of metal sheets and plywood. It all starts with one-story houses, and then grows upward. I've seen 10-story slums!
On the left is one of the blocks
It is impossible to understand these houses. Nobody knows where one ends and the other begins. Of course, there are no addresses here and these houses are not on any map of the world.
Such slums are terribly picturesque!
Let's go inside. Narrow passages where it is sometimes difficult for two people to pass each other. Almost no sunlight gets here. Numerous stairs that lead to the upper floors.
Entrance to one of the dwellings. The home here is actually a bedroom-living room. They eat, cook, relieve themselves on the street.
Minor needs are relieved wherever necessary
Another type of slum is along railways.
They are built in close proximity to the railway.
Indian train is coming
Slum dwellers run off the tracks. I wonder if anyone keeps statistics on how many people die here under the wheels of a train?
The rails are often used as the only road to get out of the anthill of the slums.
Children play on the rails
The outskirts of the slums and the famous big pipe
Look how cozy it is!
One of the courtyards
The White house.
Some slums are located on the banks of rivers and canals. In ordinary cities, the proximity of a river or seashore is rather a plus. In India it's the other way around. Garbage is dumped into rivers, beaches are used as large toilets, so the poorest sections of society live on the banks.
Sometimes the river is not visible because everything is littered with garbage.
Please note that garbage here is thrown directly from the back door of one of the houses. That is, people could live on the banks of the canal, but they decided to live near a stinking garbage dump.
This is also a canal completely filled with garbage. Somewhere down there there is water flowing... The garbage is decomposing and rotting, the stench is terrible.
But people like it!
Here is such a resident. The monkey turned out to be evil and almost ate me!
Let's take a look inside the home. As you can see, it is very clean there.
Living room
Some houses house tailoring or food preparation businesses. Maybe your favorite jeans are made here somewhere!
Now the slums are being actively developed. Multi-storey buildings are being built in place of dilapidated houses, and overpasses are being made instead of narrow passages. So, soon you will only be able to see the famous slums of Bombay in old photographs.
Be sure to take a walk here
You will not regret.
I won't give bad advice.
Tomorrow Bombay will be like this!