Dharavi
July 2, 2022:
The alarm rang at 7:45 am and I got myself ready for a morning in the Dharavi Slums. Dressed in my gray Staff shirt, black pants, Elon Musk-hiker boots, and a rain jacket that I definitely didn't need, I walked 30 minutes to the Churchgate Station where I would meet my tour guide. On the way, I had a quick street food breakfast of idli and vada with sambar and a thums up, all for 85 inr (~79 INR = 1 USD). Mumbai was humid and I already regretted wearing my skin fitting pants and bringing my rain jacket.
I arrived to the Wheeler Newsstand in the Churchgate Station where I met Nilesh Vaidya, my tour guide for the day. Nilesh had a bright smile and curious, caring eyes. We made our way to the train and though nobody checked for the ticket and there was no barrier to entering the train, with just 10 inr millions of people used the Mumbai metro to transport across the city everyday. As we sat down on what I was surprised to find as quite nice public transport, Nilesh and I quickly struck up conversation. He told me about how after he got laid off for tourism in covid-19, he was able to support his family by investing in cryptocurrency. He learned the concepts of retail investing and it changed much of his mindset towards the concepts towards money and wealth. Much of Indian culture was about the word "savings", but that implied giving money to a bank which would invest the money and give you virtually nothing in return. He had learned about inflation and how he was in fact losing money. Instead, he became a supporter of the word "investing," wherein he would make his money work him. He explained to me how the Indian lending system worked -- it is not normal to go to a bank and get an EMI... instead personal loans are usually taken informally from friends & family or local businessman, all of whom would charge higher interest rates.
I also learned about his family. One of his brothers was a government worker, the other brother was a sleep doctor in the Cayman Islands, and his sister lived with her husband and started resuming her studies to become a sleep doctor after her first baby was born. His cayman islands brother covered insurance for his parents and paid for most of the rent and other expenses.
When we finally arrived to Dharavi, I found myself in front of a bustling area packed with commerce, factories, food, and lots and lots of people. We walked through alleys filled with small factories, maximized for space and and built with extremely steep stairs. Some of the alleyways were extremely thin and had only small pockets of light. Wild cats and dogs would laze around while children would be laughing and running through and adults would be working in their houses.
Some quick facts I learned:
1 million people living in a plot of land that is about half the size of Central Park
Produces ~$665M worth of GDP, with surely much more that goes unreported
I witnessed the factory industries for recycled plastic, pottery, leather, food products, soaps, and clothes.
There are many Tamil people because one of the local business leaders back a long time ago (a gangster type dude) was Tamil
Most of the workers are males who come from areas all across the country. They work for 8-9 months and spend time with family for the other 2-3 months.
The word slum means: land that is technically owned by the govt but used by squatters and other people. People who live in the slums are workers who spend long hours and create economical value. Slum is not a slur, it's more a description of land ownership status.
Many of the "factories" aren't massive warehouses... they're just a few buildings where people cram, create, eat, sleep, and shit. It's an all in one package and although from my western perspective I find it frightening, it's also beautiful to see.
While sitting in a plastic factory, Nilesh also explained to be the slum rebuilding program. It essentially works like this:
The govt gives permission to private builders to build apartment complexes on land contingent on 75% of the slum population agreeing. Most of the land is not vertically built, so even a small plot of horizontal land has high economic value. The builder has to provide housing for free and ownership to the slum land owner, but the rest they can rent out or sell... and usually at higher prices than the original land plot. Many slums have instituted these win-win programs, but with Dharavi is a slower because it is a place of economic value. For example, the pottery industry requires items to be air dried in open spaces, which vertical construction cannot afford to do properly.
Eventually, Nilesh guided me to a leather store that branded itself as Dharavi and which sold all sorts of leather goods (handbags, purses, wallets, jackets, etc) straight from production by the local slum population. It was a small family business and I got to meet the son (name was Imran Khan) of the founder, who currently run the ops.
I walked through the alleyways, ate street food, observed many different industries, saw the machines built by un-official engineers (which would craft goods out of all sorts of materials), and miserably failed at pottery with folks who made it look like chump change. Nilesh and the tour were incredible -- 80% of the tour company's profits go to their sister NGO which runs different educational and welfare initiatives with the Dharavi population. It's always wholesome to see socially impactful and sustainable business models from grassroots organizations.
I enjoyed Nilesh's company and charisma. We quickly became friends and after exchanging contacts, I requested him to tour me around a few other spots in Mumbai, to which he agreed.
Nilesh is a man of quotes and well-made phrases. He always has a story or anecdote to go with experiences and it is clear his values are wholesome and aligned.
How I would describe Mumbai, which may be more symbolic of India as a whole -- organized chaos.