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Welcome to Dharavi
The residents of Asia's largest slum compare well to Londoners
1 / The Urban Maze
Slumdogs, or Middle Class in Mumbai
There might be a million people living here, a marvel of architecture and infrastructure. Prince Charles has strong words of praise for it, although he would not be impressed with either the plumbing, or the plans held for the area by the politicians. There have been many rumours of replacing swathes of Dharavi with properly-built apartments and housing, indeed there are already some of these buildings here, but unappealing, uninhabited and vandalized.
Suggestions that only the surface area of housing will be replaced, like for like, is not going down well, since it means only those families who live on the ground floor will be offered housing. In a place where ingenious stacked housing is the norm, where does that leave most of the population?
< 0.01% of DharaviCorrugated roofs allow future storeys.
Suresh the ShopkeeperSuresh sells snacks, vegetables, groceries and other "essentials."
Light IndustryA typical Indian sign, found deep in the camp, clues to hidden but comprehensive economic activities...
LaneScarcely wide enough to ride a bicycle down, yet lanes of this size are the routes in and out of the camp to the main roads.
Clean waterThe area is too built-up to allow retro-fitting of utilities. Pipes are simply laid along the paths.
KitchenBasic but perfectly functional.
EnthusiasmHappy, groomed, tidy, perfectly turned-out, unlike the kids often encountered in London.
Watching the planesGroups of men in the Muslim, airport-side of Dharavi watch the planes come and go.
Airport sideChildren scavenge on one side, while a Jet Airlines flight taxis for take-off on the other side. Yes, it is very loud here.
Airport sideA reverse angle to the previous picture, looking back at the same spot from the tarmac at Mumbai airport.
