Thoughts of Mumbai

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Tuesday, 25 November 2008: Slumming it, Bombay Style

For our last day in India we decided it would be appropriate, since 55% of Mumbai residents live in slums, to go on a tour of the Dharavi Slum (www.realitytoursandtravel.com). We met our guide, Girish, at the Churchgate train station and rode a cramped passenger train to Dharavi, central Mumbai.

A "slum" is defined in India as any residence built on government land; you could build a mansion on government land and they would classify it as a slum. There are many slums in Mumbai, and Dharavi occupies 432 acres (1.75 square km) and is home to between one and two million people (nobody knows exactly). The slum has residential neighborhoods and industrial areas, all connected by tiny pathways and alleys. They have 24 hour electricity and water for 3 hours a day.

Walking through the industrial areas, we saw people making pottery, clothing, leather, and soap. We went into a machine shop where they made large grinders for breaking down plastics. Next door, the machines are used for recycling: plastics are broken down, washed, sorted by color and quality and then sent off to make other products. We also went into a shop that collected large cooking oil tins (with beautiful labels), the tins were washed and repaired and sent back out to be used again. Everywhere we looked, people were busy working.

In the residential areas, 48% of families (between 2 and 8 people) live in dwellings 110 sq ft (10 square meters) or less, 43% live in 110-220 sq ft, and only 9% live in homes more than 220 sq ft. Rent for the smaller homes is between 500 and 1,000 rupees ($10 to $20) a month. On average, women earn 80 to 90 rupees (less than $2) a day, men earn 100 to 150 rupees ($2 to $3) a day, depending on the type of work.

We also visited a school as it was letting out and the children were running to meet their mothers. The children were flying kites and playing cricket in the streets. The "playground" of the school is a garbage dump, but still, the children were smiling and shook our hands.

We expected the slum tour to be very depressing, but it was actually very encouraging to see how productive and amazingly resourceful the people can be, even, or especially, when they have very little. Nothing goes to waste, everything is used or recycled or repurposed. It was impressive.

After the slum tour, we went to have dinner at Cafe Leopold's, a major ex-pat hangout, and one of the main scenes in the book I'm (Erin) reading, Shantaram. It was a perfect last day in India, insightful and interesting. We headed to the airport (for an 11pm flight to Bangkok) feeling a little sad to leave India.

Wednesday, 26 November 2008, 5:30 AM:

On arrival in Bangkok, the captain informed us that our plane would be landing at the domestic airport, instead of the international one, due to riots that had closed the international airport. He asked for our patience. We sat in the plane on the runway for over 5 hours, a little longer than the flight itself, before they let us off to be processed in make-shift immigration counters at the domestic airport. Both airports in Bangkok have since been closed, the Thai government has declared a state of emergency, and we overhear stranded tourists talking about how they can't get home.

Thursday, 27 November 2008, Thanksgiving Day, 11 AM:

Walking down a little street off Khao San Road, the main tourist center of Bangkok, we pass an open-air cafe, when something on the TV catches our eye. We immediately recognize the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, up in flames. The news reports that multiple sites in Mumbai have been taken hostage, and over 100 people have been killed. Just 24 hours after we had eaten there, Cafe Leopold's was attacked. Mumbai is a large city, but unlike Bangkok, it is not very cosmopolitan. There are only a few foreigner hangouts. Most of these were attacked, and we had been to almost all of them. Leopold's, the Taj where we had dinner twice, and Victoria Terminus (also called CST) which we took trains from. We are shocked and sad to learn of this horrible news, and it reminds us how much we have to give thanks for. We are thankful for the opportunity to take this trip and see the world. We are thankful that we are safe and healthy. We are thankful for our concerned family and friends back home.

Our hearts go out to all those who were affected by these tragic events and to the many kind and lovely people we met in Mumbai and the rest of India.

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