A real-Life Slumdog tour

MUMBAI — Initially, I was unsure if I wanted to go on a “tour of the slums” in Mumbai, thinking it would be exploitive of the residents. But our tour through Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum and home to over one million Mumbai residents, was unlike anything I expected.

My expectations were likely influenced by the Dharavi shown in all its Hollywood grit in the Oscar-nominated Slumdog Millionaire. The Danny Boyle film follows the life of Jamal Malik from his days as an orphan in the slums of Dharavi to the present day where he finds himself a single answer away from the 20-million-rupee prize on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

In the film, Dharavi is accurately shown as a congested and densely populated area, but what the movie failed to show was the amazing entrepreneurial spirit in the area, with a number of small-scale enterprises including plastic recycling outfits, cooking oil tin recycling plants, clothing assembly lines, pottery factories, and leather manufacturers.

Covering only slightly larger than a square mile, it is estimated that annual revenues of over US$665 million are generated by businesses in the area.

For a little over four hours, and a fee of 800 rupees per person (roughly equivalent to P800), we were able to drive by the red light district, stop by Dhoby Ghat (India’s famous open air laundry area), and spend two hours walking through a number of commercial and residential areas in Dharavi.

We were broken out into small groups of five to six people so that we would attract minimal attention, and we were not allowed to take any photographs during the tour. All the photos accompanying this article are courtesy of the tour operators.

It was a fascinating experience for me, and I didn’t feel it was exploitive because for the most part the residents appeared happy to smile and wave hello at the foreigners passing through. Children were generally excited to see us, not because they had any intention to beg for alms, but because they wanted to practice their English with us. Being exposed to the living conditions of Dharavi was eye-opening, but what was truly inspiring for me was seeing their community thrive commercially in the midst of all their hardship.

The tour company that arranges these “slum tours”, Reality Tours and Travel, does not aim to make a profit and commits to reinvesting 80 percent of all fees to NGOs that directly help the Dharavi community. And in response to the question of whether slum tours are degrading, they assert that they aim to “dispel myths that Dharavi is simply a place of squalor and poverty.” They hope to expose more people to the “dignity, fortitude and enterprise of the people.”

A slum tour is not something I would recommend for everyone visiting Mumbai. But those willing to step out of their comfort zone and go on this tour may just find themselves inspired by the resilience of the people of Dharavi.

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Visit http://www.realitytoursandtravel.com/ for tours.

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