Photo Feature

The Real Dharavi

It has been calledAsia’s largest slum.Yes, space is at apremium and peopleare cooped up insmall houses andfactories. ButDharavi is really theentrepreneurshipcapital of Mumbai.Ryan Rodriguesreports

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THE ROAD TO DHARAVI: these are no narrow lanes

FOR 30 YEARS Jockin Arputham, aTamilian from Bangalore, has been attend-ing to the concerns of families in Dharavi,the centre of Mumbai, that has some-times been called Asia's largest slum. Thepresident of the Slum DevelopersAssociation, who is a Ramon Magsaysayaward winner, tells us the Dharavi story.

"This place has had much better days.The land belonged to prosperous kolis,fisherfolk who lived along the Mahimcreek; but as the city grew, the creekdried up," he says. The fishermen losttheir livelihood, and the dry land madespace for immigrants looking to settle.They came from all places: Tamil Nadu,the interiors of Maharashtra, Gujarat andUttar Pradesh. Today the number of fam-ilies who live under the corrugated tinsheds of Dharavi has crossed 100,000.That makes more than 600,000 people.

Dr Chandra Sekhar, joint metropolitandirector at MMRDA (Mumbai MetropolitanRegion Development Authority) says histask is to rehabilitate 51,680 familieswithin seven years. "We will spend near-ly $1.5 billion on this," he says. He hasdivided Dharavi into 10 sectors, and hastaken up the first for redevelopment.There are 300 buildings today built overthe last few years, either occupied by res-idents, or in stages of development.

Has it helped? Take just Amjad Ali,and his family of five. After a building wasbuilt over the plot they lived in, he got anew home for free. “With money I wouldhave otherwise spent on buying a newhouse, I have refurbished my home,” hesays. The sum: a princely $10,000. Ali

has a first floor balcony from where youcan look down into the drawing room.Switch the lights off and fluorescent starsshine from the ceiling in dark. Ali says hemakes his money from a bakery andchocolate making business, but he has athriving leather business too.

Dharavi, in fact, is a lot more than thepeople who live in it. And these peoplewhose businesses have survived againstall odds, make it the entrepreneurshipcapital of the state. The cumulative sizeof these businesses is more than $750million, says Sanjay Ubale, secretary (spe-cial projects), Government ofMaharashtra. "The place is teeming withit," he adds.

If you start from the fringes along six-foot road (that’s what it is called), fromwhere Dharavi abuts the western railwaytracks, you'll find several shops that makeup India's largest plastic and tin wasterecycling industry. But then go furtherthrough alleys, and then through lanes -some so narrow you barely fit in.

The people who migrated from thestate of Tamil Nadu buy jewellery forevery festival. First came the jewelleryshops. Then the customers. Festivaldemand has inspired supply. Even thoughthese shops are run by businessmen fromthe state of Gujarat, they carry signs inTamil. Then go deeper until you reachnine-foot road, and you'll findKumbharwada, where women - descen-dants of Gujarati families, who came herea century ago - make clay pots. The busi-ness is not just growing, it thrives.

"Demand from the city has fuelled

much of this business," says Sheela Patel,director at the non-governmental organi-sation, Sparc. Leather shops flourish, andso do the workshops. The business ofsweets and bakeries is flourishing too.One of Mumbai's biggest sweet shops,Ghasitaram's, has a large facility here.

But the biggest business today is thethe garment industry. At Suraj Bhai'sfacility, for instance, you'll find 50 peopleworking three shifts, on eight comput-erised embroidery machines. To see thesemachines yourself you have to climb twofloors up, and then go four floors down,right into a basement. Each floor is notmore than five feet in height. In Dharavi,every shop has its own "setting".

"There are at least 20 workshops inDharavi like my own," says Suraj. Themoney isn't made on single customers,but in bulk orders, where the product isoffered at half the price. "People buy bythe hundreds," he says. Then meetMushtaq who runs a small leather shop,and says Dharavi has 120 shops like his."These are just the front stores. Behindthese shops are 1,100 workshops," headds. Agrees Patel of Sparc: "At least 40per cent of the people who live in Dharaviare employed in Dharavi."

There are many who share Patel'sviews. In the heart of Dharavi, in fact, hid-den from the common eye, are largerfacilities. Some cater to domesticdemand, others manufacture for export.With a rapidly growing economy there isdemand emerging from all quarters. Don'tcry for Dharavi. In bustling Mumbai city,even Dharavi means business.

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PHOTO FEATURE

BIRD’S EYE VIEW: There are large workshops like these all acrossDharavi. Some employ 100 people and more

BAGGED AND BOOKED: Tariq Azmi travels a long distance to Dharavi to sell bags. His best sales are when the customer buys in bulk. And inDharavi, he says he finds many

THROUGH THICK AND THIN: Mushtaq (centre) has one of 120shops that sell leather goods in Dharavi. He says there are 1,100 workshops behind them

AT ITS HEART: Well known companies have a presence here

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PHOTO FEATURE

UP ONE FLOOR: Bhavar Singh has a shop under this workshop.Six people do artisitc zari work on sarees. Singh’s workshop is onlyone of hundreds

GOLD THAT GLITTERS: Many shops are run by Gujarati businessmen. But the signs are sometimes in the Tamil language. Because the biggest buyers are from Tamil Nadu

ALL DRESSED UP: Suraj Bhai has about 50 people working oneight computerised embroidery machines. And there are at least 20more workshops like this one

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UP TWO FLOORS: The family of Amjad Ali. Thishouse came free when a building replaced hisshanty. Ali has spent $10,000 in re-doing his flat

BUSINESS BLOOMS:Dharavi has the biggest recycling industry in India. Butyou’ll find several other smallworkshops for welding andfabrication

DHARAVI’S CHILDREN ATKUMBHARWADA:Future potters?

A POT OF FORTUNE: Gujarati potters came here a century ago. Today the business is not just growing, it thrives

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