We visited the Dharavi slum in the morning followed by a Bollywood tour and studio visit. These two institutions of Mumbai were within a few minutes, but of course light years apart.
The slum was as expected, eye opening. There is a community and a way of life here as I noted in my previous post and pushed by the guide. An exceptance of a cast system and an unusual honoring of what is, atleast that is what is reported. It does take some adjusting to the smells, filth and close quarters. And we struggled with the concept. But it is also repeated throughout India the notion of the cast system and the critical importance of good kharma for your next life. Therefore it seems petty crime is minimized. The newspaper later that same week showed a proud group of children practicing their coordinated march for the 1/26 Republic Day. These were 40 children pulled from the slum, cleaned up and trained to perform. This was an effort to engage them into a structured setting. It seems that often times the parents discourage school and encourage--infact insist--on street begging. This is the kids work. But for Republic Day they will be part of a celebration.
Some random added notes:
Some funny one liners from S who keeps us laughing, and our guide that kept the visit light:
S. ‘The Lord Crawford market in Mumbai, you know like Kim Crawford’ (this is the CC Sauv B of choice for the ladies at sunset)
Guide when asked about the construction all seemingly stopped halfway done everywhere you look: "Mumbai is upgrading....you know some projects may be stuck in litigation….lots of that happening here."
"With 22M people we need an underground rail system. We simply cant move this many people above ground anymore." (You think??!)
For architect fans, FW Stevens, a famous architect, did the main train station at the same time as doing works in Britain so lots of colonial architecture. Victoria Terminus was the original name of this main station. We also visited the famous Leopold Cafe where gun shots remain in the windows and walls in honor of lives lost in a terrorist attack.
Azofree color is used on printed fabric here which is good because we visited a production factory for Scarlett Chase and ventilation is poor. We'd love to source some amazing printed silks and/or textiles here.
Bombay has amazing night life. Women wear the colors of red, gold and yellow which permeate. They dont wear white or black. Not even for weddings. Tons of gold jewelry, and bangles. Red bangles mean recently married and not pregnant yet. We visited during wedding season and our destinations were common honeymoon spots, so we saw lots of red and gold bangles!
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