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“I am no better than you and you’re no better than me. We are equal entities, just living with different identities.” Erin Chatters

Well, well, well, look who came to India to travel with me!

The traveling duo is officially back together again. For the newbies of the group, this is Ingeborg from Norway. We met a little over a month ago in Sri Lanka and had a blast traveling the entire country together. We split up for a bit, she headed to the Maldives while I was in the Ashram. She definitely made a better choice than I did. Just look at this whale shark she swam with! I can honestly admit, I’m jealous. 🩵

We will be traveling the next three weeks together around India. When Ingeborg arrived at the hostel we stayed at in Mumbai, it was like we hadn’t missed a beat. I love this little human ray of sunshine!

We only had one full day scheduled for Mumbai, so we took an eight hour tour around city and crammed in as much as we could. It was amazing and exhausting. Mumbai is the fifth largest city in the world with an official count of 24-25 million people but including the folks not accounted for, the city is believed to have about 30-32 million people at any given time. Our tour guide told us it is the ninth most expensive city to live in in the world. Housing costs in the city are literally through the roof.

The city was originally named Bombay but changed to Mumbai (1995) in honor of the (mother) goddess Mumbadevi who protects the fisherman. Here is a mural of her. Beautiful.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about the first stop on our tour when we started. Our driver picked us up at 8:20 am to take us to meet our tour guide for the Dharavi slum.

The Dharavi slum is the third largest slum in the world behind Africa and Pakistan and it is nothing like you would picture in your mind.

I was concerned about this visit because I didn’t know what to expect or how the tour would be handled. I definitely didn’t want to be like a spectator at a circus. I’m roaming the earth to learn and get a better understanding about the way other people live, not gawk at them. That is not my agenda. These are my fellow human beings and I want to respect their way of life. The tour couldn’t have been farther from this concern. It was dignified and respectful.

Rightfully so, out of respect for the residents, photos inside the slum are not allowed. So I can’t show you in pictures what I saw but I will describe it to you best I can.

We met our guide, Dawood, at 9 am for the two hour tour. Dawood was a very bright young man who was clearly well educated, and spoke perfect English. He was cute, kind, funny and had a great sense of style. Dawood grew up and currently lives in Dharavi.

All the tours through the slum are lead by a resident. It provides a job but more importantly, they get to share their story and the story of the community. I was blown away by what I learned.

We had to cross over a railway station to enter the slum. This is where Dawood gave an overall explanation about the slum and told us the basic etiquette we needed to follow.

According to Dawood, Dharavi is approximately 2.25 square kilometers in size with between 1-2 million people living there. The official count online is roughly one million but he said it’s actually closer to two million.

It is a high functioning and orderly society with most people choosing to live there. Not everyone is “poor.” It has a very strong community base mixed with many people who practice different religions from Hindu to Christianity to Muslim all living harmoniously as one. Also, the crime rate is almost nonexistent. They do have a police presence but mostly it’s neighbors watching out for other neighbors. I personally felt very safe while walking through the area. People were very kind and friendly to us.

90% of the residents (aside from the elderly and children) are employed and other than free schooling for the kids, the government does not provide assistance to the residents. These people are not necessarily poor within the area, they can anfford to live their lives without assistance…again because almost everyone is employed. Dawood said they even have a few millionaires living in the slum. They made their money outside of the slum but choose to keep a house there because it is their home and community.

The majority of the people working in Dharavi are men. The women typically work outside the slum. Dharavi has four main industries that provide the jobs for both skilled and unskilled laborers. Textile, leather, pottery, and recycling. The monthly salary for an unskilled worker is approximately 12,500 Rupee ($150 USD) and a skilled worker makes around 30,000 Rupee per month ($360 USD).

First, we saw a couple of guys sorting plastics to grind up for recycling. They do all the separating and grinding in the slum. Because of the harsh chemicals required to melt down the plastic for reuse, the particles are sent out to a factory and then sold to a larger company who reshapes the material into new items. We saw everything from old electric typewriter covers to tiny bottle caps.

We met people sewing clothing for name brands I’ve seen in the States. These guys were so fast and precise on the sewing machine. It was incredible! They are paid by the piece so if they make a mistake, they don’t get paid until it is done right.

We watched a man making soap that is sold to large companies like Unilever. We saw guys making raincoats and luggage. We watched a few people working with animal skins for the leather products. And finally, we watched a couple of people making clay pots and saw the huge kilns.

These people work hard every damn day. They don’t want pity, they want respect. They are proud of their work and where they live. It was pretty incredible to witness.

I bought a couple of small items that I hoped would fit in my bag. The leather was beautiful and they even have their own brand stamped on some of the leather - I loved this. I bought two little credit card holders made of Buffalo skin and a tiny clay pot to burn incense.

The housing inside the slum is interesting. Some people live inside what would look like a shack to most outsiders with tarps and sheetmetal for walls and the ceiling, and other people live in high rise apartments. It just depends on your family income and what has been passed down through the generations. Not every home has a toilet or running water so the government did invest in public toilets for the residents. But every home has an address and yes, Amazon even delivers in the slum. Also, we discussed how this place would create the ultimate game of hide and seek for the kids. It would be so much fun!

Is Dharavi clean? The people, yes! They are very hygienic. The neighborhoods, not so much - in my opinion. There is a lot (and I mean a lot) of garbage on the ground and the streets and alleyways are made of both pavement and dirt but the residents don’t seem to mind. Different strokes for different folks as they say.

The schools looked like really nice facilities from the outside. They have both public (100% free for any child living in the slum including supplies) and private schooling up to 12th grade. University is attended outside the slum. They want everyone to have the opportunity to get an education.

Also, the largest government hospital is in Dharavi. I know right, how do they fit all these people and buildings into 2.25 square kilometers? It’s absolutely bonkers but it’s all there and they somehow make it work. Although it’s very different, the concept of the neighborhoods within the area reminded me of NYC. When I lived in Brooklyn, I had everything I needed within a few blocks of my home. I had the bank, laundromat, hairdresser, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Dharavi has all of those same shops as you wind through the complex. Each little area had a barber shop (I noticed several of these), snack shops and we would see guys getting their morning coffee from a vendor before going to work (most jobs starts at 10 am). It was just another day to them but an eye opening experience for me.

In the end, I’m very glad we went on the tour and had this experience. It gave me a new perspective and understanding of what it’s like for people living in Dharavi.

I only saw one guy who appeared to be having a bad day so I asked Dawood if most people who live in Dharavi are happy. He enthusiastically replied, “Oh yes, we are happy! We have each other. We are a community.” I loved his answer. It’s a great reminder that it’s not what you have in your life but who you have in your life.

I’m glad I have all of you. ❤️

Goodnight and much love & gratitude from India! 🇮🇳

To see more photos and videos from my adventures, follow me on social media. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

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