Walk through

I went to Dharavi hoping the people there would talk and tell me about themselves; on the contrary they appeared defensive.
At a leather factory, I spoke to a Bengali gentleman who was working there. I’ve been here for the last eight years. I am from Sealdah. I came here for obvious reasons, whoever comes to Mumbai has some problem or the other due to which he comes here, either monetary or family or such kinds. Hence, I too had similar problems and came here. And yes, after coming here most of my problems were solved. I do have lots of friends here. We work whenever we feel like, however long we want to, it is my brother’s factory. We sell our goods to shops and they sell it, we work according to the demand. We sleep here only, either upstairs or down here. Food comes from outside, dabbawaallas. Sunday is a holiday for us, we go around Mumbai, it’s a great city. I love Mumbai now. Anyway, we don’t get too much money, so with whatever little that we get, we send some home and rest use it for our luxury or savings. No point going to the video theaters and spending it, we rather go and see the city. No I am not married. Who wants to marry now, not interested in any, yes, have lots of female friends; there isn’t any dearth of women in Mumbai. During the rains we are all upstairs. All the streets get flooded and this room (the room on the ground floor) gets flooded, as you can see its level is lowed than that of the road. But we still exist. Like you, many people have come before and have asked questions. You want to know anything else then go now; we have to get back to work.
So I left from there and walked on, deep inside the labyrinth of Dharavi. Saw the various faces around, some look like ghosts working in their dark dinghy rooms as if they have been punished to such an eternal hell where even the brightest of days are like the same old torturous dark dungeons! And there are the others who have the expression of hope, such that any random passerby might help them get a lucrative job, a place to sleep in, time to talk to, women to love, dreams to dream or maybe a life to live! Then there are the young children, who run around, play with anything that is available to them, play in any corner of the slum, as if the whole place is one big amusement park. They bang into passersby, no one says a word, the boy continues playing, and the man continues walking. Some fights do erupt between the young friends, but the color around them, the light rays reaching them, the ambient noises, and the dynamic environment is enough to entertain them and keep them at peace and mirth and above the darkness around. The women, sit on the threshold of their houses, and stare at the happenings around, or talk to their neighbor barely two feet away. Some combing their daughter’s hair with a somewhat clean brush, and then there are some who look around, maybe at certain people, wondering what dark thoughts are at work in thee minds and what business those thoughts might bring.
Maybe, what I saw was completely different from what I observed, and both dissimilar to my inferences, maybe there is nothing to be inferred from here.
Walking through the narrow lanes of Dharavi is like a very erotic/ sexual experience. The narrow, slender passages, that are never straight, always curve in different directions, one never knows what could be next, yet, there are hints that entice one to enter, some light filtering through the upper levels of the houses, and when one looks up, one finds the structures nearly colliding into each other, maybe to gain access into the other, maybe to prevent one from knowing what is behind/ beyond, trying to create a completely cozy, space, safe enough to let ones inhibitions free yet the turning lanes and the drizzle of light tickle one and makes him conscious. Then as he turns more gullies appear and some disappear; new fantasies. One enters a lane hoping to experience another sensation when there appears the sudden burst of light, energy, activity, excitement, orgasm! The sudden explosion of space from the narrow gullies is one heck of an exciting/ thrilling adventure. Something to rejoice/ regret/ live, but it all depends on the liver.

It was in one of these open spaces that I met Mohammad Sahid sitting at his paan shop. He had the look of a suspicious hopeful. Mai Bihar kaa hoon. Idhar 1999 mein aayaa thaa. Merre chaachaa jheri ki factory mein kaam kartay hai. Main bhi udar hi kaam kartaa hoon. Idhar meraa ek bhai betthtaa hai, aaj who town gayaa hai, kucch khareednay. Toh mein idhar baitthaa hoon. Mere pitaaji nahi hai,meri maa gaaon mein hain, haan saal mein ek baar jaataa hoon. Kabhi who bhi aati hai. Abhi do saal se nahi gayaa hoon. Paisaa bhijwaatoo hoon par. Mahinay kaa Rs.5600 miltaa hai. Ussi se guzaaraa ho jaataa hain. Main who factory mein hi sotaa hoon, jab maa aati hai, toh room book karnaa padtaa hai, hazaar rupiah deke rent pe mahinay ke liye room lenaa padtaa hai. Khaanaa to baahar hotel pe jaakar hi khaa lete hain. Arre, factory mein kaun khaayegaa, waise bhi itnaa gandaa hotaa hai, toh hotel pe jaakar khaanaa hi acchaa hai. Arre, aap paan khaaogay? Mein aapke liyeBanarasi paan banaakay detaa hoon. Arre, kucch paisa mat denaa, hamay sharmindaa mat karnaa.Idhar bahut paani nahi bhartaa hai. Baarish mein chchappraa lambaa kardaytay hain, aur dhandhaa chaaloo rehetaa hain. Padhai toh ki hai, abhi hum Koran paddhtay hain, hamaaray school mein Koran paddaayaa aur samjhaayaa jaataa hai. Urdu mein. Nahi Hindi yaa English mein nahi paddhnaa, katthin padtaa hai. Girlfriend nahi, shaadi toh ghar waalen jisse karvaaenge ussi se. Waise to time pass ke liye toh bahut si ladkiyaan hain. Future kaa kyaa pataa, dekhenge. Haan, Mumbai toh acchaa sheher hai, badaa hai, sab dekhaa hai Mumbai. Picture toh kabhi kabhi dekhlete hain, nahi yeh faaltu theatre mein nahi hum theatre mein jaakay dekhtay hain. Hum bees saal kay hain. Aap ko All the Best. Haan, project ho jaaye toh zaraa photo ho sake to denaa. Thank you!