Huned Contractor speaks to the authors of a book that narrates stories of entrepreneurs who live and work in Mumbai’s biggest slum
The Dharavi slums in Mumbai have become anicon. They are no longer the last refuge of the immigrants and the homeless whocome here to find shelter and eke out a living. In fact, the slums, portrayedas recently as in Danny Boyle’s hit film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and featured acountless number of times in Hindi films, has actually come to take on a romanticisedform, creating admiration for the grit which the slum dwellers display andtheir ingenuity and deep-rooted desire to thrive in the big bad world ofMumbai. It therefore comes as no surprise to find writers flocking here too insearch of ‘inspiring’ stories. Among the recent such explorers are the duoRashmi Bansal and Deepak Gandhi who have put between the covers of their book‘Poor Little Rich Slum’ a touching account of what happens in those grimylanes.
Divided into four sections that containstories about people surviving or at times turning into successfulentrepreneurs, the book, according to Bansal, “is a tribute to the willingnessof those who march ahead despite all odds.” As such, there are many interestingstories here. Such as that of Jameel Shah who makes dancing shoes for Bollywoodstars. It took all of ten years, a lot of grit, hard work and determination tobecome a successful entrepreneur and now Jameel employs a team of workers tosupply dancing shoes to the many dance classes in Mumbai.
“When we started doing our research for thebook and visited Dharavi countless number of time, we were really quite takenaback to see how people can stay in the worst of surroundings and yet show aspirit that is simply amazing. As for example, a person called Srini who hasvolunteered for the ‘Teach For India’ in programme. A lot of love and patiencehas helped him ensure that his students take an interest in learning,especially English. He has developed an innovative concept of putting coins ina box when pleased with the students’ performance so that this money can beused for small treats and he gives away marbles to those who do well. Dharaviis full of such people who think out of the box and come up with innovativeapproaches and solutions,” Bansal recounts.
The idea for the book came from Bansal’sco-author Deepak Gandhi, a management consultant, speaker and teacher with anabiding interest in the social sector. “You don’t go to Dharavi now with theidea of alleviating poverty though it is a huge slum and there are problemslike availability of clean drinking water or sanitation. Dharavi is a bustlingmetropolis of its own where people work hard and make a success out of theirlives in spite of having no basic resources. It’s an example of human ingenuityand that is what we have tried to capture in this book,” Gandhi says.
