At the hostel I met Suus, a nice Dutch woman. She has traveled a lot and lived in different places around the world. No-nonsense, curious, and a few more years around the sun than me. She’s from Heerenveen, for those who don’t know. A farmers place up North in the Netherlands. You can’t get much more Dutch than that. And yes, I’m also one of those stereo-typical Dutch guy. Our energy matches well, and we have easygoing conversations. She just finished a 10-day Vipassana meditation and is here in Mumbai to visit some friends. Suus has seen a lot of the world, so she’s someone I can also learn from.
I notice that in the past I would have been much less likely to build a friendly and relaxed bond with a woman. I was always in “hunting mode,” and now I’m better at dividing my energy. A breakthrough? Maybe. As long as you dare to be open and vulnerable, your feelings will guide you as to why you meet someone. This way, I keep enriching my people humbleness skills towards humanity and everyone has their own unique story.
I tell Suus that the next day I’m going to the Dharavi Slum—the largest slum in Asia. I had booked a guid through Kumar (from the first day). Suus also got this as a tip, but she already had plans with someone who works there to join him for 1 day on his work. The next morning, her friend cancels due to a meeting running late, so we end up going together.
Of course, there’s always negotiations over prices here—it’s a daily thing. The “walk-away” strategy works here too, and since Suus joined last minute, I had a good negotiation position. Still some use from my sales job, the one I quit… A rare thing for Suus: the taxi actually arrives on time, which she hasn’t experienced yet here. Being Dutch, we’re on time too. A little van takes these 2 tall Dutchies to Dharavi. We meet our guide (sorry mate, I forgot your name). Soon he tells us this slum is known for its businesses. Officially, there’s about 1 billion DOLLAR in turnover. But since India is also known for corruption and black money, the real number is closer to 2.5 billion. With more than a million people living in this dense area, this XXL slum is a combination of all the slums I’ve seen so far.
The guide shares details you wouldn’t normally find out. The average salary is about €5–10 a day, with 12–16 hour shifts. No vacation days, no company outings, no fancy dinners. A painful contrast to my full wallet… Walking through, it seems like pure chaos, but nothing could be further from the truth. It’s highly structured and really just one big business. Plastic is sorted by the kilo, cardboard is recycled, sewing workers, suitcase and bag making, pottery and leather goods—these are just the specialties we get to see. The tip of the iceberg? Maybe. I like to stay critical.
Stan wouldn’t be Stan if he didn’t notice details others might miss. I spot numbers and dates on the walls of the houses. Sharp, says the guide—that’s the electricity bill. No complicated contracts with fixed/variable rates or call centers pushing you to switch for four decimals of savings and a free vacuum cleaner. Just simple record-keeping on the wall of your house. And those messy cables running over and around everything? They work. Keep it simple.
At one point, we arrive at leather processing. I’ve seen it before, but this time I notice something new: a grid that is used to stamp those “crocodile or snakeskin” patterns. A funny moment, because now I’ll always look at those bags differently, knowing how the pattern is made. Photos attached, of course. It’s nice having four eyes—each of us notices different things.
Children are playing outside in small fields. There’s childcare and schooling so parents can work. Around 480 people share a single toilet house. Hard to imagine, but it works for them because they don’t know any different. Another painful contrast to my full wallet.
So what’s the biggest business in the slum? Also here, Real estate. A handful of rich landlords collect around €400,000 a month in rent, because they inherited land and built it up to four stories high. Lots of property here also means lots of kids, to divide it among. From what we see, it doesn’t give off an extremely poor vibe. Of course, no slum owner would ever pass Dutch workplace safety laws. The guide tells his story well, and after 2.5 hours we’ve seen plenty. Still, critical Stan hears in his story a strong emphasis on recycling—as if it’s the calling card for Western tourists: “Look how sustainable this is.” Sure, that sticks with Westerners, while they in the slum keep working undisturbed, I think. My feeling is: there’s extremely hard work here, and also lots, lots of money being made.
Suus was also wide-eyed, and so these two Dutchies had a great afternoon. The next day I have a travel day planned to a nature reserve—another hostel tip. Just 2 hours from Mumbai.
Which I could really use after a week in such a city. I’ll be forever grateful to Mumbai, and so I say a proper:
MUMBYEEEE !!!
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