19 Mumbai Slums - Last Day in India - Feb 24

Hemant set up a 1/2 day tour of the Mumbai Slums for Denise, Hemant and me, led by someone who lives in them. It was a powerful learning experience and photographic opportunity to capture a small sense of this community. And yet - I felt like an uncomfortable observer. All prior indications were to expect massive poverty and human struggle. There’s no question we saw a wide range of challenges, including living conditions and sanitation. At the same time, people were engaged - working, making food, shopping, running stores, in school, playing, washing, doing laundry, producing pottery, and much more. And we were informed that the Slums generate about $650 Million in revenue - mostly focused on a recycling industry. We saw evidence of this industriousness everywhere - bags of material, piles of sheet metal, miles of stripped wire, etc. - and pottery production dominated some sections of the Slums. People were working and taking care of themselves. Yet, in many ways, I felt like an uncomfortable observer - peering into the lives and struggles of others. I was much more captivated and focused on people rather than things and sights because here, it IS about the people. Such a contrast in people’s lives - and color and light in the midst of darkness.