nightlifemumbai

It's always eye opening to walk through Dharavi. Today I was with Kathy and Clive, they have been to India 5 times already, but to Dharavi for the first time. It struck me how many times she said "This is not what I thought it would be." There are so many misconceptions and cinema-driven myths that sometimes I feel everyone who visits India should do one of these walks. A couple of pics from today's walk below:  Funky hairstyles at barbershop  Kathy tries a Royal Enfield.  Clive shows Torab his modified vehicles  Plastics for recycling

- By Deepa Krishnan These days I am enjoying my forays into academic research.  Economic Times The first research project  I did was on the impact of demonetization on families living in slums. It got significant coverage in the Economic Times, trending as Top News on their website. It was also in the Top 10 daily list among the articles on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN). For a rookie researcher, this is very encouraging! The second research project (group photo below) is about the economic rationale for giving legal title to slum families. In this photo, you can see our field researchers are being trained in how to collect data. They are college students, who live in low-income/slum neighbourhoods; so they have access to the types of families we want to interviw. Students who live in different wards of Mumbai These research projects are part of my  "Earn while you Learn" scheme for students. Data collection doesn't interfere with college lectures, and is the ...

- by Deepa Krishnan I went to Bandra yesterday to see an exhibition of photographs clicked by children in Dharavi. I confess I did not expect much. But I was blown away by what I saw. The first thing I realised is that this is a very different sort of story-telling: it is an inside and intensely personal viewpoint, rather than an outsider's temporary peek into Dharavi (which is what you usually see in the press).  The second thing I realised is that the photos themselves set a high aesthetic standard. Meaning, it is not a bleeding heart exhibit where you put up with poor output simply because of the background of the artists. They don't have the slickness of professional photographers, yes, but they are very good. Third, I couldn't help responding to the sheer emotion in the photos. They go straight to the heart of the subject. Perhaps this kind of directness can only come from children. There is innocence, grace, beauty and the sheer magic of childhood shining through th...

- by Deepa Krishnan With Diwali around the corner, the kilns at Kumbharwada are going non-stop. If you go now, you will see women and men working round the clock, selling the diyas and decorative pots that have been made specially for the festive season.  I went on Saturday. Here is what I found: With every available open space taken up, these diyas were being dried on top of a taxi Large quantities of standard type diyas were being filled into gunny bags and loaded into trucks for sending to other parts of the city        They were being given a last wash in geru (red colour) and dried before packing. Decorative diyas had been made using fancy moulds. Some of them were ceramic as well. I found a girl deftly painting designs with acrylic paint. She was super-quick and efficient. Her mother sat nearby doing the base colours. They made a pretty picture, lined up in a row Women managing the shop. Behind the shop is the home and the kitchen. And behind that is the w...

- By Deepa Krishnan There's a little pink house in Dharavi, where dreams are made. When you look at it, it doesn't seem very different from many others in the area. What sets it apart is kids like this one below, who come here with stars in their eyes. This little kid is Gulam Mustafa Khan. He is 11 years old, and he wants to be a movie star. Every Sunday, his mother brings him to this little pink house, to learn acting and dancing.  Sitting next to Gulam and his mother is Ikram. He is Gulam's "mamu" - his mother's brother. Irfan wants to become a dancer. And here is the man who they hope will make these dreams come true: Baburao Lad. Producter, actor, teacher, dancer, painter, photographer - Baburao is a multi-talented guy who polishes and converts Dharavi's many hopefuls into star material. Baburao has even published a book: it's called Acting Master, and it has all the do's and don'ts for success in Bollywood.  The loft of the pink house is ...