Air-conditioning in slums in india? Are you kidding me.
take a look here
mumbai slum' - Google Search. I don't see many air-conditioners there, these guys don't even look like to have electricity.
Son, you're showing me pictures from the '90s. Go figure.
How about I show you pictures of Shanghai slums from the '90s? Or how about I show you pictures of Shanghai slums from 2008.
And air-conditiong? You're damn right.
Mumbai's five-star slums
Wise men tell us not to judge a book by its cover. A wise Mumbaikar will tell you how not to judge a home by its façade. For, hidden behind an ordinary door or decrepit walls in the many slum pockets are homes which could give their ostentatious counterparts a run for their money, so to speak.
Cleverly utilised spaces dressed up with POP ceilings, marble floors and loaded with all modern amenities, these make for Mumbai's best kept secrets.
DHARAVI
Habib Nagar
MOHD ZUBAIR SHAIKH
The Shaikhs from Dharavi are proud owners of a ground plus-two structure in the thick of the world's most famous slum. "We have one of the best houses in our chawl," beams Mohd Zubair Shaikh. The neatly done up house with marble flooring, false ceiling with POP and furniture has been designed by Junaid, his younger brother, who is an interior designer. The Shaikhs do not have a television, "But that's by choice," points out Zubair, "All the members would simply remain glued to the TV and everything else would go for a toss. This helps the children concentrate better on their studies as well."
The 11-member Shaikh family comprises five brothers , of which three live here with their fmailies and two work abroad. "All of us chipped in to make this beautiful place" , Zubair says. He pauses to reflect on his days of struggle as a child. "We did not have any place to sleep. I used to wait desperately for the workshops to empty out so that I could sleep there. But the wait, at times, was endless," says Zubair, getting emotional . "Every day all five of us would swear that some day we will make a 'badhiya ghar' where we can stay peacefully. Now we have five rooms, small but cosy. Ab sukun se so sakte hai."
GHATKOPAR
Chirag Nagar
SHANKAR KHATRI
The single-storied Khatri house in labyrinthine Parsi Wadi near Chirag Nagar, Ghatkopar, is all about creature comforts. The house has an LCD TV, computer, tall refrigerator, split air-conditioning system and a modular kitchen. Shankar Khatri, a BEST employee, was born and brought up in this house, which not long ago was like any other slum house.
"Initially we bought a 2BHK flat in Thane. But we put it on rent when we realised no other place would make us feel as much at home as this house (Parsi Wadi)," confesses Shankar Khatri, who lives in the 300 sq foot house with his wife Annu and son Prithvi. There is a well-organised living room, bedroom and a kitchen and the floor is of fine quality marble.
Says Khatri, "All of us here make it a point to keep the neighbourhood clean. I grew up in this locality and while this may seem like a slum pocket to most people, this is heaven for me."
The Arlekars have been here for three generations. "We are not interested in re-development as the builders will offer us only 269 sq ft in the new accommodation. I have spent lakhs creating this ground plus-one structure, which gives me a space of almost 650 sq ft. This house is no less than a plush flat," Arlekar adds. The house is loaded with all the luxury must-haves including air-conditioner , LCD TV, and basic home appliances like refrigerator and a washing machine. Water supply is abundant, and the rent only Rs 26 per month. And since it is a slum area, electricity charges are negligible too. But most importantly, says Arlekar, "We have been living here since ages - my parents, brothers and sister. I have created space for all of us. I have my bedroom and kitchen on the mezzanine floor and the living room is a spacious 250 sq ft. We cannot live in a cramped house anymore."
WORLI
Gopal Nagar -1
DIGAMBER ARLEKAR
Dharamnath Pant's house in the heart of Ganesh Nagar, Powai, looks rather ordinary. But once in, you realise, not only is it a sprawling property, it also has almost everything that a well-appointed apartment could boast of.
The 200-square feet living room has Austrian marble flooring and a tastefully done up false ceiling to conceal the asbestos sheet above. A reclining chair, sofa set, a huge book shelf filled with an entire collection of encyclopaedia, and an air-conditioner make the living room look elegant and grand. The house has a separate dining room and a modular kitchen. The bedroom too is air-conditioned .
"I bought this house over a decade ago and it was in shambles then. Back then I could only afford a place in ruins and in a slum pocket. Gradually I saved up money and made it what it is today," says Pant, who has no intention of ever moving out. Pant reasons he may not have an upscale address, but he sure has a conformable home. He says, "Even though I can afford to buy a flat now, I wouldn't want to move out because people here are very warm."
Mumbai's five-star slums - The Times of India
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This is Dharavi-2010:
Mumbai's fivestar slums - Bangalore Mirror,Bangalore Mirror
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Here's how much this 'slum' generates in annual revenue every year:
Bombay's billion dollar slum
Asia's Largest Slum Is An Economic Powerhouse
Posted by: Michael Dudley
Dharavi, a slum in Mumbai, India, may appear at first to be a squalid concentration of misery. It is also the prosperous home of some 5,000 single-room factories and tens of thousands of entrepreneurs.
"Dharavi...may be one of the world's bigger slums, but it is arguably its most prosperous, a thriving and productive business centre propelled by tens of thousands of micro-entrepreneurs. Estimates vary considerably, but the collective economic output of Dharavi is as impressive as it is improbable: at least $800-million a year, and perhaps well over $1-billion.
"This is the unspoken side of the Indian economy, the impoverished counterpoint to the gleaming call centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad that have transfixed Western investors and come to symbolize the country's gradual emergence as a potential global power. It is also a rebuke to the typical prejudices that dog slum-dwellers: that they somehow inhabit a world of despair, that they have no other community than that of shared poverty and frustration. These people may be lacking, but they are also industrious and enterprising -- and, for the most part, fiercely attached to the slum."
Asia's Largest Slum Is An Economic Powerhouse | Planetizen
Originally published in:
The Globe and Mail, October 3, 2004
This was as of 2004.
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Let's not even get into how little you know about the Indian economy.