The first real question about slum tour is that is it strange to do something like this? Visiting a slum means you are considering the place to be tourist-worthy. But is it necessary to portray the biggest slum in the entire world? It goes without saying that the slum is nothing but a symbol of extreme poverty. It is really not necessary to encourage such poverty. Apart from this point of view, this is true that humans live in curiosity. What really goes in the slum, how do the people survive? are something we want to know.
Mumbai’s Dharavi is the largest slum in the world. It has been made even more popular by the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. The place is undoubtedly a heavily populated area with 280,000 people living per square kilometer. Now, taking the Dharavi tour to see how the place has so much acclamation seems right. But we have to remember that there are so many people living with their families there. Unlike other slums, this is like visiting a different city altogether. There is always a chance of treating the people like animals in the zoo. When you plan to go for it, make sure that you don’t make those people uncomfortable. Visitors to Dharavi slum tour Mumbai India often don’t realize that they should be working on their body language when they are visiting the slum.
Dharavi has narrow alleyways which will take you to the different aspects of the slum. The tour to the slum is conducted by responsible NGOs who consider that the purpose of your visit is for educational reasons. Mystical Mumbai is one of the many tour guides that take you through Dharavi. They are highly supportive of the fact that you are not visiting Dharavi to interrupt in the lives of the slum dwellers. Though we automatically connect the word “slum” with Dharavi, it would amaze you if you visit the place. Activities of different sorts take place inside. You can come across soap factory, leather tanning, bakery, pottery making, embroidery and many other such skillful things that are hard to imagine otherwise. It wouldn’t be surprising to know that some of the industry owners inside the slum have houses in other parts of the too much expensive Mumbai. They chose to stay close to their workplace which happens to be inside the slum.
As a tourist, when you are already feeling guilty inside to visit the place, you shouldn’t even think of giving away money to the people you see there. The people over there want you to buy stuff from them. Life at Dharavi is not that bad and there is a strong sentiment related to it. It is protected by the efforts of the NGO who think that you should be very careful about what you do there as a tourist. Paying the tour 850 rupees is not a bad idea because the profit out of that money goes into the development of Dharavi community, particularly into the schools.
What makes Dharavi different from the other slums? The facilities that you would get inside the area like paid public toilets, souvenir shops and others truly make it one very special place to be. It is best to go as per the instructions of the guide because you don’t want to go wrong in such an experience. Try to mingle with the kids as you go on with the tour. That would make things comfortable. Clicking pictures is strictly prohibited until there is some special reason and permission to do so. Get in touch with Mystical Mumbai to experience this tour soon!