Our senses were overwhelmed at every level. Multiple smells filled the air – air we could almost taste. All around were noises; people shouting and noises from machinery, and animals. We were jostled along the narrow streets – no place for the agrophobic. We could feel the mud squelch under our feet. Poverty and degradation dominated. We were being shown around the largest slum in Bombay (Now known as Mumbai).
And yet we were told that people like bank managers lived here. Decent property is so expensive in Mumbai that many prefer to live here, rather than commute from distant suburbs into the city centre. First perceptions are deceiving. It is not all poverty and deprivation. The slums are vibrant places. There is a sense of community that is missing among the modern apartment blocks.
Compassion and Justice 