11 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Dharavi

Dharavi is one of the most well-known slums in the world. So you think you know everything about Dharavi? Did you know that the film Slumdog Millionaire, which won Oscars in 8 different categories was shot here?  Read on to know some interesting facts about this sprawling colony.

1. In the 18th century, Dharavi was an island

Fact Source

 

2. A couple of 13-14 year old Dharavi girls have created android apps

After learning how to use a computer, they learnt how to make android applications, and created the logo using MS Paint. They have an app that sends notifications to a registered user about when it is their turn to fetch water from the neighbourhood communal tap, a women’s security app with a distress call feature that lets out a scream when the screen is tapped, and a primary school lesson app in which there are three screens – one that displays the English alphabet, one that displays the Hindi one, and another that has a Math sum.

Fact Source

 

3. A lot of workshop owners use Whatsapp to conduct business

After a craftsman makes a kurta or leather purse for a client, he shoots a picture with his smart phone and sends it to the customer before the latter places a bulk order.

Fact Source

 

4. The recycling units of Dharavi generate revenue by turning around the discarded waste of not only Mumbai’s 21 million citizens, but from all around the country and abroad as well

Fact Source

 

5. They have a hip-hop crew called the SlumGods who have collaborated with international hip-hop artists

Akash Dhangar, the founder of the SlumGods, quotes the rapper KRS-One: “He said you can’t learn hip-hop. You have to become hip-hop.” Over the past five years, the crew has collaborated with renowned hip-hop artists such as Tokyo-based DJ Sarasa, AKA Silverboombox, dancer-choreographer Prosenjit Guy Kundu, and the California-based MC Mandeep Sethi.

Fact Source

 

6. They have a contemporary art festival

Dharavi has a 3-week art festival organised by the NGO Sneha, called the ‘Alley Galli Biennale’ that showcases artwork made by local residents and artists.

Fact Source

 

7. There are a few guided tours through Dharavi, showing the industrial and the residential part of Dharavi

Fact Source

 

8. But if you think that they do not contribute to the economy…Dharavi has a large number of thriving small-scale industries that produce embroidered garments, export quality leather goods, pottery and plastic

There are 20,000 mini-factories in Dharavi. Most of these products are made in tiny manufacturing units spread across the slum and are sold in domestic as well as international markets.

Fact Source

 

9. Some scenes of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire were actually shot in Dharavi

The film is based on the book “Q & A”, which is also set in Dharavi.

Fact Source

 

10. As of 2015, over 200 small and medium entrepreneurs from the bustling slum are now a part of a major e-commerce website, which is one of India’s large online retail marketplaces

The exclusive Dharavi store will sell luggage, shoes, accessories, pottery, apparel and jewellery made in the slum.

Fact Source

 

11. Leather, textiles and pottery products are among the goods made inside Dharavi by the slum residents. The total annual turnover has been estimated at over US $665 million

Fact Source

Want to know some more shocking facts? Here’s a video that will take you inside the gallis of Dharavi:

The Other Side Of Dharavi

Cover Image Source