Discovering Dharavi Walk 

It was a bright Sunday Morning in March and I was still debating with myself if I really should go for this walk for which I had committed as news about re-surgence of covid cases in Mumbai was being splashed all over and rising cases in Dharavi was also in the news. Though last year after being initially battered by Covid, Dharavi was able to manage the Covid situation very well and it was being held up as a world wide model on how to control the pandemic. So this was a worrying news but something inside me (gut feel) said Go-Ahead and since my friend had also agreed to join me, I was emboldened and felt that I should not miss this walk. I was secretly wondering how many would turn up for this walk as Dharavi is normally not on Mumbaikars "must see" list as it is Asia's largest slum and a very congested place consisting of shanties, recycling go-downs, leather curing units and heaps of stacked pots of all shapes and sizes. 

First Glimpse of a Temple
during our Dharavi walk

So we met up as a group of 7 people at the Mahim East station, which I thought, was a decent turnout and needed quorum given all the negative news doing the rounds. The leader who organized this walk had requested his household help to guide us through the walk and since he was a local, he took us through the streets like a local would, our local version of Google Maps, so to speak. So looking back I was happy I took the decision to go ahead with this walk as having some local to guide us through the walk is always a bonus. 

Newspaper vendor also selling what
looks like a South Indian Kaada

We started our walk passing through waste recyling godowns and went past a stream of stalls selling piping hot idlis tempting us along the way, the main thoroughfare being the 90 feet road. The crowd though was thankfully manageable for a Sunday Morning, not too crowded and definitely much less crowded than any of our Vegetable Sabji Mandis. We kept on walking through the narrow streets until we reached an almost hidden entrance to a well maintained garden right in the midst of the shantytown. 

Hidden Garden set
amidst the shantytown

After a small walk through the garden we walked past small roadside temples, slums and a cluster of what looked like government housing blocks. And as were walking we were greeted by a Burst of larger than life Murals taking over the concrete. And then it was like a movie, one art scene after another as we stood and admired with awe the larger than life murals on buildings, each mural an exquisite work of art, some done by International artists and others by local artists. It was a riot of colors that kept us spellbound for the next half hour or so.

Spellbound by the larger than life
mural of an Indian Woman towering over us

Profound Mural of a child rising
above the circumstances in Dharavi

Mural of a girl hanging upside down

After spending about 45 minutes admiring the murals and clicking our pics for memories we made our way to Kumbarwada with the sun now directly beaming its full energy onto our heads. Kumbarwada in Hindi means "Potters Town" and this part of Dharavi is around a century old and home to a community of Hindu Potters. Once in Kumbarwada your eyes are treated to a sea of earthenware of all shapes and sizes all stacked up in narrow shanties and lanes. You are transported to a different world altogether with clay pits, kilns, thousands of clay vessels left to dry in the sun and a host of locals (mostly from Gujarat) busy giving different shapes to the clay moulds. 

Stack of Moulded Kulhads ready for sale

As we kept walking past the maze of earthernware, it led us to an artisan's house where we saw an old wrinkled man busy at the clay wheel giving shape to pots with amazing finesse. It was amazing to watch a lifetime of experienced hands giving finishing touches to his wares. We had to make our way to his workshop by climbing almost two flights of wooden vertical stairs. He welcomed us and chatted about his childhood and how he has been involved in this family business for well over half a century. He was in an indulgent mood and seemed more busy than us for a lazy Sunday Morning taking in a line of calls from relatives and friends and at the same time welcoming us into his world, all the while not letting his eyes off the clay he was so dexterously moulding. 

It was amazing watching and interacting
with this potter having a lifetime of pottery experience

Workers busy working on the clay

Walking past a Brick Kiln spewing
smoke and fire

After spending around 15/20 minutes chatting with him, we said our goodbyes to him and his family and made our way back to the main thoroughfare and daylight again. At this point our guide bid us goodbye and returned home and we decided to venture out a little further to the Mahim Nature Park as we didn't want to miss out on this having come this far. We had been in the sun for almost 2 hours and it was getting too hot. As we reached the Mahim nature park most of the group disbanded while my friend and I decided to take a walk in the serene surroundings. Located on the Bandra-Sion Link road, a walk in this park is like a Green Heaven in the midst of the all the concrete and chaos of Mumbai city. There are various trails marked through the park and as you walk through them you can spot various brids and colorful butterflies. You can also avail of the paid services of a guide who will guide you through the flora and fauna. Since we had already spent enough time in the peak sun we just decided to take a silent walk in this hidden jungle. As you walk through the trail you can see the Mithi River flow by silently. There is also a small lake within the park which attracts species of water birds and a few reptiles too. As we kept walking through the various trails we could spot a rush of beautiful and colorful bougenvilas along the way amongst other varieties of flowers. 

We decided to call it off at this point and get back home with pleasant memories of our walk, which I was not sure if I wanted to do in the first place. Three different superlative experiences back to back and in the span of a single morning was hard to beat and it sure made my day. It taught me a lesson though to not judge a book by its cover and venture forth with an open mind. And I am sure after this enlightening walk none of us would view Dharavi with the same eyes ever again.

Small lake inside the Nature Park