http://www.airoots.org/2009/02/of-dogs-slums/ A blog by Rahul Srivastava and Matias Echanove on adventitious roots, urban forests and villages, natural cities, lost tribes, new nomads and everything in between and under... Tue, 13 Aug 2013 03:30:59 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.airoots.org/2009/02/of-dogs-slums/comment-page-1/#comment-2556 timothy nguyen Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:48:52 +0000 http://www.airoots.org/?p=606#comment-2556 While Slumdog Millionaire has provided a vast array of discussion on the internet, I am pleased to see an argument of such substance and open-mindedness. I have recently been lucky enough to travel to India, and although I was unable to visit Mumbai, I feel that cities such as Delhi and Varanasi were of significant comparison in regards to your thoughts. The cinematic collage of Mumbai, which ultimately culminates as the image of Dharavi in the film, struck an eerily familiar tone from my days in India. People who have never experienced these pocket neighborhoods would find it easy to draw negative conclusions about them; however, I agree whole-heartedly that there is a definite lesson to be learned from the “sheer resourcefulness of its inhabitants” and the organic nature of these areas. What I enjoyed most about my visits, also shared by that “certain brand of photo-reporters and slum tourists,” is the urban palimpsest quality that has been laid over time. The locals drying clothes and selling food amongst the grazing cows all superimposed on centuries of architecture that has been broken, patched, rewired and adapted over time. This serendipitous charm and the sensory overload that you receive with every turn is what makes India worth seeing. But perhaps this is the attitude of the fortunate visitor and not the viewpoint of the end-user of these areas. I cannot help but wonder whether these people are truly benefitting from the landfills that they inhabit. Albeit, they provide a level of economic value in the way that they recycle, but there must certainly be a better, cleaner, more sustainable method to the madness that occurs in Dharavi. I believe the people here make do with what they are given and are incredibly resilient, which results in the photogenic nature of these regions, but is that reason enough to say that they are happy with their current situations? I also agree that spreading development of Mumbai over the area would be a negative, but do you think there could be some way the area could be developed to enhance the cleanliness, safety, and economic production of Dharavi without displacing the local residents? While Slumdog Millionaire has provided a vast array of discussion on the internet, I am pleased to see an argument of such substance and open-mindedness. I have recently been lucky enough to travel to India, and although I was unable to visit Mumbai, I feel that cities such as Delhi and Varanasi were of significant comparison in regards to your thoughts. The cinematic collage of Mumbai, which ultimately culminates as the image of Dharavi in the film, struck an eerily familiar tone from my days in India. People who have never experienced these pocket neighborhoods would find it easy to draw negative conclusions about them; however, I agree whole-heartedly that there is a definite lesson to be learned from the “sheer resourcefulness of its inhabitants” and the organic nature of these areas. What I enjoyed most about my visits, also shared by that “certain brand of photo-reporters and slum tourists,” is the urban palimpsest quality that has been laid over time. The locals drying clothes and selling food amongst the grazing cows all superimposed on centuries of architecture that has been broken, patched, rewired and adapted over time. This serendipitous charm and the sensory overload that you receive with every turn is what makes India worth seeing. But perhaps this is the attitude of the fortunate visitor and not the viewpoint of the end-user of these areas. I cannot help but wonder whether these people are truly benefitting from the landfills that they inhabit. Albeit, they provide a level of economic value in the way that they recycle, but there must certainly be a better, cleaner, more sustainable method to the madness that occurs in Dharavi. I believe the people here make do with what they are given and are incredibly resilient, which results in the photogenic nature of these regions, but is that reason enough to say that they are happy with their current situations? I also agree that spreading development of Mumbai over the area would be a negative, but do you think there could be some way the area could be developed to enhance the cleanliness, safety, and economic production of Dharavi without displacing the local residents?

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