Dharavi

Dharavi is Asia's largest slum. Dharavi is located in the central region of Mumbai. Dharavi is sandwiched between Mahim in the west and Sion in the west. It encompasses a huge area along the Mahim River. Most of the inhabitants are Tamil migrants who have migrated to the city in search of employment. Dharavi lacks basic infrastructure such as sanitation and health care. Most of the electricity is pilfered from the overhead high tension lines and the water from the underground city mains. Sanitation is a non-entity and the area is filthy and repulsive, mainly due to the apathy of politicians. Several redevelopment schemes mooted by the government and funded by the World Bank and by HRH The Prince of Wales's Charity Fund have seen little or no progress.

Contrary to popular belief, not all the people are poverty stricken. A flourishing leather industry exists which hand crafts leather items which are then sold to the city boutiques. The skilled workers also supply some of the established fashion labels designer apparel and accessories at throwaway prices.

A recent film on Dharavi tells an interesting story. It throws up fascinating insights into the region often dismissed by the media simply as "Asia's largest slum". It's also offering a sharp insight into how diverse people can work and stay together, with bonds of entwined common interest, rather than mistrust and hate.

'Naata' (The Bond), a lively documentary film made by a couple of Goan-Keralite origins — Anjali Monteiro and K.P. Jayasankar — tells the story of Bhau Korde and Waqar Khan, two activists and friends from diverse religious background, who have been involved in conflict resolution, working with neighbourhood peace committees in Dharavi.

Both the film-makers are with the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences' Unit for Media and Communications. Besides being screened in Mumbai, riot-striken Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Goa, and other locations in India the 45-minute film has been shown at two international festivals — Film South Asia in Kathmandu and Flexiff in Sydney.

It's a film about a film. Retired school administrator Bhau Korde and and small-time garment manufacturer Waqar Khan work on a film to take a message across — Indians of different religions and regional or ethnic backgrounds can indeed live together in troubled times, the worst of which India hopefully seems to have gone through in recent years.

But this is not just simplistic, boring, pro-secular propaganda. Leave aside the eye-catching camera-work and a script that makes you feel you're almost viewing fiction. This short documentary is also thought-provoking. It raises questions about ethnicity, how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us, the contribution of the poor and the dispossessed to the making of the real India, and what religion means to the average Indian who well understands the line between being devout and being communal. It touches on much more too.

Says Monteiro: "Naata (The Bond) focuses on initiatives for communal amity by the residents of Dharavi, and the lessons that all of us could draw from them in these difficult times. It is part of a series that we are doing on the people and city of Mumbai and is a sequel to Saacha (The Loom)."

It traces their relationship (hence the title Naata), which developed after Korde and Khan got involved in peace work in Dharavi, following the 1992–93 gruesome Mumbai riots.

It follows them through their attempts to create media messages — infact, a video of their own — and use these in local communities. Their story is juxtaposed with the filmmakers' stories, in an attempt to facilitate a reflection on issues of identity by the audience themselves.

Monteiro said: "The response so far has been gratifying; many audiences have found the communal harmony initiatives in Dharavi inspiring and a sign of hope in these increasingly polarised times."

Jayasankar and Monteiro have together produced over 30 documentaries on various themes, ranging from gender to indigenous peoples to natural resource management. "We also have a lot of space within our institution to make the kinds of films that interest us," said Monteiro.

In this one, catchy camerawork takes the viewer to a largely-unseen side of India's commercial capital, known better for its crowded suburban trains and riches mingling with grinding dirt and poverty.

Anjali Monteiro is Professor and Head, while K.P. Jayasankar is Reader (Production), Unit for Media and Communications at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.