GENRE: Voices

Lallubhai Compound in Mumbai's Mankhurd is one of those areas where nobody wants to live unless they are compelled by their circumstances. All the residents here were rehabilitated about two decades ago by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in buildings built with the sole purpose of providing a roof, everything else was left up to the people. Up until 2009, the area lacked access to clean drinking water, there were no schools and no street lights; late evenings were a big no for women. While some sent their children to schools at Sion Trombay Road, which is about 4 km…

When Bano Abdul Sattar (28) was a young girl living in Bandra east chawls, she could only do jobs that her family deemed appropriate for a woman. She picked up multiple jobs in her early teens; she helped her family run a roadside anda bhurji stall at night, worked as a tailor, and even as a mehendi artist. But this was far from what fascinated her. What captured her imagination when she was young were cars and the thought of driving one someday. And so, at the age of 16, she did just that. "Main na, chupke uncle log ko paise deti thi.…

For a majority of the population, moving homes is typically a voluntary decision made with great deliberation, taking into account the impact on education, employment and health. However, for the millions of slum residents in Mumbai, the same exercise is a result of routine eviction and demolitions. If these families are fortunate, they are moved to slum resettlements. Consider the case of one of the largest slum resettlement drives in Mumbai, documented through the eyes of women by Ramya Ramanath in her book, A Place To Call Home: Women as Agents of Change in Mumbai. An associate professor at DePaul University,…

In Bengaluru, people lose 3-4 hours every day in commute thanks to heavily congested roads. Despite having public transport options including BMTC and Namma Metro, the traffic congestion remains unresolved. The NITI Ayog’s 2018 report estimates that Bengaluru city incurs an avoidable loss of Rs 47,743 crore every year. What is wrong? The real reason is that good mobility relies on a vast number of measures, most of which are missing. A few of these steps were attempted, but they failed due to improper execution. This article explains what these measures are, and suggests how to implement them effectively in…

It is only after paying Rs 10 lakh as fees that one becomes an engineer from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. In contrast to this, I completed my B Tech in 2013 from a government college in Kerala for Rs 26,000. IITs have turned into a gated community of the elites, serving those who can afford their exorbitant fees and filtering out those who can't. The fee hike by IIT-B in July is a testament to that. Soon after the fee hike, the deputy director assured us that all our questions would be answered in an open house…

I wonder what it would be like if protestors stormed Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi, like the protestors who stormed the presidential office in Colombo. It is an unlikely scenario, no doubt. But maybe there are lessons there which governments in India need to learn quickly. Especially prudent management of the economy. Which basically means ensuring easy and affordable access to essential commodities and services, creation of new jobs across the socio-economic spectrum and across skill levels, and constantly renewing hope in people that “ache din aayenge”. To quote from Jawaharlal Nehru’s historic August 15, 1947 ‘Tryst with destiny’ speech in…

Water is an essential part of life and its abundance is necessary for food and livestock security. Safe, adequate and equitable water supply, therefore, is required to conserve biodiversity and the environment. But Mumbai is severely lagging in this. In Thane district particularly, situated next to Mumbai Metropolis, the area is abundant in only water supply issues, no water. For the past few years, Thane’s roughly 22-lakh strong population has struggled with adequate water supply. Many parts of Thane, namely Kolshet, Hiranandani Estate, Mumbra, Diva, Waghbil and Kasarvadavli, are either not receiving proper water supply, or are receiving impure water…

The Karnataka government has of late been mulling a solution to the problem of stray dog attacks. Prabhu Chauhan, Minister for Animal Husbandry, has said they are considering making Bengaluru stray-dog-free through vaccination and sheltering. The Karnataka High Court has also issued a notice to the state government on a PIL seeking effective stray dog management. In this interview with Citizen Matters, animal ecologist and conservation biologist Dr Abi Tamim Vanak weighs in on the issue. Dr Abi Vanak holds a PhD in Wildlife Science from the University of Missouri, USA. He is currently a Professor at ATREE (Asoka Trust…

A cycle and a loudspeaker accompany Ladoo as he makes his way around Chennai’s neighbourhoods, gathering old clothes. He turns off his loudspeaker around certain homes. "They don’t like the noise", he explains to me, as I stop him for a chat. Laddo has been in this business for twenty-five years now. "In all this time, people have not changed", he tells me philosophically. "Only my cycle and loudspeaker have". "They know me by my hat", he says. "You can ask anyone for the ‘bhai’ with a hat". I ask him why the name ‘Ladoo’? "I was a chubby child," he says,…

We are usually accustomed to the voices and stories of people in our social class and circles. The stories of others seldom come to us straight, and when they do, they are often narrated in the voice of mediators, such as journalists, NGOs, the government, etc. Anmol Tiwari lives in an informal settlement, like 42% of Mumbaikars. This is his story, told by him. Like every village child who is told big tales of big cities, I, too, dreamt of high-rises and fancy houses when I lived in my village in Bihar. It was finally in 2013, when I was…