Mumbai

Walking around the Bandra District of Mumbai, ones senses are bombarded with new sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. The warm morning sun and the chaotic nature of this highly populated area are energizing. The scents of Indian spices, roasted peanuts and fresh fruits mingle with the exhaust filled air. Crows caw loudly overhead, as if they strive to be heard above the constant drone of traffic. Green guava with red pepper and salt is one of many new taste sensations to enjoy. Women dressed in brightly coloured saris and salwars stroll the streets with babes in arms and well-behaved young children at their sides. Men, some impeccably dressed in clean shirts and dress pants, others in tatters covered with the dust of hard labour, smile and nod. Some manage a very pleasant and practiced 'Hello how are you?' all in one breath.

The magnitude of the poverty in Mumbai is overwhelming. A local explained that Mumbai is approximately 60km by 40km in size. Approximately 10 million people live in Mumbai. This number is growing rapidly due to mass migration from rural India. Poverty is visible everywhere. Over-crowded slums and roadside fruit and vegetable stalls contrast sharply with modern high-rise apartment buildings and shopping malls that would put many Western malls to shame.

One must be extremely vigilant when strolling through the streets. In Bandra District, as in most areas of Mumbai, trucks, cars, taxis, auto-rickshaws, motorcycles and scooters merge and cross paths within inches of each other, with drivers honking horns continually, without anger, as they weave their way through traffic congestion that would make a Canadian rush hour seem like a Sunday drive.

On roads that could comfortably handle three lanes of traffic, there are easily five to six lanes of cars and motorcycles. Understandably, about one in three cars have side mirror or side body damage. Traffic fatalities are commonplace. It is not unusual to see a woman sitting side-saddle on the back of a motorcycle holding a newborn with both arms, a child sitting in front of her holding onto the driver. Only the driver is wearing a helmet, a high-speed disaster waiting to happen.

The sun shines brightly during the day and temperatures remain around 30C. An almost tangible pollution haze hangs over Mumbai like a shroud. Garbage pickers, mostly elderly women, the disabled and orphaned children, bed down for the night in the dirt and debris at the roadsides. Other poor families settle to sleep in their tiny apartments provided to them by developers as a relocation incentive because land is precious and their slum can be bulldozed to build another high-rise.

Standing in the midst of this new and unfamiliar environment, I draw in a deep breath but it catches in my chest as I begin to get a sense of the overwhelming need and the obstacles facing social change advocates attempting to develop sustainable poverty reduction strategies in a country plagued by caste and gender discrimination and deeply rooted religious and political ideals, a county where poverty and malnutrition are an undeniable reality of everyday life.