How Bombay's Existing Situation Contradicts Its Flourishing Economic Status

Bombay is often regarded as India's Capital of Hope. Often wondering why this is so, I made a fruitful trip down to the busy city, solving most of my queries. Bombay consists of seven islands, joined by land reclamation. Many Indians, especially those from the rural areas, regard Bombay as their paradise, since they could find work relatively easily here, as compared to their homelands.

Being the pillar for revenue collection, Bombay's economic growth has far outperformed the other cities. In fact, its per capita (head) production of goods and services is about three times greater than that of Delhi - India's second most prosperous city. Despite the economic boom, Bombay gives me an astonishing image of deterioration when I first stepped into the city.

The ostentatiously dignified imperial buildings, erected by the British, are so overly populated that they look as if they are toppling over any minute. There are the 1950s kind of black and yellow taxis, which appeared as if brutally thrashed, lining up like ants trails, clotting up the small avenues. Amidst the dins of traffic jams, stood the oppressed-looking buildings of Benetton outlets, foreign car dealerships, croissant-serving outlets and so on.

Though unemployment is not a significant problem in Bombay, housing is. A visit in Dharavi, a slum area in Bombay will help clarify our imagination. The Bombayites' so called "houses" are actually movable shacks, built from unwanted bits of tarpaulin, tin and cardboard. There are so many of them that a maze of alleys emerged, passable only when I walked sideways like a crab between them. Curious about the living conditions, I wondered around the maze, meeting groups of scantily clad kids and hungry, stray dogs. Popping my inquisitive head into one of the small huts, I was totally amazed by their living conditions. Estimating about twelve or more Bombayites living in each hut, these two-storey houses are usually partitioned by rough platforms with ceilings no higher than five feet from the ground. Furthermore, `these shacks look absolutely bare -- no furniture and I deduced that the inhabitants eat and sleep on the ground.

In spite of the poor living conditions, many Indians still hope to migrate to Bombay. Interviewing a few of the newcomers, a majority of them said that they came to Bombay to find jobs. There are some who regard Bombay as buoyant floats, saving them from natural disasters and tyrannies in their homelands.

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