Mumbai is India’s biggest city and its economic powerhouse. It has more billionaires than anywhere else except New York and London. It is also home to the stock exchange with the most listed companies globally. But beyond the towering skyscrapers and wealth, two places truly capture the spirit of Mumbai—the Dharavi Slum and Dhobi Ghat.
Dharavi
Dharavi is the largest slum in Asia, home to 1.5 million people in just 2.1 square kilometers. It’s one of the most densely populated places on Earth. You might recognize it from Slumdog Millionaire—the famous chase scene was filmed here.
But Dharavi is more than just a place to live. It’s a powerhouse of industry. About 70% of Mumbai’s waste is recycled here, generating an incredible $1.8 billion annually. Walking through the narrow alleys with a local resident, I got to see firsthand how people here turn waste into opportunity.
The first stop was a plastic recycling center. Workers sort plastic by hand, grind it down, wash it, dry it, melt it, and then reshape it into new products like containers and chairs.
Next, we visited a soap recycling facility. Used soap is collected, cleaned, melted, and reshaped. The recycled soap isn’t for skin use but is mainly used for laundry.
I also visited a workshop where old cardboard boxes get a second life. They trim the edges, remove outer layers, and reinforce them with new paper. Each box can be reused up to three times before it becomes regular paper.
Then came the leather workshop. A pet goat chewing tobacco leaves greeted us at the entrance.
Leather processing is a long, intricate process. Raw hides are first preserved with salt, then washed to remove dirt and impurities. Dharavi even has a 60-year-old washing machine that can clean 500 hides at once! After washing, the leather is softened, tanned, dyed, and polished before being made into bags, shoes, and clothing.
Dhobi Ghat
The name says it all—‘Dhobi’ means washer, and ‘Ghat’ means place. Dhobi Ghat is where Mumbai’s laundry workers, called Dhobis, live and work. About 5,000 people run this massive outdoor laundry, scrubbing and cleaning clothes from hotels, hospitals, and homes across the city.
Each Dhobi family owns a ‘box’—a concrete wash station. There are 860 in total, passed down from generation to generation. They start work at 6 AM, washing, drying, and ironing clothes before sending them back to laundry services by 4 PM.
Despite modern washing machines, Dhobi Ghat remains Mumbai’s go-to laundry service. The secret? Generations of skill and special homemade detergents that remove stains and make whites even whiter.
Now, even industrial washing machines and dryers have been added to speed things up.
Yet, one thing remains unchanged—there are no clothespins here. Instead, Dhobis twist the laundry lines to hold clothes in place.
I also got to try ironing clothes with a traditional coal-powered iron. Pressing down with its heavy weight, I watched wrinkles disappear instantly.
Walking through Dharavi and Dhobi Ghat, I felt closer to the heart of Mumbai. Mumbai is more than what you see on the surface. In its hidden corners, you’ll discover stories of resilience, determination, and an unbreakable spirit. Here, hard work isn’t just about surviving—it’s about building, innovating, and creating opportunities from nothing. And that’s what makes this city truly special.