Dharavi is a heart-shaped settlement in central Mumbai, India. Sandwiched between Mahim in the west and Sion in the east, is Dharavi — Asia's largest slum. Spread over an area of 1.75 km² along the Mahim river, Dharavi is bustling collecting contiguous settlements, each with its own identity. Dharavi is home to over a million people. Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई) (pronounced ), formerly known as Bombay, is the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and the most populous city of India, with an estimated population of about 13 million (as of 2006)[1]. Mumbai is located on Salsette Island, off the west coast of Maharashtra. ... Mahim is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. ... Sion (Sheev in Marathi) is a suburb of Mumbai. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...

Geography

Dharavi is located between Mumbai's two main suburban railway lines, Western and Central Railway. These are the virtual lifelines of Mumbai's transport system. Dharavi is literally sandwiched beteen the two sets of tracks. To its west are Mahim and Bandra, to the north lies the Mithi River, which empties into the Arabian Sea through the Mahim Creek, and to its south and east are Sion and Matunga, Mahim. Mahim is the name of a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Railway railway line. ... Bandra is a suburb of Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), popularly nick-named Queen Of The Suburbs. It is home to a railway station on the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Western line. ... The Mithi river is in the centre. ... Map of the Arabian Sea. ... Mahim Creek (locally known as Bandra ki Khadi) is a creek in Mumbai, India. ...

Arterial Roads

• Mahim Sion Link Road
• 60 Ft Road
• Dharavi Main Road

History

Dharavi was not always a slum, and it is as old as Bombay. In the Gazetteer of Bombay City and Island (1909), Dharavi is mentioned as one of the 'six great Koliwadas of Bombay," or as one of the city's great fishing communities. The original inhabitants of Dharavi were kolis, the fisherfolk, who lived at the edge of the creek that came in from the Arabian Sea. A dam at Sion, which was adjacent to Dharavi, also hastened the process of joining separate islands into one long, tapered mass. Thus began the transformation of the island city of Bombay. In the process, the creek dried up, Dharavi's fisherfolk were deprived of their traditional sustenance, and the newly emerged land from the marshes provided space for new communities to move in. The migrants could be roughly divided into broad categories. The first were people from Maharashtra, and in particular from the Konkan coast, as well from Gujarat. Potters from Saurashtra were allocated land in Dharavi to establish what is till today called Kumbharwada. The other settlers were direct migrants to the city, many of them trained in a trade or a craft. Muslim tanners from Tamil Nadu migrated to Dharavi and set up the leather tanning industry. Other artisans, like the embroidery workers from Uttar Pradhesh, started the ready-made garments trade. From Tamil Nadu, workers joined the flourishing business of making savouries and sweets like chakli, chiki and mysore pak. Anand Nadar [FREE SEO Tools Online Map of the Arabian Sea. ... Sion (Sheev in Marathi) is a suburb of Mumbai. ... In United Kingdom usage, the term creek refers exclusively to a tidal water channel. ... Maharashtra (Devanagari: महाराष्ट्र, literally: Great Nation)( ) is Indias third largest state in terms of area and second largest in terms of population after Uttar Pradesh. ... The Konkan, also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is the name given to a stretch of rugged and beautiful section of the western coastline of India from Ratnagiri to Mangalore. ... Gujarat (Gujarati: , , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes Gujarath. ... Saurashtra in between Gulf of Kutch and Gulf of Khambat. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian: مسلمان) is an adherent of Islam. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Gold Embroidery Cross-stitch embroidery, Hungary, mid-20th century Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with designs stitched in strands of thread or yarn using a needle. ... Mysore pak is a sweet southern Indian dish, usually served as dessert. ...

Further reading

1. Sharma, Kalpana; "Rediscovering Dharavi: Story From Asia's Largest Slum" (2000) —Penguin Books ISBN 0141000236
2. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/world/06/dharavi_slum/html/dharavi_slum_intro.stm