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Into the Belly of the Beast: Getting Beneath Mumbai’s Skin

For all its chaos and controversy, Mumbai’s diversity, along with its fascinating history as a cultural melting pot, makes it an incredibly nuanced destination, well worth investing a little time getting to know beyond the obvious and touristy confines of the Colaba-Fort precinct; these days, it’s also possible to venture into Dharavi—the largest slum in Asia, colorfully documented and dramatized in the hugely popular Slumdog Millionaire—where you discover, instead of misery, an extremely industrious and vibrant community. Several exceptionally enthusiastic people offer an assortment of escorted tours, and we highly recommend that you sign up for at least one such outing. While most companies do offer standard sightseeing excursions, the best trips tend to be specialist tours themed around a specific aspect of Mumbai’s dynamic personality; you can also ask most of these companies to design a tailor-made tour based on any specific interests.

The most in-depth slum tour offered in Mumbai is by good-value, community-oriented Reality Tours & Travel (1/26 Akber House, Nowroji Fardoni Rd., Colaba; 022/2283-3872 or 98-2082-2253; www.realitytoursandtravel.com). After stopping at the famous Mahalaxmi dhobi ghat (apparently the world’s largest open-air laundry) and driving through the city’s red-light district (where you’ll hear harrowing stories about some of the girls who find themselves imprisoned here), you arrive at the edge of the slum and set off on foot to meet some of the people who live and work there. You’ll see a plastic recycling operation, visit inside a tiny, one-room family home, explore a variety of neighborhoods, and see one or two schools run by charitable trusts (including a kindergarten started by Reality Tours). It’s one of the most riveting tours we’ve been on anywhere in the world—you can either join a group (never more than five people; Rs 800) or opt for a private tour (Rs 3,200). Try to specify that you want Krishna, one of the cofounders of the organization, as your guide—he’s utterly charming, filled with insights, and has a magnificent rapport with the people in the slum. Krishna also arranges market tours, village tours, and more traditional sightseeing tours.

Doing it in style and offering a very wide array of well-packaged and impeccably delivered tours (from sightseeing walks through historic Fort to tours of the bazaars, and visits to Worli fishing village) is Mumbai Magic ( 98-6770-7414; www.mumbaimagic.com), a true labor of love from the multitalented, super-sophisticated Deepa Krishnan. She aims to single-handedly transform the face of tourism in India—city by city, she’s launching her own brand of high-grade guiding services throughout the country. Not only that, but she’s probably the single biggest authority on what’s hip, happening, and worthwhile in this, her home city, with delicious opinions and well-researched knowledge on just about everything that’s going on here—she’s even serves as TripAdvisor’s resident expert on Mumbai. Using only expert “Deepa-certified” guides (all women), she puts together highly specialized escorted sightseeing trips, many of them themed in unusual and interesting ways, such as her Jewish heritage tour. Deepa offers a Spirit of Dharavi tour, but it is not a walking tour through the slum, but rather a chance to see Dharavi in its wider context as a part of the rapidly evolving city—for example, you’ll see a gold market in the slum and compare this to a nearby middle-class South Indian market in Matunga. If you have time for just one of Deepa’s experiences, though, make it the Mumbai Local , an ingenious tour where you spend 4 hours with a couple of English-speaking youngsters who take you around the city using standard-issue public transport—a red double-decker bus, a black and yellow taxi, and a local train—explaining how it all works, and the city is experienced by ordinary citizens. It’s a marvelous day out, and a far cry from any typical sightseeing