After gazing out across teeming communities from the train everyday, my first experience wandering through the narrow alleys of a Bombay slum was pretty fascinating.
I and 8 other people - the full staff we have for the English-medium school we are opening - went into the school's adjacent community to spread awareness about the school and hopefully get about 20 more students for our preschool, kindergarten, and first grade classes.
Stepping off the main road, we crossed a run-down dead-end and approached the entrance of the community. A rusted metal gateway, banner flying above, greeted us as we moved under it and into the beginning of a maze of activity.
To our left, a small group of young men discussed auto parts for a truck they were working on. An old women carrying a basket of goods on her head passed us, giving an indifferent look at our obvious newness to the area.
To our right, a man sat on the street, pounding metal against metal. Small children ran through the alleyway, which was just big enough for a taxi to squeeze through, which it did, letting out a family of four.
We made our way to a woman's house whom some of our team had spoke with earlier. The woman planned on enrolling her son in our school, and expressed interest in helping at the school also. After a few wrong turns, we finally arrived at her humble home.
Tucked into a back alley, she greeted us from the narrow wooden ladder leading to her upstairs abode, small daughter in her arms. On the bottom floor, five men sat in a dark, dank room, frying 'pani puri', or puffed dough balls, the infamous street snack found on corners all over the city.
We spoke to the woman for some time, and smiled and greeted the children all around. Finally, we split into two groups, each with a handful of large hand-made banners and flyers, to distribute throughout the community and raise awareness about our new school.
We passed through narrow alleyways, following the path of small gulleys of running water between two-story make-shift structures housing a guessed average of about 6 or more family members in each small apartment... rooms which are the size of a typical western kitchen or child's small bedroom.
Some women knelt in front of their homes scrubbing laundry on the stone ground. Others came out to see who we were. Children ran to and fro, everywhere we looked.
A pair of goats sat lazily in the sun, while a flock of ducks bathed in a small puddle. Around another corner, a small litter of very young puppies hid behind a bucket, while a green parrot gnawed on a mango in a cage hung from a family's porch.
Alleyways often opened into small sunny courtyards of open space, where a shrine was often placed. Here, the air flowed a little easier and sometimes a tree provided shade. In one such courtyard, a group of old men sat idly between the walls of an open-front stage.
Although much of the community was built from scraps, the scraps used were often good-as-new. One home had a brand new, thick wooden door, complete with grooved decorations. Another home sported light green marble walls around its front door. Some families sat watching tv on shining white tiled floors.
The abundance of life and activity within the community was astounding.
I feel much more confident now in my goal to help foster confidence, curiosity, and a sense of agency among the children who will be our students, for they already have access to so much of the resources they need to create better lives for themselves and their communities, however they see fit.
