Everybody loved Slumdog Millionaire. I can`t imagine any of my friends, acquaintances, film critics or sensitive film fans, not having been touched,  thrilled, enthusiastic about the Indian story, so wonderfully told by Danny Boyle.
Everybody…except for the real residents of the slums, who have been  still contesting, for 7 years, since the film was released, the truth depicted by the film, the life details, the energy and the real light of the neighbourhoods where they live.
The slums are an integral part of Mumbai and more than a half of the city population lives in there. The biggest one is Dharavi (over 1 million people),  more precisely a locality within the  big city, with a 200- year history.
Dharavi began its story in the 19th century, during the British colonial era, on an area full of swamps and little islands, first populated by fishermen  then by workers, and turned into a ravishing mix of cultures, religions, ethnic groups, in the new millennium.
In the centre, Dharavi is like a little town, with little factories where plastic, aluminium are recycled, pastries and soap are made, with potteries, tanneries, weaving mills, tailoring, and embroidery manufacturing units, with small family businesses, by which they export goods, which make a totally turnover of over $ 650 million each year.

Many of the narrow streets, the ruined buildings, the pollution, the sanitation issues may seem distressful to the sensitive eye of the occidental tourist who was brought up with many prejudices about how life should look like; but if you look more carefully, you can notice that most of them have electricity  (you can see electricity meters everywhere) satellite dishes and internet...
It`s not a lifestyle background to express a “consumption” welfare, but it`s ”the Indian way of life”. It`s ordinary life in here, with families who have lived in this place for generations, being proud of their position and the fact that nobody`s begging in Dharavi, because everybody`s working.
It`s hard work, none of the westerners could ever imagine such hard work, but it`s… quiet, reconciliation, a life that makes sense. It`s about fulfilling a destiny and that means… happiness.

Colored advice: if you want to visit Dharavi, appeal to an agency like Be the local Tours (which I actually went with) or Reality Tours and Travel. Be careful! You are not allowed to take photos, except for the case in which you are given the permission!