An article published in Times of India, Bombay
MUMBAI: Ever wondered what it's like to deliver post in Asia's biggest slum, Dharavi? Especially when the address reads something like this: 'Mahim Fatak ke baju mein' or 'Ajmal Kasab, Dharavi, Mumbai-17!' That the name of the addressee in the latter instance happens to be same as the lone 26/11 terrorist currently on trial at a special court is of course another story.
Dharavi is home to more than a million people. Every day, there are at least 4,000 ordinary letters to be delivered, a hundred registered ones, 150 speedposts, at least four parcels and about 15 money orders, says B S Jaiswar, sub-post master at Dharavi Post office. There are some company annual reports as well to be delivered, he adds.
Surprised? Dharavi is home to several thriving small-scale industries such as embroidered garments, leather goods, pottery and plastic. According to reports, Dharavi's products sell domestically and abroad. The slum's annual business turnover is estimated at more than $650m.
It can become a bit of a problem, says complaint inspector, Mumbai city, west division, Pratibha Parab, with speedposts that must be delivered the same day. Particularly as letters could bear addresses such as Laxmi Chawl, Room No 31, Kumbharwada Road. Or it might be NKP Stores, AKJ Nagar or simply c/o Pandit paanwala. These are not fictional addresses. This is how most letters arrive at the local post office no matter that the sender is a bank, mobile company or lives abroad.
Slum houses generally have no door numbers. Postman B R Rane says that rather than numbers, it is the locals and shopkeepers who help locate the addressee. These postmen become so good at nailing an address that the sleuths recently asked them for help during a hoax bomb scare.
In Dharavi, concrete huts, sometimes two-three floors are standing cheek-by-jowl. There are no numbers written on the door. Negotiating the labyrinthine lanes makes the job more difficult for postmen. They walk gingerly through lanes ducking the maze of electric wires drooping dangerously at times while negotiating open sewers and garbage piles at regular intervals. The walk becomes all the more tricky as sunlight barely passes through the densely built dwellings. So whether it is day or night, it is mostly dark.
Understandably, each postman, covering about 25 km every day, takes about two years to be a pro.
On Kumbharwada road, matters are worse as all the hutments have similar colours and designs since the same community reside here. "At Kumbharwada, whether you talk in Hindi or Marathi, people will still reply in Gujrati," says Mohan Sawant, who has put in 27 years here as a postman.
While there are movies and pictures on Dharavi, it is more on the filth and squalor of Dharavi and the spirit of its dwellers rather than these resilient postmen. Yet, for all their hardships, the weather-beaten faces of S T Nadkar and C R Dalvi wear a content smile.
Source : Times of India
