The city of dreams is such that it has fancy aspirations on the one hand but bleak futures on the other. Such is life. There’s nothing one can do about it, at times. Mumbai- may surely be called the city of dreams. But there is more to it; it is not just a destination where one dreams but also an avenue where multiple aspirations come to life. But while that happens for most individuals, who, lest it is forgotten, have some stability and clarity- what about the others?
Ever wondered about the life of many dwelling in slums?
Surely, that is the nightmare that dwells midst of a city consumed by light, hopes, fulfilment, endeavours and, achievements. The dark part, often, subdues the bright, doesn’t it? Even as, to many, it may sound a bit too lyrical or straight out of the book of cliche, it cannot be castigated aside. But that said, what if a slum were to turn bright?
Before you can even submit in mere haste about something as silly as that- let it be known, that this ain’t any parody. Rather, a truth about the reality of a slum in the heart of Mumbai that only recently underwent an epic transformation of sorts.
The place is called Asalpha and it is but a slum. Still, if you are a passerby or someone who plans to step inside or look around inside the Asalpha slum- you will find an interesting mishmash of bright colours that will liven up your day. Few things can be bright and signal some luminance amid a city enveloped massively by a blanket of rains.
But then transformations like that do not happen in any whisker of a second. Things take their own sweet time. And in this case, the pure transformation of a slum that, like many others seemed difficult. Structures like that, after all, are like an eyesore that are then to be converted into something admirable. And thankfully, in the case of Asalpha slum- there was the fantastic Chal-Rang De not for profit that undertook the said onerous task.
The slum beautification projects, that are often a part of not for profit Chal Range De are an uncannily different idea to transform the hitherto lacklustre realities into beautiful possibilities, for the lack of a better term. But interestingly, in case of the transformation of Asalpha slum, the task didn’t only require those engaged to paint the walls of a house or a quarter.
But rather, the overall project also involved bringing about a sea-change in the very way the walls and roofs and every inch of a square of a living space looked. Hours of painstaking effort, with work divided harmoniously among the different talents involved, meant that ultimately, the will of conscience would prevail. Providing the current state of the houses with rooftops that are sustainable, durable and workable in the long-run was also an interesting feature of the intended change and was achieved with cohesion.
A beautiful and, albeit, handy slum-transformation project, therefore, resulted in living and breathing in living-spaces that had a new lease of life of their own. But it must be understood that no slum-transformation project can ever undergo a complete makeover unless the principle of cleanliness isn’t incorporated into it’s DNA. And therefore, incorporating this essential element into the
The city of dreams is such that it has fancy aspirations on the one hand but bleak futures on the other. Such is life. There’s nothing one can do about it, at times. Mumbai- may surely be called the city of dreams. But there is more to it; it is not just a destination where one dreams but also an avenue where multiple aspirations come to life. But while that happens for most individuals, who, lest it is forgotten, have some stability and clarity- what about the others?
Ever wondered about the life of many dwelling in slums?
Surely, that is the nightmare that dwells midst of a city consumed by light, hopes, fulfilment, endeavours and, achievements. The dark part, often, subdues the bright, doesn’t it? Even as, to many, it may sound a bit too lyrical or straight out of the book of cliche, it cannot be castigated aside. But that said, what if a slum were to turn bright?
Before you can even submit in mere haste about something as silly as that- let it be known, that this ain’t any parody. Rather, a truth about the reality of a slum in the heart of Mumbai that only recently underwent an epic transformation of sorts.
The place is called Asalpha and it is but a slum. Still, if you are a passerby or someone who plans to step inside or look around inside the Asalpha slum- you will find an interesting mishmash of bright colours that will liven up your day. Few things can be bright and signal some luminance amid a city enveloped massively by a blanket of rains.
But then transformations like that do not happen in any whisker of a second. Things take their own sweet time. And in this case, the pure transformation of a slum that, like many others seemed difficult. Structures like that, after all, are like an eyesore that are then to be converted into something admirable. And thankfully, in the case of Asalpha slum- there was the fantastic Chal-Rang De not for profit that undertook the said onerous task.
The slum beautification projects, that are often a part of not for profit Chal Range De are an uncannily different idea to transform the hitherto lacklustre realities into beautiful possibilities, for the lack of a better term. But interestingly, in case of the transformation of Asalpha slum, the task didn’t only require those engaged to paint the walls of a house or a quarter.
But rather, the overall project also involved bringing about a sea-change in the very way the walls and roofs and every inch of a square of a living space looked. Hours of painstaking effort, with work divided harmoniously among the different talents involved, meant that ultimately, the will of conscience would prevail. Providing the current state of the houses with rooftops that are sustainable, durable and workable in the long-run was also an interesting feature of the intended change and was achieved with cohesion.
A beautiful and, albeit, handy slum-transformation project, therefore, resulted in living and breathing in living-spaces that had a new lease of life of their own. But it must be understood that no slum-transformation project can ever undergo a complete makeover unless the principle of cleanliness isn’t incorporated into it’s DNA. And therefore, incorporating this essential element into the architecture of Asalpha required the not-for-profit to ensure just that. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be achieved.After Asalpha, we received requests from all over the country and even beyond. A few residents of Khar introduced us to the area.
The organisation involved in this work shared the following, “This is an area that a lot of flights taking off from Mumbai pass and one of the first things you see from above the city. For the first time ever, Mumbai is going to have a slum with sustainable roofing with a blanket of colours that shows the outside world just how beautiful the inside is.”
architecture of Asalpha required the not-for-profit to ensure just that. It wasn’t easy, but it had to be achieved. After Asalpha, we received requests from all over the country and even beyond. A few residents of Khar introduced us to the area.
The organisation involved in this work shared the following, “This is an area that a lot of flights taking off from Mumbai pass and one of the first things you see from above the city. For the first time ever, Mumbai is going to have a slum with sustainable roofing with a blanket of colours that shows the outside world just how beautiful the inside is.”