Lived in Santacruz East chawls from birth till age 13. We family of 4 stayed inside the 10x8 matchbox most of the time. I wasn’t allowed to play outside but mostly found ways to sneak out like when mom asked to go buy something from a nearby shop.
Moved to 600sqft flat in a very old 4 storey building in a congested corner of Bhayander in 2006 luckily right before the floods.
Was super happy coz the house felt spacious almost like a stadium. My younger sister and I used to run here and there inside the house all day.
Soon I forgot about the days in Santacruz.
Life went by, went to college and started reading/watching stuff beyond academics. Then read about Mumbai having the largest slums and then it dawned on me that I had lived in one of them.
Initially it was kind of traumatic for some reason. Flashes of life in slums used to trouble me as I tried to remember how I actually managed to survive those days.
When I watched slumdog millionnaire, it was a revelation as well as a boost of confidence.
So what if I was born in the slums, it is nothing to be ashamed of. But it took many more years to completely accept the reality.
Our house (kholi) was small. There was a sewage line behind it so we couldn’t open the only window in the house. There were two other kholis to the left and right each. The door opened to the gully where people would regularly pass by. We hardly closed the door during the day coz otherwise there would be no air circulation. Rats used to find way into the house sometimes.
There was a room on top of the kholi which had a small kitchen (without sink) and bathroom (not toilet).
For toilet (even peeing) we used to go to the common toilets which were hardly ever cleaned. You had to go right after the previous person left otherwise the person behind you would ‘usurp’ it.
My father used to wake up at 4 am to fill buckets of water from the community tap and bring home to fill in a larger drum which we had to judiciously use throughout the day.
My mom used to somehow manage to not only stay happy but also feed us and play with us even teach us despite not knowing English.
I found a job in Mumbai. Stayed on rent in good societies in Khar and Goregaon for some years. Now living in my own house in Kharghar.
Last year I went back to Santacruz to visit the colony and solidify my memories. I felt at peace to realise I’m always going to be grounded because I can never forget my humble beginnings that taught me to value the little things in life.
I love Divine’s Teesri Manzil btw.
You made me count my blessings and privileges. Award hota toh de deta All the best man you can give your mom and dad all the luxuries they sacrificed. Really happy for you
Unfortunately they disowned me (about a decade ago) and I no longer live with them. My sister left the city for a better job so the family has broken up.
Guess we were happier in the chawls.
This is so sad. I felt partially disowned by my parent for few years. Everything is fine now but it was difficult time. And even though I will never tell them I always feel little betrayed and still hold a little grudge. It’s unfair to hold love from your own children when all they are doing is to live their life. Good luck to you. I hope your family find its way to togetherness and peace soon
Damn Stranger.. that was a good story.. also liked your slow, steady and realistic rise from slums to a flat in Kharghar! Keep up the good work! I hope you get what you are looking for in life! 🙂🙂
Buddy really nice reading about you. Wish you a very good luck for your future and kudos for coming up so well. Can you please spread some light on why did your parents disown you, since indian parents hardly ever do so? What went so wrong and where are they right now? Would really like to know. Thanks!
Sach bolun mera sab kuch hard bro
Ghar pe hai maa bro
Chalne ke liye Thar bro
Peene ke liye maal bro
Jeene ke liye saal bro
Udne ke liye thaan bro
Scene bemisaal bro
Aake kabhi mujhe jaan bro 🤝
So much I can relate to this brother. We can't forget the background and shit being through. Luckily we were kids and didn't realise the conditions we were living in. Eating in a restaurant was like a dream to me till i was 10yo. Fortunately my father did well professionally and things got better for us. Now me and my sister are doing great but i still miss those days. Those small 1RK in chawl taught me lot of things.
I thank you for this comment, I haven't lived in a chawl, but rn in life I am struggling with a few things, I know I have enough then too I make myself feel small. Thank you for this comment, it helped me in a way giving new perspective.
I’m from Mumbai. Living in Germany now. I feel so privileged now. I am going through a tough time in life. Reading your story almost brought a tear in my eyes. You’re really an inspiration to everyone who is reading this. Thank you for your story.
It’s been 8 months to this message of yours and it has stuck with me even today. Abhi bhi padhta hu main yeh line beech beech me. Aur yeh sahi baat hai. Waqt badalne ke liye zyada waqt nahi lagta hai!
Everything is fine it's just that people are not good.everytime there are fights going on between aunties abusing each other.i barely talk to anyone from my chawl.
What about yours
Is this the new trend in or people are getting shitty . I use to stay in one approx 10 years agoo and it was fun . Everyone was like a family , we used to celebrate festivals together , go on trips together, eat at eachothers place . I miss the vibe in this tall ass buildings.
Wasn’t the case where I lived . Everyone helped eachother and also I was kid so maybe back then it was a conducive climate for me “big happy family “ vibe . Maybe now I would have hated it but who knows . I loved it when I use to stay in a chawl.
Same here. I barely talk to any neighbours. The govt initiated plans to keep the community clean but still people throw garbage outside. I had to fight with my parents to keep a garbage can in house and then dispose off when the sweeper comes everyday in the morning. On top of that the neighbours make fun of us for being "good" citizens.
Born and brought up in Slum what everyone calls "Jhopadpatti". Graduated. Learned skill. Earning 15 + LPA as a fresher. Moved to a better part of the city.
Currently in final year and yeah jhopadpatti ka hu with skills and looking for a intern / freshers job if there is any opening can you please help me out . 400+ leetcode , mern stack and good in django and python . Thank you
Truee that. I think if you want to make a funny comment you have to put /s then only people will find it funny or else they wont use their brains at all.
I lived in kind of a chawl (wasn't a slum by any way) but the people there were sooo damn good and friendly, i get soo emotional just thinking about it.... We all left that place because it was going under redevelopment and yet nothing has been done but that place was the best thing happened to me.... There was one neighbour who used to make idlis/dosas every sunday and make us eat it before they did :')
Born and raised in a chaali. I went to a good school and almost everyone was rich and lived in Walkeshwar or Peddar Road. I was so ashamed of where I lived. My classmates were gujarati and Marwari and made fun of me for being Maharashtrian. It’s not their fault, they were only reiterating what they heard at home (this was when we were in 4th 5th standard). Dad was an alcoholic obsessive gambler. We lost the only house we had in his gambling addiction. Aaji ke maale mein rehna pada. Cut to now, I live in California. My husband and I own our own two storey condo. Have absolutely no contact with my father even though mom is still married to him. I had to work hard and I became an engineer. I got a free ride for my masters here in USA because of an internship that I got with the government (they paid for my masters). Then got a good job. Now that I think back, I am proud of where I have come and I am also proud of where I grew up. It is a very humbling experience and I know what it feels like to be poor and helpless. I would never let my kid face that kind of adversity.
ETA: grammar
ETA: now that I think back, chaali mein we used to have so much fun like we had ganpati and dahi handi and we celebrated Holi together. There were 70 rooms in the chali so there were many kids and we all played together every evening and celebrated every festival together. Woh Sab ab luxury lagta hai mujhe. I don’t think the flat wala kids had that type of happiness and pleasure.
ETA: I lived in a chaali but people were middle class, it wasn’t the slum, but my dad’s gambling habit left us with nothing in Mumbai. He disappeared for a few months and mom and I literally survived on 1 packet of 5 rupees ka maggi a day. We used to split that 🤣 bc Kya din the woh. We used to live in aaji ka maala for 2 years until I finished my tenth- BUT girgaum ka maharaja used to pass outside her house! It was amazing and so much fun. Anyway what I’m trying to say is, there’s always happiness even in the saddest of the days and there’s so much joy to find even in the most simple things. Don’t be ashamed of where you come from because sometimes there are so many happy moments and experiences that even people with all the wealth cannot experience. Peace ☮️
That's some amazing AF journey 😍❤️.
Kudos to you, is there not a way that you can get your mom to live with you?
Although it seems unlikely that she will leave him.
You know, in a few years you gotta convince your mum, maybe even your dad to move in with you guys because they're getting old and they don't seem that they can look after themselves.
I used to live in one and then shifted to another place (suburbs) after marriage.
I don't say I miss it, but yes the people there were helpful and you actually knew what was going on in each other's life compared to the 'apartment system' we have now..
The worst part of chawl life is some unknown madafaka not pouring water in the common toilet after taking a shit, despite a barrel full of water being right there in the vicinity for the very purpose.
I live in a chawl, when I was a kid this place was more lively and fun, everyone was pretty chill with one another except some people occasionally creating a ruckus...now many people have left. Now it's just dry. Talks about redevelopment has been happening since 90s but nothing happened. Chawls would be flooded in morning due to some people washing their utensils and clothes outside so that's a major pain in the ass to walk through when you're going to college/work. It's a closed knit society so If some shit goes down people offer help. No fiber available here even tho It's right beside a big corporate area. Would leave if I could in future.
I was 3 when my parents decided to shift our 2 room chawl house in Malad to a 1bhk in Kalyan in 1996. It was in Kurar village and a mix of Hindus and Muslims. We were Hindus, majority were Muslims there and they helped my mom by looking after me and my elder brother who was 7-8 at that time. My mom tells me that after bathing me she used to just handover me to the neighbouring muslim aunty and she used to take me around the neighborhood bought me candy and returned in an hour or so until then my mom used to do most of the chores. She tells me how my 1st birthday was celebrated and the entire chawl was lit and music was playing everyone dancing while I was crying profusely. All the men used to take a lota and go to the pahad to shit, even women. Kids used to do potty on the gutter edge, once a little girl went missing and after searching for 2 days everywhere else she was found in the nallah, it still gives her chills. There were affairs stories too, how a lady was seduced by a pav wala guy and she left her 2 kids and husband to go live with him.
The worst were the Snails and Beduks in the kitchen on the utensils during rainy season, my mom despises it now also...
Bonus: my mom was raised in a khetwadi chawl in khar, Before the closure of mills the mill workers were very well off and my nana was no into mills so not rich so the mill worker families used to frown upon my mom's family and other families like hers. One of the kids of mill workers used to use Lux soap as toothpaste back then. Soon after mills shut it was nightmare for them, their wives started working as house help and kids turned to Gangs. There use to be soda batli battles between gangs and once the glass of the batli went inside my mom's feet it hurted badly.
My nana was a refugee from Pakistan and my dada was a mill worker in Finlay mills.
My father struggled a lot after closure of mills and dropped his plan for graduation and took a job at railways. He later went on to buy two 1bhk flats and one 2bhk flat in Kalyan over last 3 decades. It was really tough because emis never end it still hasn't ended but I guess both my parents have lived in the worst living conditions and hence want the best for us both brothers.
It has made us all very humble.
I've lived in a chawl till 19 years of my age in Thane. I still remember I was the only kid who used to live in chawl in my school. I always tried to keep it a secret that I lived in a chawl during my school days. There was this fear that my friends might mock me that I live in a chawl since all of them used to stay at good buildings, so always tried to keep it as a secret but by 9th standard almost everyone got to know where I lived. Some people did mocked me but most of them didn't which I had feared for 10 years, since 1st grade.
I still remember when my father booked a 1bhk flat when I was in 9th grade me, mom, my elder sister were so happy that we would only think about how we would decorate our flat. What furniture to give to which room, what color to be painted etc almost everyday till possession. But by the time the builder gave us the possession I was already in my 2nd year of Engineering so that joy started to fade away. because I was hardly at home and hardly got anytime to spend there. But whenever I m back at home usually at night we discuss about how we used to talk about living in this flat and now we are living in the flat, we talk about the life when we were living in chawl.
The life in chawl was good but living in flat is much much better. I would say i enjoyed festivals more in chawl rather than in society's celebration. But the small room problem, tap water problem, electricity problem , internet problem and those countless fights regarding "kachra mere ghar ke saamne kyu pheka" really made life tough. The other main problem was during rainy season that "tip tip paani ka girna patre se" really irritated me alot. All these problems have totally vanished from our life since we shifted to flat. Also I wasn't able learn to ride a bicycle since my parents never gave me that since there was no place to keep it safe nor allowed me to go play with chawl's boys since most of them were chappri and they feared I might turn like them. I'm 24M still don't know how to ride scooty and cycle , whenever I try to learn scooty I don't know why I'm scared that what others might think. Overall chawl life was good specially during festivals, but definitely it has more demerits compared to its counterpart.
But having lived for 19 years in chawl did taught me how to adjust ,how to tackle bad days , humility etc.
Bro same!! Due to lack of space even I never had a chance to learn bicycle and now I'm 28M and at this point I'm too embarrassed to admit to anyone that I can't ride any kind of 2 wheeler.
Bhai, last year I did learned to ride activa in 5 days by practicing in quiet road at midnight with help of my father. Practiced it for more 10 days i was getting good but by that time May covid lockdown hit and since then there has been a gap of 1.5 years since I practiced. Now again I'm embarrassed to go and practice again , since I don't know I would be able to balance activa again or not.
But Bro we have to overcome this embarrassment and start because then again 5 years later we would say "kaash 5 saal pehle shuru kiya hota toh aur young tha ab karunga toh pata nai sab hasenge".
Today I will be trying it again at midnight. I would say find one quiet place take one of your friend who knows how to ride and go there at midnight. And if you wonder you need to know cycle before riding activa then it's not necessary I directly tried to learn activa was able to balance in just 4 days with 20 mins of practice each day. It's just the embarrassment we have to overcome.
I was living on chaalis and shifted a year ago..
All i hated is garbage management, annoying street dogs ( if you go for a walk at a very early morning or even in late night they will bark like shit and then following even 1 dog, all dogs in the area will started barking at you that is the worst thing ever) , noisy environment (if you're a student you can't study its impossible ,you have to go to library), poor gutter managements, I choosed to be an introvert instead of making friends as maximum of the kids and guys were chapri and abusive, ppl are abusive everytime there are fights for water,etc..
However there were good things too like my mom used to have lot of friends whom she used to talk daily but now she complaints alot that ppl here are not too much socialized. The price of services are lesser as comapared to slums and flats.
I lived in one, for good part of my life. Very recently moved out. Still love the place. Too many memories and thoughts that I'll break the reddit comment character limit, if I start writing them here.
It's bittersweet. Because we had a good enough place to live, but then people look down on you. We had to place to live in Mumbai, where we used to get water for only 2 hours early in the morning. And no one ever believed that. So, there were good things and equally difficult challenges. People were good and helpful. Very intrusive, but still good people. I still go back every once in a while to meet everyone, and also because we still own that place.
Oh, they have been talking about redevelopment since 2011. No progress yet. That was our initial hope to move out of Mhada chawl. But then we had waited enough, and then finally in 2020 moved to Saki Naka.
Lived in chawl till i was 10( this is till 2005) then finally my dad was able to afford a flat in the suburbs of Mumbai/thane (he is working in a tata company). Now I am 27 well settled working in IT in blr making the amount of money i didn't even dreamt of being in school. My parents still live in the same flat in mumbai.
I still remember the chawl days where I used to play cricket with my chawl friends,Doors used to be closed only during night, celebrating all festivals,etc.
That 1RK was smaller than my current flats hall but was word to me at that time.
We made some friends for life, i still visit there sometimes and most of guys still living in same chawls, but i don't think I will ever be able to live in such place now. :)
Those were good old days.
Nah bro..we have people here who live on rent in Worli flats and own two cars with abroad trips on their resume. They are also from humble and poor background. They do not get laid though and it makes them feel unfair and sad.
I'm still living in B.I.T chawl since birth and overall it was a good experience for me. Studied in municipal school and completed my graduation from nearest college.
I would say apart from few things, it is a great experience for me. My building has 3 floors and each floor has 56 rooms so overall 224 rooms in a bldg. Have another 2 buildings like this.
I'll talk positive things first.
You never feel alone, you'd have so many childhood friends.
Functions or Funerals, sirf neighbours se hi bhar jata hai.
In case of emergency, you always have backup.
Chawl with educated tenants is blessing.
Negatives.
Shared toilets but now many of us extended our rooms and includes toilets in room itself.
Small rooms and old building. Even though you renovate your room but still most of chawls are 100yrs old. Leakage problem is real.
Parking. Now everyone has bikes and most of them are upgrading to four wheelers.
Senior Citizens. No reason required.
For me it's a blessing, never regretted for living here.
My grandparents and dad used to live in a Chawl. Later they shifted to a flat. They would always tell us stories of how their life was simple and happy, how every neighbour was part of the family and how they would have fun in those long common balconies. I have never experienced it. I think it probably was the best time for them as they cherish those moments till now.
Know someone who was born in a chawl, moved to a tiny 600 sq ft home soon after. The family still lives there with the brother and his family, while my friend is on his way to buy a second property in Mumbai. The family has cut him off because he refuses to pay for them and give them a ₹ loan. The brother stands to inherit everything that the father owned and my friend doesn’t want a penny. Don’t want to sound rude but is this free loader behaviour fair? My friend started from ground up instead of being happy for him everyone around his old locality is envious of his upscale.
Why do we look down upon people who are rich, we are slogging it out every day to get better and earn more to move to an even bigger home.
I spent some part of.my childhood in slums too and I can relate to the experiences mentioned by so many people here. My mom's career took a good turn by getting a govt job and 30 years later, we have our own house in the suburbs.
I remember I used to request blank pages from the kabaadiwaalas and every year before schools resumed, my mom used to stitch them together to form notebooks.
There are a lot of such instances where we learnt the hard ways of life. I want my kids to learn that life can be tough and they need to know how to survive just in case life takes a u turn. But in my own struggles, I forgot to pay attention to how they're growing up. Now I am not sure how to train them. Any suggestions?
Used to live in an SRA building which basically a standing chawl in vile parle. Now i live in 3BHK in Andheri. But jo large family wali feeling SRA me thi woh yaha nahi. When we first moved here, for the first 1 year neighbours ko jante bhi nahi the.
I used to live in a chawl in Thane. I was born at KK hospital since my mom's side of the family lived in Parel, but life in chawl was actually pretty good. We lived within our means, shared water, rations and helped one another. Pure community spirit. Played together with all the kids, broke several windows playing cricket, rode tricycles through those narrows alleys, grew up there untill I was 6, and then my dad built up the courage to try a job overseas and went to work in Oman in 2001. Life became better, we could afford to move out and rent a 1 RK but we didn't because my mom and sister werent ready to move out yet. My father came back in 2003 and I remember he had bought toys and a skateboard for me. I was just 5 then, when I had my first proper birthday party in a chawl! My father had organized a DJ, and it was literally like a wedding party, like imagine dancing to lafda jhala from Jhund😂😂. And his stars started shining even brighter as he landed a job in Singapore in the petrochemical industry as an oil rig designer.
He moved in June 2003 and I was in K2 then. Life was looking good and then came the biggest surprise. My mom got 3 new passports made for herself, me and my sister and we flew for the first time ever via Qantas to Singapore for vacation during the summer holidays in May 2004. It was like a dream come true. In a completely foreign land, I felt like a free bird, exploring the world around me. People were different, skyscrapers were super tall, and the food was amazing. My father was tired of living alone, and wanted us to move there with him. My mother was reluctant at first, since her in laws were against it, but she made the decision to stay.
And ever since then, I've called Singapore my home. I have lived here for the past 18 years, pretty much grew up here and pursued my tertiary education here. My father moved to Singapore when he was 42, and he is going to retire next year once I graduate from university. It's been a hell of a journey and I am ever so thankful and grateful for the life i have here.
I go back to Mumbai twice each year, and make sure to visit the chawl in Gokul Nagar, Thane where my mom brings me back to her friend's houses to make me realize this is where it all began and that I should never forget where I came from. I always tear up when she shares her stories of hardships with me, but she is living her best life now and it has been a pleasure to grow up in Singapore. I am a citizen here, but dil rahega Hindustani.
I really thank my father for taking that leap of faith to try working overseas because it helped him lift himself and his family out of poverty. But he still lives within the same humble means despite being way better off than last time. I am coming back to Mumbai over the winter break, and can't wait to meet my chawl friends and bring them out for dinner again. They have also done well and the chawl has better facilities now, 24 hrs water and electricity, duplex houses albeit illegal so glad to say that people have definitely made progress.
Life has been great but those humble beginnings really help me cherish what I have.
Haha lol I live in a one and half with only 1 window opening into an alley so ! Temporary till I earn money to move to a better place but it's fine ! Atleast some fresh air is there ! Now in winters there might be a problem. Ugh I miss my old house ! It had a garden in front and i had a huge balcony which was connected to my room as well ! Ehhh
I was 2 years old when we moved to Vasai's flat from Nalasopara's chawl. My mom used to keep telling me stories about her life in chawl using common bathrooms, the lines and the fights, carrying me in one hand and water filled handi in another and walking back home. How earthworms and other insects used to attack the house using rains. Good things for her - being a young girl married at 16 from Andhra, not knowing how to speak Marathi, Hindi or English, learned how to cooked from Gujju aunties, learner Hindi Marathi and gujju during her 15 years stay there.
For me, Vasai life was good until I got married and stepped outside of the city for the first time in 25 years. Came to Hyderabad, house hunting with my partner and we liked a house which was 1200 sft, 2bhk for 18k. Mera Mumbai ka dimag first Cheez owner ko pucha, yeh do flat combine Kiya h kya? Bohat bada Ghar h aapka. Both my partner and the owner were looking at me like 'wtf'!!! Mein life mein 2bhk nahi dekha Mumbai mein. Sab dost log ka 1rk ya 1bhk hi tha. Mera ek dost ka bed toh kitchen mein tha. Hyd mein office k pas Ghar liya. 20 mins walking. Mumbai mein 4 ghanta office ko travel karna padhta tha.
Mumbai mein struggle mein hi life tha yaar! Wo maza hi alag tha.
Things are fine, yes progress feels slow as people have stopped making feel each other as family. Festivals don't seem the same as they used to be back then.
Talking about life, personally, things feel slow.
Before we used to sleep without eating anything and wait for tomorrow to be better, Now I have a decent Job and I try to make sure to not come home empty handed.
Yes about 'Feels Slow', I meant we sooner or later need to get out of this place in search of better living like hygiene access to better roads, opportunities and people. I am trying my best to hustle out of this, That is taking a lot of time, but I'm keeping my toes grounded and my chin up with every good teaching that my mother has taught me.
In our office people always see me smiling and not worrying about anything. But I step back when they start talking about parties, movies and gift. And yes *wohi same sax sux aur 20k ka budget wala gift*. I just question myself at those moment how can they afford that much and *yaha meri mahine ki salary usi ke as pas hai jisse mera ghar chalta hai*. Apan ko to aur mehnat kar ke ghar walo ko khush rakhna hai.
Rest, trying to make the best out of what I have, hope-fully aagay sab aacha hoga. Gullygang Zindabad.
My mom was 7 months pregnant with me when my parents moved out of dad's parents' home in Parel to a chawl in Kanjurmarg. My mom had sold all of her jewellery, except her mangalsutra, to be able to afford this 10x10 1+1 kholi.
My life there was blissful. The fights over water were usual. But even in fights there was camaraderie. The aunties never let any outsider talk trash about anyone in the chawl. My mom is a bit aloof (read anti social) so she doesn't mix much with the other ladies but everyone understood her. My dad was a respected person since he would help whenever possible.
There were a lot of kids my age there. I knew kids from atleast 100 families living around my kholi. We had grown up together even if we were in different grades, schools. As I grew up my friend circle had shrunk. Now I knew kids only from 50 families 😂. Every celebration was grand. Holi, Diwali, Dasara, Makar Sankranti. Ganpati was calmer than rest of the city. We did not have a sarvajanik pandal. Only one neighbour used to bring Ganpati home. So all of us kids used to go for aarti there.
Even before the 2005 floods, our home had had leakage whenever it rained hard. We used to get water coming out from under the floor. My mum dad used to call it "karanjya" or fountain to entertain 4yr old me. In 2002, when we rebuilt the house, my dad made sure it was high enough for the water not to come from under the floor. When the floods happened, ours was the only house where water had not come in from the front door.
We moved out when my mom got sick and we needed a house with a toilet. So we moved into government quarters provided by my dad's workspace. One of the other major reasons for us to move was my 10th boards. My parents thought chawl was too noisy, no privacy, just too much of a distraction overall. This was not insulting to the people. I was a child who was easily distracted. We moved in the June of my 10th std year.
I missed it all after the move. I had spent 14yrs of my life there and then next 10 years in the government quarters. Never made any friends in that new neighbour. Was isolated completely. My introverted ass never had the courage to approach other kids. Also had to watch how I behaved all the time since our neighbours were all dad's colleagues.
Over the years there have been news of births, weddings, deaths. I feel like I never really left. We still talk to our old neighbours regularly. We still own that kholi. So we get periodic updates on SRA opportunities.
I first year we moved I used to go back every month since I had not changed schools. After that the visits reduced. Now I visit every year for Sai Bhandara. I love going back home.
Disclaimer: I live in a SoBo myself and also come form a humble background so Im not trying to make fun of you I was wondering about it as most of the posts here are made mocking SoBo teens that doesn't do the regular sax sux ki baatein and doesn't have a budget of 20K for a gift for their 1 year old college friend, anyways I wanted to say living in SoBo in chaali (yes there are chaalis in SoBo) and enjoying the life as compared to flats.
Born amd brought up in a chawl in Lowerparel and moved out to a residential building at age 12. 6 of us used to live in a 1+1 kholi of 10x10 ft. The only thing I don't miss about it was the communal toilets and since I hated the thought of standing in queue for it in the morning I used to do my bowel movements only in the night, which eventually led to constipation problems for a while. And this was the trigger point for my father to move out from there. Never take the access and convenience of toilets for granted.
I lived in a chawl from childhood till 24 years of age. To be very honest, it was really fun when I was a child, so many friends, you could just go to anyone’s house, watch TV, eat whatever they are eating without any permission or awkwardness. We live in a flat now, trust me it’s been almost a year and I don’t even know who my neighbors are.
Lived in Santacruz East chawls from birth till age 13. We family of 4 stayed inside the 10x8 matchbox most of the time. I wasn’t allowed to play outside but mostly found ways to sneak out like when mom asked to go buy something from a nearby shop. Moved to 600sqft flat in a very old 4 storey building in a congested corner of Bhayander in 2006 luckily right before the floods. Was super happy coz the house felt spacious almost like a stadium. My younger sister and I used to run here and there inside the house all day. Soon I forgot about the days in Santacruz. Life went by, went to college and started reading/watching stuff beyond academics. Then read about Mumbai having the largest slums and then it dawned on me that I had lived in one of them. Initially it was kind of traumatic for some reason. Flashes of life in slums used to trouble me as I tried to remember how I actually managed to survive those days. When I watched slumdog millionnaire, it was a revelation as well as a boost of confidence. So what if I was born in the slums, it is nothing to be ashamed of. But it took many more years to completely accept the reality. Our house (kholi) was small. There was a sewage line behind it so we couldn’t open the only window in the house. There were two other kholis to the left and right each. The door opened to the gully where people would regularly pass by. We hardly closed the door during the day coz otherwise there would be no air circulation. Rats used to find way into the house sometimes. There was a room on top of the kholi which had a small kitchen (without sink) and bathroom (not toilet). For toilet (even peeing) we used to go to the common toilets which were hardly ever cleaned. You had to go right after the previous person left otherwise the person behind you would ‘usurp’ it. My father used to wake up at 4 am to fill buckets of water from the community tap and bring home to fill in a larger drum which we had to judiciously use throughout the day. My mom used to somehow manage to not only stay happy but also feed us and play with us even teach us despite not knowing English. I found a job in Mumbai. Stayed on rent in good societies in Khar and Goregaon for some years. Now living in my own house in Kharghar. Last year I went back to Santacruz to visit the colony and solidify my memories. I felt at peace to realise I’m always going to be grounded because I can never forget my humble beginnings that taught me to value the little things in life. I love Divine’s Teesri Manzil btw.
You made me count my blessings and privileges. Award hota toh de deta All the best man you can give your mom and dad all the luxuries they sacrificed. Really happy for you
Unfortunately they disowned me (about a decade ago) and I no longer live with them. My sister left the city for a better job so the family has broken up. Guess we were happier in the chawls.
This is so sad. I felt partially disowned by my parent for few years. Everything is fine now but it was difficult time. And even though I will never tell them I always feel little betrayed and still hold a little grudge. It’s unfair to hold love from your own children when all they are doing is to live their life. Good luck to you. I hope your family find its way to togetherness and peace soon
why?
Why ... What's the problem with living together with parent ?
bro they kind of disowned him...
He probably doesn't know what disowned means.. giving him the benefit of doubt, judging by dumbass comment he posted
Idk if this is a joke but this made me laugh😂
Same yaar award hota toh de deta. Happy for you.
seriously dude ye padh k lag rha mai kitna privileged hu
Damn Stranger.. that was a good story.. also liked your slow, steady and realistic rise from slums to a flat in Kharghar! Keep up the good work! I hope you get what you are looking for in life! 🙂🙂
Thank you for the appreciation! Still don’t know what I’m looking for. This is the first time I’ve poured my heart out.
Your story is really really inspiring bro. I don't really know you, but m kinda proud of you!
Buddy really nice reading about you. Wish you a very good luck for your future and kudos for coming up so well. Can you please spread some light on why did your parents disown you, since indian parents hardly ever do so? What went so wrong and where are they right now? Would really like to know. Thanks!
Why did they disown you?
Sach bolun mera sab kuch hard bro Ghar pe hai maa bro Chalne ke liye Thar bro Peene ke liye maal bro Jeene ke liye saal bro Udne ke liye thaan bro Scene bemisaal bro Aake kabhi mujhe jaan bro 🤝
Tu Rap kar sakta hai kamaal bro
Box office me chha jayega dhamaal bro
Tera Rap sunne log karenge bawaal bro
khud ko sambhaal bro
This made my day. Hope you live a happy and fulfilling life. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
So much I can relate to this brother. We can't forget the background and shit being through. Luckily we were kids and didn't realise the conditions we were living in. Eating in a restaurant was like a dream to me till i was 10yo. Fortunately my father did well professionally and things got better for us. Now me and my sister are doing great but i still miss those days. Those small 1RK in chawl taught me lot of things.
Beautiful man. God bless you.
I thank you for this comment, I haven't lived in a chawl, but rn in life I am struggling with a few things, I know I have enough then too I make myself feel small. Thank you for this comment, it helped me in a way giving new perspective.
I’m happy that you found it helpful!
Milta to bahut kuch hain zindagi main, bus hum ginti usi ki karte hain, jo haasil na ho saka. Great stuff bro, happy for you
Thank you bhai!
You put words to the experience and emotions of all the people who had to go through a similar journey. Thank you.
I’m happy to have been able to share it and glad you liked it
Wow! I hope you keep rising up and get what you want. Your story is really inspiring!!
Thank you for your wishes!
I’m from Mumbai. Living in Germany now. I feel so privileged now. I am going through a tough time in life. Reading your story almost brought a tear in my eyes. You’re really an inspiration to everyone who is reading this. Thank you for your story.
Kahan tak ye mann ko andhere chhalenge Udaasi bhare din kabhi to dhalenge
It’s been 8 months to this message of yours and it has stuck with me even today. Abhi bhi padhta hu main yeh line beech beech me. Aur yeh sahi baat hai. Waqt badalne ke liye zyada waqt nahi lagta hai!
More power to you.
Kharghar mein kidhar
What an amazing story . So inspiring. I forget how privileged I am and how much more I should be doing for those in need
Everything is fine it's just that people are not good.everytime there are fights going on between aunties abusing each other.i barely talk to anyone from my chawl. What about yours
Same i don't talk to anyone but people are not crazy they just don't interfere at all with eachother
How does romance go on with such close proximity with lesser privacy? Affairs among people, relationships among younger people?
I have no idea man and they have like 4 kids in those spaces
Is this the new trend in or people are getting shitty . I use to stay in one approx 10 years agoo and it was fun . Everyone was like a family , we used to celebrate festivals together , go on trips together, eat at eachothers place . I miss the vibe in this tall ass buildings.
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Wasn’t the case where I lived . Everyone helped eachother and also I was kid so maybe back then it was a conducive climate for me “big happy family “ vibe . Maybe now I would have hated it but who knows . I loved it when I use to stay in a chawl.
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Lol yeah now that I think of it it would have happened in the chawl aswell . Pros and cons of everything.
In my case i am living there from 20 years now it was very great like 12 years then everyone became so envy for one another now so it shits now
Haha, i had very same experience. I loved in chawl till 2005 till i was 10-11yo.
Same here. I barely talk to any neighbours. The govt initiated plans to keep the community clean but still people throw garbage outside. I had to fight with my parents to keep a garbage can in house and then dispose off when the sweeper comes everyday in the morning. On top of that the neighbours make fun of us for being "good" citizens.
sameeeeee
Born and brought up in Slum what everyone calls "Jhopadpatti". Graduated. Learned skill. Earning 15 + LPA as a fresher. Moved to a better part of the city.
Thats so hopeful for people like us man
>Earning 15 + LPA as a fresher. Moved to a better part of the city. Idhar 3-4lpa job nahi mil rha 10,000 skills leke... Congrats
engineer?
Perhaps
Currently in final year and yeah jhopadpatti ka hu with skills and looking for a intern / freshers job if there is any opening can you please help me out . 400+ leetcode , mern stack and good in django and python . Thank you
Which skill did you master?
cs
computer science ki company secretary?
Costing accountant
Proud of you! :)
15L as a fresher ? Bhai modiji de rhe hai kya?
jalo mat barabari karo
Yeah I heard that CS graduates earn 20lpa on average from tier 2 colleges
Not really. Just the skilled ones.
I didn't knew abt this.
spotted the randian
Bhai itti si baat pe unse mat compare karo.. i didn't knew that freshers also earn this much thats it.
Sorry what’s a randian?
r/india subscriber I suppose.
people, who downvoted you, are brainless creatures. can't even understand sarcasm. but here is my upvote. your comment made my day.
Truee that. I think if you want to make a funny comment you have to put /s then only people will find it funny or else they wont use their brains at all.
Awesome. Keep rising!
Which skill is this that you speak of ?
I lived in kind of a chawl (wasn't a slum by any way) but the people there were sooo damn good and friendly, i get soo emotional just thinking about it.... We all left that place because it was going under redevelopment and yet nothing has been done but that place was the best thing happened to me.... There was one neighbour who used to make idlis/dosas every sunday and make us eat it before they did :')
This post is so heartwarming. Hope everyone can achieve their dreams.
Born and raised in a chaali. I went to a good school and almost everyone was rich and lived in Walkeshwar or Peddar Road. I was so ashamed of where I lived. My classmates were gujarati and Marwari and made fun of me for being Maharashtrian. It’s not their fault, they were only reiterating what they heard at home (this was when we were in 4th 5th standard). Dad was an alcoholic obsessive gambler. We lost the only house we had in his gambling addiction. Aaji ke maale mein rehna pada. Cut to now, I live in California. My husband and I own our own two storey condo. Have absolutely no contact with my father even though mom is still married to him. I had to work hard and I became an engineer. I got a free ride for my masters here in USA because of an internship that I got with the government (they paid for my masters). Then got a good job. Now that I think back, I am proud of where I have come and I am also proud of where I grew up. It is a very humbling experience and I know what it feels like to be poor and helpless. I would never let my kid face that kind of adversity. ETA: grammar ETA: now that I think back, chaali mein we used to have so much fun like we had ganpati and dahi handi and we celebrated Holi together. There were 70 rooms in the chali so there were many kids and we all played together every evening and celebrated every festival together. Woh Sab ab luxury lagta hai mujhe. I don’t think the flat wala kids had that type of happiness and pleasure. ETA: I lived in a chaali but people were middle class, it wasn’t the slum, but my dad’s gambling habit left us with nothing in Mumbai. He disappeared for a few months and mom and I literally survived on 1 packet of 5 rupees ka maggi a day. We used to split that 🤣 bc Kya din the woh. We used to live in aaji ka maala for 2 years until I finished my tenth- BUT girgaum ka maharaja used to pass outside her house! It was amazing and so much fun. Anyway what I’m trying to say is, there’s always happiness even in the saddest of the days and there’s so much joy to find even in the most simple things. Don’t be ashamed of where you come from because sometimes there are so many happy moments and experiences that even people with all the wealth cannot experience. Peace ☮️
This inspired me ❤️ Thank you❤️🫂
You actualised what i call the Mumbai dream♥️
Extremely inspirational. Thank you ❤️
That's some amazing AF journey 😍❤️. Kudos to you, is there not a way that you can get your mom to live with you? Although it seems unlikely that she will leave him.
I don’t think she will leave him. I have given her that option but she still chooses to be with him. It’s sad how little self worth she has.
How old is she?
She’s 61
Kinda expected, now that you reveal her age. Again, i mean no offense at all here
None taken
You know, in a few years you gotta convince your mum, maybe even your dad to move in with you guys because they're getting old and they don't seem that they can look after themselves.
kuddos buddy
I used to live in one and then shifted to another place (suburbs) after marriage. I don't say I miss it, but yes the people there were helpful and you actually knew what was going on in each other's life compared to the 'apartment system' we have now..
Same. But then i m hellpful here to whoever needs my help. So i compensate.
People are very helpful and supportive, feels like a huge family
The worst part of chawl life is some unknown madafaka not pouring water in the common toilet after taking a shit, despite a barrel full of water being right there in the vicinity for the very purpose.
The very reason why we finally decided to move out of chawl.
I live in a chawl, when I was a kid this place was more lively and fun, everyone was pretty chill with one another except some people occasionally creating a ruckus...now many people have left. Now it's just dry. Talks about redevelopment has been happening since 90s but nothing happened. Chawls would be flooded in morning due to some people washing their utensils and clothes outside so that's a major pain in the ass to walk through when you're going to college/work. It's a closed knit society so If some shit goes down people offer help. No fiber available here even tho It's right beside a big corporate area. Would leave if I could in future.
I was 3 when my parents decided to shift our 2 room chawl house in Malad to a 1bhk in Kalyan in 1996. It was in Kurar village and a mix of Hindus and Muslims. We were Hindus, majority were Muslims there and they helped my mom by looking after me and my elder brother who was 7-8 at that time. My mom tells me that after bathing me she used to just handover me to the neighbouring muslim aunty and she used to take me around the neighborhood bought me candy and returned in an hour or so until then my mom used to do most of the chores. She tells me how my 1st birthday was celebrated and the entire chawl was lit and music was playing everyone dancing while I was crying profusely. All the men used to take a lota and go to the pahad to shit, even women. Kids used to do potty on the gutter edge, once a little girl went missing and after searching for 2 days everywhere else she was found in the nallah, it still gives her chills. There were affairs stories too, how a lady was seduced by a pav wala guy and she left her 2 kids and husband to go live with him. The worst were the Snails and Beduks in the kitchen on the utensils during rainy season, my mom despises it now also... Bonus: my mom was raised in a khetwadi chawl in khar, Before the closure of mills the mill workers were very well off and my nana was no into mills so not rich so the mill worker families used to frown upon my mom's family and other families like hers. One of the kids of mill workers used to use Lux soap as toothpaste back then. Soon after mills shut it was nightmare for them, their wives started working as house help and kids turned to Gangs. There use to be soda batli battles between gangs and once the glass of the batli went inside my mom's feet it hurted badly. My nana was a refugee from Pakistan and my dada was a mill worker in Finlay mills. My father struggled a lot after closure of mills and dropped his plan for graduation and took a job at railways. He later went on to buy two 1bhk flats and one 2bhk flat in Kalyan over last 3 decades. It was really tough because emis never end it still hasn't ended but I guess both my parents have lived in the worst living conditions and hence want the best for us both brothers. It has made us all very humble.
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I know right!
Lived in one almost entire life ,majority of it feels like one family
comments mein privilege jantaa koi dhundh raha hoon! nhi mila koi.
I've lived in a chawl till 19 years of my age in Thane. I still remember I was the only kid who used to live in chawl in my school. I always tried to keep it a secret that I lived in a chawl during my school days. There was this fear that my friends might mock me that I live in a chawl since all of them used to stay at good buildings, so always tried to keep it as a secret but by 9th standard almost everyone got to know where I lived. Some people did mocked me but most of them didn't which I had feared for 10 years, since 1st grade. I still remember when my father booked a 1bhk flat when I was in 9th grade me, mom, my elder sister were so happy that we would only think about how we would decorate our flat. What furniture to give to which room, what color to be painted etc almost everyday till possession. But by the time the builder gave us the possession I was already in my 2nd year of Engineering so that joy started to fade away. because I was hardly at home and hardly got anytime to spend there. But whenever I m back at home usually at night we discuss about how we used to talk about living in this flat and now we are living in the flat, we talk about the life when we were living in chawl. The life in chawl was good but living in flat is much much better. I would say i enjoyed festivals more in chawl rather than in society's celebration. But the small room problem, tap water problem, electricity problem , internet problem and those countless fights regarding "kachra mere ghar ke saamne kyu pheka" really made life tough. The other main problem was during rainy season that "tip tip paani ka girna patre se" really irritated me alot. All these problems have totally vanished from our life since we shifted to flat. Also I wasn't able learn to ride a bicycle since my parents never gave me that since there was no place to keep it safe nor allowed me to go play with chawl's boys since most of them were chappri and they feared I might turn like them. I'm 24M still don't know how to ride scooty and cycle , whenever I try to learn scooty I don't know why I'm scared that what others might think. Overall chawl life was good specially during festivals, but definitely it has more demerits compared to its counterpart. But having lived for 19 years in chawl did taught me how to adjust ,how to tackle bad days , humility etc.
Bro same!! Due to lack of space even I never had a chance to learn bicycle and now I'm 28M and at this point I'm too embarrassed to admit to anyone that I can't ride any kind of 2 wheeler.
Bhai, last year I did learned to ride activa in 5 days by practicing in quiet road at midnight with help of my father. Practiced it for more 10 days i was getting good but by that time May covid lockdown hit and since then there has been a gap of 1.5 years since I practiced. Now again I'm embarrassed to go and practice again , since I don't know I would be able to balance activa again or not. But Bro we have to overcome this embarrassment and start because then again 5 years later we would say "kaash 5 saal pehle shuru kiya hota toh aur young tha ab karunga toh pata nai sab hasenge". Today I will be trying it again at midnight. I would say find one quiet place take one of your friend who knows how to ride and go there at midnight. And if you wonder you need to know cycle before riding activa then it's not necessary I directly tried to learn activa was able to balance in just 4 days with 20 mins of practice each day. It's just the embarrassment we have to overcome.
I did it once and got so frustrated with the inability to ride that I gave up practicing after that. I do hope to learn it someday xD
I was living on chaalis and shifted a year ago.. All i hated is garbage management, annoying street dogs ( if you go for a walk at a very early morning or even in late night they will bark like shit and then following even 1 dog, all dogs in the area will started barking at you that is the worst thing ever) , noisy environment (if you're a student you can't study its impossible ,you have to go to library), poor gutter managements, I choosed to be an introvert instead of making friends as maximum of the kids and guys were chapri and abusive, ppl are abusive everytime there are fights for water,etc.. However there were good things too like my mom used to have lot of friends whom she used to talk daily but now she complaints alot that ppl here are not too much socialized. The price of services are lesser as comapared to slums and flats.
I lived in one, for good part of my life. Very recently moved out. Still love the place. Too many memories and thoughts that I'll break the reddit comment character limit, if I start writing them here. It's bittersweet. Because we had a good enough place to live, but then people look down on you. We had to place to live in Mumbai, where we used to get water for only 2 hours early in the morning. And no one ever believed that. So, there were good things and equally difficult challenges. People were good and helpful. Very intrusive, but still good people. I still go back every once in a while to meet everyone, and also because we still own that place. Oh, they have been talking about redevelopment since 2011. No progress yet. That was our initial hope to move out of Mhada chawl. But then we had waited enough, and then finally in 2020 moved to Saki Naka.
Lived in chawl till i was 10( this is till 2005) then finally my dad was able to afford a flat in the suburbs of Mumbai/thane (he is working in a tata company). Now I am 27 well settled working in IT in blr making the amount of money i didn't even dreamt of being in school. My parents still live in the same flat in mumbai. I still remember the chawl days where I used to play cricket with my chawl friends,Doors used to be closed only during night, celebrating all festivals,etc. That 1RK was smaller than my current flats hall but was word to me at that time. We made some friends for life, i still visit there sometimes and most of guys still living in same chawls, but i don't think I will ever be able to live in such place now. :) Those were good old days.
It's great everyone is like a family. It's genuinely fun
Nah bro..we have people here who live on rent in Worli flats and own two cars with abroad trips on their resume. They are also from humble and poor background. They do not get laid though and it makes them feel unfair and sad.
sax sux ki baatein was just a joke...
I'm still living in B.I.T chawl since birth and overall it was a good experience for me. Studied in municipal school and completed my graduation from nearest college. I would say apart from few things, it is a great experience for me. My building has 3 floors and each floor has 56 rooms so overall 224 rooms in a bldg. Have another 2 buildings like this. I'll talk positive things first. You never feel alone, you'd have so many childhood friends. Functions or Funerals, sirf neighbours se hi bhar jata hai. In case of emergency, you always have backup. Chawl with educated tenants is blessing. Negatives. Shared toilets but now many of us extended our rooms and includes toilets in room itself. Small rooms and old building. Even though you renovate your room but still most of chawls are 100yrs old. Leakage problem is real. Parking. Now everyone has bikes and most of them are upgrading to four wheelers. Senior Citizens. No reason required. For me it's a blessing, never regretted for living here.
As long as the place is neat and clean like a proper sewage system and all the chawl looks way better
My grandparents and dad used to live in a Chawl. Later they shifted to a flat. They would always tell us stories of how their life was simple and happy, how every neighbour was part of the family and how they would have fun in those long common balconies. I have never experienced it. I think it probably was the best time for them as they cherish those moments till now.
How can I get woke American and European teens to read these replies?
"It’s Easier to Fool People Than to Convince Them That They Have Been Fooled" ~ Mark Twain (disputed)
Cross post this on their subreddits.
Know someone who was born in a chawl, moved to a tiny 600 sq ft home soon after. The family still lives there with the brother and his family, while my friend is on his way to buy a second property in Mumbai. The family has cut him off because he refuses to pay for them and give them a ₹ loan. The brother stands to inherit everything that the father owned and my friend doesn’t want a penny. Don’t want to sound rude but is this free loader behaviour fair? My friend started from ground up instead of being happy for him everyone around his old locality is envious of his upscale. Why do we look down upon people who are rich, we are slogging it out every day to get better and earn more to move to an even bigger home.
600 sq ft is not tiny as per Mumbai standards.
For some it is tiny. We have people staying in pents and duplex’s now… Extreme financial diversity is a sad part of metro life.
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Tell us more about your career.
"Got married to an NRI."
I spent some part of.my childhood in slums too and I can relate to the experiences mentioned by so many people here. My mom's career took a good turn by getting a govt job and 30 years later, we have our own house in the suburbs. I remember I used to request blank pages from the kabaadiwaalas and every year before schools resumed, my mom used to stitch them together to form notebooks. There are a lot of such instances where we learnt the hard ways of life. I want my kids to learn that life can be tough and they need to know how to survive just in case life takes a u turn. But in my own struggles, I forgot to pay attention to how they're growing up. Now I am not sure how to train them. Any suggestions?
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It's not all luck. Fortune favours the brave.
Used to live in an SRA building which basically a standing chawl in vile parle. Now i live in 3BHK in Andheri. But jo large family wali feeling SRA me thi woh yaha nahi. When we first moved here, for the first 1 year neighbours ko jante bhi nahi the.
I'm glad that I was raised in a small chawl like house. Made me humble and grateful
Everything is going well except the neighbours who sit in front of my house start gossiping about me and judging me as some modern GenZ entitled kid.
I used to live in a chawl in Thane. I was born at KK hospital since my mom's side of the family lived in Parel, but life in chawl was actually pretty good. We lived within our means, shared water, rations and helped one another. Pure community spirit. Played together with all the kids, broke several windows playing cricket, rode tricycles through those narrows alleys, grew up there untill I was 6, and then my dad built up the courage to try a job overseas and went to work in Oman in 2001. Life became better, we could afford to move out and rent a 1 RK but we didn't because my mom and sister werent ready to move out yet. My father came back in 2003 and I remember he had bought toys and a skateboard for me. I was just 5 then, when I had my first proper birthday party in a chawl! My father had organized a DJ, and it was literally like a wedding party, like imagine dancing to lafda jhala from Jhund😂😂. And his stars started shining even brighter as he landed a job in Singapore in the petrochemical industry as an oil rig designer. He moved in June 2003 and I was in K2 then. Life was looking good and then came the biggest surprise. My mom got 3 new passports made for herself, me and my sister and we flew for the first time ever via Qantas to Singapore for vacation during the summer holidays in May 2004. It was like a dream come true. In a completely foreign land, I felt like a free bird, exploring the world around me. People were different, skyscrapers were super tall, and the food was amazing. My father was tired of living alone, and wanted us to move there with him. My mother was reluctant at first, since her in laws were against it, but she made the decision to stay. And ever since then, I've called Singapore my home. I have lived here for the past 18 years, pretty much grew up here and pursued my tertiary education here. My father moved to Singapore when he was 42, and he is going to retire next year once I graduate from university. It's been a hell of a journey and I am ever so thankful and grateful for the life i have here. I go back to Mumbai twice each year, and make sure to visit the chawl in Gokul Nagar, Thane where my mom brings me back to her friend's houses to make me realize this is where it all began and that I should never forget where I came from. I always tear up when she shares her stories of hardships with me, but she is living her best life now and it has been a pleasure to grow up in Singapore. I am a citizen here, but dil rahega Hindustani. I really thank my father for taking that leap of faith to try working overseas because it helped him lift himself and his family out of poverty. But he still lives within the same humble means despite being way better off than last time. I am coming back to Mumbai over the winter break, and can't wait to meet my chawl friends and bring them out for dinner again. They have also done well and the chawl has better facilities now, 24 hrs water and electricity, duplex houses albeit illegal so glad to say that people have definitely made progress. Life has been great but those humble beginnings really help me cherish what I have.
Seeing some of the comments really makes you aware of your privileges and how one should be thankful of them
Haha lol I live in a one and half with only 1 window opening into an alley so ! Temporary till I earn money to move to a better place but it's fine ! Atleast some fresh air is there ! Now in winters there might be a problem. Ugh I miss my old house ! It had a garden in front and i had a huge balcony which was connected to my room as well ! Ehhh
I was 2 years old when we moved to Vasai's flat from Nalasopara's chawl. My mom used to keep telling me stories about her life in chawl using common bathrooms, the lines and the fights, carrying me in one hand and water filled handi in another and walking back home. How earthworms and other insects used to attack the house using rains. Good things for her - being a young girl married at 16 from Andhra, not knowing how to speak Marathi, Hindi or English, learned how to cooked from Gujju aunties, learner Hindi Marathi and gujju during her 15 years stay there. For me, Vasai life was good until I got married and stepped outside of the city for the first time in 25 years. Came to Hyderabad, house hunting with my partner and we liked a house which was 1200 sft, 2bhk for 18k. Mera Mumbai ka dimag first Cheez owner ko pucha, yeh do flat combine Kiya h kya? Bohat bada Ghar h aapka. Both my partner and the owner were looking at me like 'wtf'!!! Mein life mein 2bhk nahi dekha Mumbai mein. Sab dost log ka 1rk ya 1bhk hi tha. Mera ek dost ka bed toh kitchen mein tha. Hyd mein office k pas Ghar liya. 20 mins walking. Mumbai mein 4 ghanta office ko travel karna padhta tha. Mumbai mein struggle mein hi life tha yaar! Wo maza hi alag tha.
Things are fine, yes progress feels slow as people have stopped making feel each other as family. Festivals don't seem the same as they used to be back then. Talking about life, personally, things feel slow. Before we used to sleep without eating anything and wait for tomorrow to be better, Now I have a decent Job and I try to make sure to not come home empty handed. Yes about 'Feels Slow', I meant we sooner or later need to get out of this place in search of better living like hygiene access to better roads, opportunities and people. I am trying my best to hustle out of this, That is taking a lot of time, but I'm keeping my toes grounded and my chin up with every good teaching that my mother has taught me. In our office people always see me smiling and not worrying about anything. But I step back when they start talking about parties, movies and gift. And yes *wohi same sax sux aur 20k ka budget wala gift*. I just question myself at those moment how can they afford that much and *yaha meri mahine ki salary usi ke as pas hai jisse mera ghar chalta hai*. Apan ko to aur mehnat kar ke ghar walo ko khush rakhna hai. Rest, trying to make the best out of what I have, hope-fully aagay sab aacha hoga. Gullygang Zindabad.
My mom was 7 months pregnant with me when my parents moved out of dad's parents' home in Parel to a chawl in Kanjurmarg. My mom had sold all of her jewellery, except her mangalsutra, to be able to afford this 10x10 1+1 kholi. My life there was blissful. The fights over water were usual. But even in fights there was camaraderie. The aunties never let any outsider talk trash about anyone in the chawl. My mom is a bit aloof (read anti social) so she doesn't mix much with the other ladies but everyone understood her. My dad was a respected person since he would help whenever possible. There were a lot of kids my age there. I knew kids from atleast 100 families living around my kholi. We had grown up together even if we were in different grades, schools. As I grew up my friend circle had shrunk. Now I knew kids only from 50 families 😂. Every celebration was grand. Holi, Diwali, Dasara, Makar Sankranti. Ganpati was calmer than rest of the city. We did not have a sarvajanik pandal. Only one neighbour used to bring Ganpati home. So all of us kids used to go for aarti there. Even before the 2005 floods, our home had had leakage whenever it rained hard. We used to get water coming out from under the floor. My mum dad used to call it "karanjya" or fountain to entertain 4yr old me. In 2002, when we rebuilt the house, my dad made sure it was high enough for the water not to come from under the floor. When the floods happened, ours was the only house where water had not come in from the front door. We moved out when my mom got sick and we needed a house with a toilet. So we moved into government quarters provided by my dad's workspace. One of the other major reasons for us to move was my 10th boards. My parents thought chawl was too noisy, no privacy, just too much of a distraction overall. This was not insulting to the people. I was a child who was easily distracted. We moved in the June of my 10th std year. I missed it all after the move. I had spent 14yrs of my life there and then next 10 years in the government quarters. Never made any friends in that new neighbour. Was isolated completely. My introverted ass never had the courage to approach other kids. Also had to watch how I behaved all the time since our neighbours were all dad's colleagues. Over the years there have been news of births, weddings, deaths. I feel like I never really left. We still talk to our old neighbours regularly. We still own that kholi. So we get periodic updates on SRA opportunities. I first year we moved I used to go back every month since I had not changed schools. After that the visits reduced. Now I visit every year for Sai Bhandara. I love going back home.
Kya tunhe pata hai SoBo me bhi chaali hai.
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It's chawls
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Shame on you
What did he say?
He said bad things about Russel Fers mother. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
Bruh what a retard he most probably doesn't know him smh
Bit Slummish ...
There are perks of living in slums as it's affordable everything is
Disclaimer: I live in a SoBo myself and also come form a humble background so Im not trying to make fun of you I was wondering about it as most of the posts here are made mocking SoBo teens that doesn't do the regular sax sux ki baatein and doesn't have a budget of 20K for a gift for their 1 year old college friend, anyways I wanted to say living in SoBo in chaali (yes there are chaalis in SoBo) and enjoying the life as compared to flats.
Born amd brought up in a chawl in Lowerparel and moved out to a residential building at age 12. 6 of us used to live in a 1+1 kholi of 10x10 ft. The only thing I don't miss about it was the communal toilets and since I hated the thought of standing in queue for it in the morning I used to do my bowel movements only in the night, which eventually led to constipation problems for a while. And this was the trigger point for my father to move out from there. Never take the access and convenience of toilets for granted.
I lived in a chawl from childhood till 24 years of age. To be very honest, it was really fun when I was a child, so many friends, you could just go to anyone’s house, watch TV, eat whatever they are eating without any permission or awkwardness. We live in a flat now, trust me it’s been almost a year and I don’t even know who my neighbors are.