To stay in the mood of the Madlib release and party last night at the LA store, I thought I'll post something on the Big Bad City. That's right, the one and only: Mumbai a.k.a. Bombay, the schizophrenic city with 2 names which is more prolific than any other at the moment. Not only does it produce more movies than LA, it also ridicules New York's reputation for being a rude city (This is not me saying it but the very respectable "Reader's Digest", quoted in wikipedia.)

To put things in context, Mumbai is India's most populated city and the country's financial and commercial capital. As you might have heard, China and India are the new giant players in the global game. Both countries are growing and urbanizing at unprecedented rates. While political dictatorship (to call things by their name) in China allows bureaucrats to tear down old neighborhoods, plan new cities and redevelop existing ones without having to deal with local opposition, things are a bit more messy in India.

Despite being notoriously corrupt, India has a lively democracy that could well serve as an inspiration to other countries (including some pretending to democratize the world by dropping bombs on it). True, Indians elect Bollywood stars to high political positions once in a while and that might look a little immature, but then again the richest state in the US has the Governator.

So much for politics. Here are a few shots from recent urbanological expeditions in Mumbai, starting with images of Dharavi, a 500 acres informal settlement in the heart of the city. Probably the most densely populated area in the world. Just to give you an idea, the population density of Dharavi is 4 to 6 times higher than that of daytime Manhattan.

These photos are all daytime shots.

Kids are always smiling and happy to see a lost foreigner passing by. A feeling you don't get in Dharavi is that people are sad or depressed. Quite the opposite. People are up beat.

A new plan by the government and the private sector to "redevelop Dharavi into a world-class township". People are looking at the poster showing a green field with a little bird. How cute. But what about them and the place they built from scratch?

Made some friends. They didn't mug me I swear. Actually Dharavi is really safe.

Summer sports

In order to keep up with the massive influx of immigrants from rural areas to the city many things have been tried. Ghandi said let's help people where they are, in the countryside so they don't have to come to the city and live in slums. Some has been done but not enough to stop people from pouring in. Others like the self-styled nationalist Hindu leader Bal Thackeray believe that "Sons of the Soil" deserve more rights than those who are not from Mahashtra (Mumbai's state). This ideology mainly resulted in inciting ruthless violence against Muslims communities, some of which have been in Mumbai since before it was called Bombay by the Portuguese.

Bal Thackeray, another villain politician with style.

Taking it in their own hands urban planners started using their calculators and aggregating numbers. "The city needs mass housing" they said. "Let us build many high-rise concrete housing buildings!" (Yes the same kind that failed miserably all over the US and Europe -ever been to East New York?) Developers could not agree more. People need high-rise. So they built them on the edges of the city. Here are few shots from New Bombay and Mira Road.

New Bombay same old story.

Mira Road is a little more messy and human...

... but still has fenced windows and sorry sights.

The Indian urban masala quickly takes over though. That really saves it.

And as a special bonus, here is a short video of a crowded commuter train. No doors, no mercy. People are often singing together. Imagine that in New York subways? At the end of the movie you can hear the voice of ttl idol Frogman, saying he wants some more.

More images and texts on Mumbai here.