Mumbai's Chawls..

..5 floors. 12x18x10 ft houses. Common toilets. Water in tanks. No privacy. No space. No time. Multi Religious. Middle Class. Kites. Ganapati Pujas Navratris and New Years. Govinda. Children Children Children. Bais. Lungis. Cricket. Black Walls. Nicknames. Kohli May Queens. Pigeons. Bollywood. PCO Booths. Barbers. Dogs and Cows. Pav Bhaji centers. Rubble. Cycles. Motor Bikes..
The oldest chawls of Mumbai were built between the World Wars by people who had made money in WW1. Originally modelled on army barracks, the large influx of mill workers into Mumbai flooded the tenements in the 70s and 80s. At first, it was inhabited only by mill workers but soon their families too joined them. Inspite of the lack of space, people did not move for a host of reasons: rising prices, proximity to down town Mumbai, proximity to work and the addictive community feeling that came with staying in chawls.