issue #20

The mass demolition of slums in a bid to clean up Mumbai’s eyesore might just turn around to become a bigger problem than it ever was.

What is it about bad news that makes you thank your lucky stars it’s not happening to you? Well not until it hits your own backyard. I always wondered when I saw people washing themselves in sewers, how Mumbai managed to hold itself together despite the fact that it was bursting at the seams. You’ve got people paying rent to live in tin shanties, in a city which has the second most expensive real estate in the world. How bad do people want to live there?

Obviously, really bad.

It’s not the first attempt in history to sweep an unwanted part of humanity under the carpet, despite the vague promises of rehabilitation for those who came before 1995. The scenery might temporarily be saved, but the consequences of such an act is yet to be seen, and they may not be pleasant.

- rhea daniel
(editor)

in this issue:
shorts | poetry | critique | images