I recently spent a morning with Mukesh Mehta, a private real estate developer appointed adviser to the Government of Maharashtra to redevelop Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s largest slums. Slum redevelopment has become a polarizing issue in Mumbai, often times dividing the developer, residents, business owners and non-profits from each other. Mehta’s challenge is to find a plan that will satiate Mumbai’s need for more luxury housing and provide a better existence for the current slum dwellers, while appeasing various politicians and bureaucrats. My challenge for Monocle was to convey this in one image. Get a nice image of Mehta in the slums, while getting a good sense of the people and place, and avoid the harsh realities of poverty. Thankfully Mehta was up for the challenge as well and as we meandered our way through the narrow corridors of Dharavi, I was able to get this image while he was busy speaking to residents about redevelopment plans.
~ On Assignment: Monocle Magazine, Mukesh Mehta ~
I recently spent a morning with Mukesh Mehta, a private real estate developer appointed adviser to the Government of Maharashtra to redevelop Dharavi, one of Mumbai’s largest slums. Slum redevelopment has become a polarizing issue in Mumbai, often times dividing the developer, residents, business owners and non-profits from each other. Mehta’s challenge is to find a plan that will satiate Mumbai’s need for more luxury housing and provide a better existence for the current slum dwellers, while appeasing various politicians and bureaucrats. My challenge for Monocle was to convey this in one image. Get a nice image of Mehta in the slums, while getting a good sense of the people and place, and avoid the harsh realities of poverty. Thankfully Mehta was up for the challenge as well and as we meandered our way through the narrow corridors of Dharavi, I was able to get this image while he was busy speaking to residents about redevelopment plans.