An assembly line of graceful pots and vases greet you as you enter Kumbharwada, or the colony of potters, in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum cluster. From shapeless mud to attractive pots, some left for drying, others on display for sale, Kumbharwada has it all. Ramila Dhanji is among the many women who are busy preparing clay that will be moulded into perfect finished objects. She moulds clay as easily as she kneads dough into chapattis. Representing just one of the 800 families employed here, she is the breadwinner who toils more than 12 hours a day to feed her family and lives a life no less than that of a superwoman. Waking up as early as 4am to fill water, cook and clean, she often ends her day by getting beaten up by her drunken husband. “There are days when I don’t get to enter my own house,” she says, “My husband is often so drunk that he just doesn’t let me come in. It is extremely embarrassing for me, but I can’t do anything. I then have to sleep with my sister-in-law who lives close by.”  

This first appeared in January 16-31 issue of the Governance Now magazine (Vol.01, Issue 24).

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