I was scoping out Dharavi yesterday for upcoming ethnographic research and came across this pair sharing headphones to catch the India/Sri Lanka cricket match via a mobile phone. The aspiration value of this part-shared, part-private use of a cellphone feature was evident – as onlookers could sense the excitement they were missing, through following the men’s expressions as the game progressed.
You can follow research updates on the REculture and Prepaid Economy blogs, plus check out images over upcoming weeks on my Dharavi Flickr set.
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Well spotted regarding the headphones.
A Mumbai resident and ’stitchwallah’ guided me through Dharavi recently.
She took an awesome picture of how 44 gallon drumscan become both the walls of a house and a picture of beauty
The photo is here
I shot for a couple of hours in Dharavi last year. I talked to the residents for quite a while and was very intrigued by their social acceptance and political awareness… The kids were fun. Really want to get back there again.