UN HABITAT divides slums into two categories. Some are “slums of despair” – declining settlements with few services and often makeshift tenements, some barely better than the dwellings of itinerant pavement dwellers. Others, however, are “slums of hope,” progressing settlements where residents largely remain by choice, thriving with shops, manufacturing, places of worship, and utilities .

We most often hear about the former, but pictured here are three of those "slums of hope" in the Mumbai area. They might even be called Bohemian in a way - people work, play, and live with creativity, resilience, and strong community spirit. Slum is not always a dirty word in India, nor should it be. I was surprised; perhaps you will be too.

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