Bangalore: Surrounded by towering skyscrapers of Mumbai’s most sophisticated localities, is Asia’s largest slum, Dharavi. When we say Dharavi, the first picture that comes to most our minds is that of a huge chunk of land cluttered with thousands of rickety houses, over populated, dirty and lawless world. But, there is a completely different side to the tale of this slum, the Slumdog Entrepreneurs.

From Dancing Shoes to Million Dollar Shanty

Dharavi: Mumbai’s Alter Economy

Spread over an area of more than 500 acres, the slum holds population of a million people. Most illiterate or semiliterate, but they evidently seem to have a good knack for entrepreneurship and management. Dharavi contributes about $1 Billion to the annual economy of Mumbai, churned from the thousands of small and domestic industries, as reported by Economic Times. This mass of business enthusiast has beaten the intentions of officials to demolish the labyrinth to build special economy zones. "Maybe to anyone who has not seen Dharavi, Dharavi is a slum, a huge slum. But I have also looked at Dharavi as a city within a city, an informal city," said Gautam Chatterjee, the principal secretary of the Housing Ministry in Maharashtra state.

Next: Meet the Slumdog Entrepreneurs