Poverty, new face of tourism in Delhi

New Delhi: If you are tired of Mughal architecture and the sprawling Lutyens' Bungalow Zone then the living horrors of nearly 2,000 street children in Delhi could be a new travel offer.

Wading through the bylanes of Paharganj, 'poorism' for travel enthusiasts takes one into real India and is being popularly described as Slum Tourism...more

wow, that was interesting to read.
are they going to turn this into a circus? pay to go watch some poor kids???

I think backpackers of Paharganj have a really hard time to deal with Pahargaj alone, never mind going to see more poverty.

disgusting. and exploitative.

i hope the poor rip off these kinds of tourists; at least they will get something out of it.

but i doubt it. some tout will become richer.

At least someone should stop these activity of decoarating POORs to the tourist.Well It is understood that beggars and poors have no manners and who will teach manners to those going to satisfy their soul watching Poors.
Sounds pathetic.

interesting. on one hand, it disgusts me to see people brought through as if the poor were on display in a zoo. on the other hand, maybe some social awareness will be created amongst the tourists and some good will come out of that. but I have a feeling that for now, only the "tour guide" will benefit monetarily. the reporter did say that the guide had been one of those poor.

It'll be beneficial, I would think most tourists contribute after the experience

Every little bit counts

I think that you really see enough of that in your daily travels
without having to go on a pay-per-view dog and pony show. If it were structured so that the participant's nutrition and living conditions were directly improved through such a program it might carry more weight - somehow in this case I fear not.

The tours are run by http://www.salaambaalaktrust.com/
well, I don't know for certain that they run the one in the article, but certainly the same thing. They also run shelters etc, so doesn't seem like exploitation. They do the same in Mumbai I think, as do http://www.realitytoursandtravel.com/slumtours.html
who state that 80%of the monies paid for the tour go to local NGOs.

Maybe more of a worry is that whilst these may be genuine groups, aiming to educate tourists about the slums, enterprising people may set up ones which do not benefit the poor off the back of these?

even if all the money goes there, it is still exploitative, though only slightly better.

and, why do tourists, indian or foreign, need education about slums?

Is it fair or very unfair...
Like all questions, this too a tough one to justify the one way or the other.
If at the end of the day the poor Guys are getting even Rs.10 (forget the 80%) for letting anyone admire their huts, it means more food/clothe for them, its win win thing.
On the other hand paying to see someones misery borders on being sadistic or rather voyeurism act.
So its up to the person how he/she may see it.
I recall a narration of Discovery Channel documentery showing the Neck stretching practise among females of Padung tribes of Burma. The traveler commented that, " Initially I felt sorry for the women here, then I thaught who am I to judge them and pity them, if they are feeling happy with it..." or something like that...
http://library.thinkquest.org/J01117...stretching.htm

Anindya

Because you would be absolutely amazed how some people can float through life without realising these things exist. A friend turned round to me last week, and said "I just heard about Africa, isn't it awful" she thought famine was a new thing....

If out of every tour of 5 people, one decided to do something about it, whether that be political pressure, sponsoring a child, contributing £20/year to charities that help. Wouldn't that be a good thing?

And if the money is going to NGOs, and therefore the people running the tours are not getting money, and the money goes to the slums, how is it exploitative?

Personally, I know people live in poverty. But I don't understand it - I've never lived in poverty. What would be wrong in wanting to visit these areas, with someone who could explain about it, and paying money which will go to helping the people living there?

Can't have attention to the poor. Besides it embarrasses Indian elites..
http://outlookindia.com/full.asp?fod...+%28F%29&sid=1

I chanced upon the report on TV , right at the part where Javed was explaining to the reporter how he wanted to get it mentioned about in LP and thus increase the visibility and numbers.As long as there is a need to be satisfied - however perverse it might appear to others - there would be people devising ways to meet that demand and profit from it.In this case it very well might end up improving the lot of Javed and not any of his 'tourist attractions'.It might not be as fancy as one of those conducted tours in LA past the homes of movie stars but at the very least it opens up another window of oppurtunity for those who live in the slum to interact with potential benefactors,set up stalls to hawk trinkets or mementos,a collection box to finance a project for the benefit of the community at large and so on

I am writing as one of the owners of the companies mentioned- Reality Tours and Travel- and we do tours to Dharavi, Mumbai. I am from the UK, and have set up the company with an Indian friend. I don´t know whether this post will be allowed but I think it´s best to declare my interest in this.

Dharavi is first and foremost a fascinating place- it is the heart of small scale industry in Mumbai ($665 million per annum), which is remarkable considering the conditions in which the people live. For someone who wishes to experience it, you can go by yourself but it can be a little daunting- it`s a bit of a maze with a lot of people staring.

It`s a really delicate thing operating such a tour, as this post proves. We do give 80% of profits to charity, although this first year (first year in operation) we`ve incurred a loss. When things do start to get off the ground, I fully understand that people might be sceptical of this claim- the accounts are audited and there will be a statement put on our website from the auditor saying that this criteria has been met. Not perfect but if someone has a better suggestion, I`d welcome it.

The tour is not expensive- hence the loss. And if you want to donate money, you can do so, with the NGO that we collaborate with.

I have to disagree with points about the human zoo. From the outside, I can see why people would say that, and I have had a lot of people in India (mostly middle class) say the same, without going on the tours. We try and combat these fears by having a small group size- five maximum, and we ask people not to take photos, or to be very responsible if they do.

Up to now we have had no complaints from the residents of Dharavi. We have explained to them what we are doing and they have been very supportive. And dare I say it, a lot of them are fascinated why foreign people want to see Dharavi. I thought long and hard before setting this up, but Dharavi is a place which is seen by some as a place of squalor, poverty and deprivation, which it is to some extent, but it´s really much more that, with its industry and hard working people- hopefully we help to dispel this myth.

This link gives a pretty good idea of what we`re trying to do: http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/India...log-48836.html (go to bottom of the site)

This really is not a profit making enterprise regarding the tours. At the moment we are developing links with Hong Kong and will hopefully soon start to export clothing made in Dharavi- that´s where the company is looking to make some money, along with the residents.

I hope that`s answered some of the points raised.... I know I´m one of the owners but I`m trying not to advertise too much. I am new to Indianmike but have been a member of Thorn Tree for a long time (same name) and have traveled extensively for a number of years.

I think the major misconception here is the quality of tourists who go to these places. Do ya'll really believe some sadistic rich dude parks hos Mercedes and goes to see poor like monkeys at the zoo. I doubt these type of people care enough to get their jollies this way

I would guess the vast majority of these 'tourists' are caring people who have a earnest desire to understand such a life. I can't figure out whose being exploited. I imagine the people who go to these tours are deeply affected and I would guess that whether they know it or not they will carry this tour for the rest of their lives, they will also share the pain they witnessed and perhaps even affect more people. perhaps the net gain will be a few extra dollars thrown in the Sunday India church collection

I'm coming to India to see mountains, I don't like any cities. But the one other place I have promised to go is with Shanthi to meet some street children. Does anybody here believe I'm going to satisfy some morbid curiosity or get my sadistic rocks off. Does anybody here believe I look forward to this part of my trip, do you actually believe I want to go there

I'll go there because its the right thing to do, I'll go because I need to go, I'll go DESPITE the fact I'll carry the despair and pain I witness for the rest of my life.

Ya'll need to get real and give the world some credit