Then a strange feeling came over me. I wanted to go down there and walk inside. My interest was from an urban planning perspective. How do so many people live together in such an informal manner? What sort of social and physical order exists? Is there a main street? Can you ‘buy’ rice from a corner store? Is cooking done communally? How is this place lit at night? Why is the roof form maintained at such a consistent height? Was the flooring just mud? How is solid waste handled? Are there districts and neighborhoods? Can families move and ‘sell’ their space to others?

I imagine the dusty tarps being lifted off and daylight streaming in for the first time. Looking down at an organic maze, I think about the lessons urban designers can gather from this stripped down, but complex environment that barely supports the necessities of life.

I asked my client if the Indian government or nearby universities had ever documented shanty town ethnocentric patterns and what research were available. Having been told studies do exist, I have never been able to find anything comprehensive.

Obviously, places like this are very dangerous. A cavalier journey with digital camera and notepad would most certainly invite serious health problems and bodily harm. Yet, I always remember this slum with fascination rather than disdain or sympathy. They need to be eradicated, but they have also have a sustainable purpose. By studying the physical manifestation of squalor, we might actually help improve the way we all live.

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