Slums are real but I think the people are happy

The movie Slumdog Millionaire has a special place in my heart because I know slums and extreme poverty are real from first hand experience. During my one month visit to India last year, I had one of the most humbling experiences of my life from visiting a school in a slum of Bareilly - a mostly industrial city. Entering the slum was probably comparable to a first time visit to Disneyland (minus the expectations) except it was on the other end of the spectrum. I was in awe and utterly fascinated by the nooks and crannies in every corner, every house, every little activity in action. On the way to the school, I saw a woman embroidering a bright blue sari with jewels (a specialty in Bareilly) by her hands, children stacking up bricks to be laid, an old woman lying in a dark room, a man bathing on the street with a small bucket of water. If you forget the concept of poverty, not just money but things that we often take for granted like electricity, running water, trash service etc., everything seemed to be normal but we know it is not because they lack the things we have and that is unfortunate. Or is it?

I guess I don't have an answer here to my question but I will offer from what I gathered - people in the slums are generally happy...or at least what they seemed to be from their smiles. Many of the photos I took in the slum showed proud and happy faces of the people. They welcomed (some even begged) me to photographed them and took curiosity in me as much as I have in them. Yes, some have asked me for money but if I didn't comply, it didn't stop them from following me around, asking me questions etc.. And the best part, it never stopped them from smiling at me. My impression from the movie and from my experience is that Indian people are resilient, especially in accepting their fate.

The movie Slumdog Millionaire has brought the slums of India to a new international awareness - that poverty and class difference still hold a strong existence in a country where modernization has caught up in lightening speed in the past 10 year. Will that change soon? Many of my Indian friends argued no, all with different reasons to explain their answers and I can't help but agree. The bottom line is that the Indian social system is deeply rooted on class system and as long as majority of the poor are happy and content in the slums, this kind of poverty will exist.