Slumdog millionaire's official India release may be three days away, but Dharavi on Tuesday underlined its position as a township with challenges and lessons to offer everyone from film-makers to urban planners when a song inspired by Asia’s largest slum was released at a national conference on affordable housing.

Produced by Mumbai-based NGO Dharam with support from the Ministry of Urban Poverty Alleviation, the song which speaks of a future when there will be no slums, it is hoped, will turn into an anthem of sorts for the 62 million Indians living in slums.

The song, Woh Din Bhi To Aaye, will be circulated in the form of heavily subsidised CDs in slums throughout the country, says Mukesh Mehta, the founder of Dharam and project management consultant for the Rs 15,000-cr Dharavi Redevelopment Project.

“The song is a result of the 11 years I’ve spent working closely with Dharavi and slumdwellers elsewhere in India,” says Mehta, adding that the song is being dedicated to the people of Dharavi, their enterprise and to the government of Maharashtra, “the first to believe in what we’re dreaming of”.

The project to turn Dharavi into a self-contained township with large, well-appointed commercial spaces alongside recreation and residential space has grabbed global attention, with the success of Danny Boyle’s latest offering adding to the interest in this central Mumbai slum, sprawled across 585 acres of prime real estate.

Written by lyricist Vinoo Mahendra, whose biggest hit till date was ‘Sardi Khaasi Na Malaria Hua’ from Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman — the song foretells an awakening of slumdwellers, their growing aspirations and makes an eloquent case for affordable housing. “The idea of a small, but beautiful, home is what the song drives home,” says Mahendra.

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