As a result 60 per cent of the city’s residents in slum housing - including white collar professionals, policemen and doctors - are now using their newfound wealth to transform their surroundings instead.
The Shaikhs describe their three-bedroom house in Asia’s biggest slum Dharavi, as 'the best in the neighbourhood.'
MFI eat your heart out: Shabina Shaikh, 30, shows off her swanky kitchen at her family's five-star slum in Dharavi, Mumbai
‘Kids stand outside our house and watch in awe,' said Mohammed Jamshed Shaikh, an architect and one of five brothers who own the property, which also boasts a sitting room, kitchen and two bathrooms.
'Neighbours come and sit on our sofas and keep telling us how beautiful our house is. It gives us all a feeling of pride.
'In summers, our neighbours even borrow cold water and ice from our refrigerator. We never hesitate because we’ve been through that phase in our lives and are pleased to help - there’s no doubt they’ll soon be able to afford similar luxuries as the slums are on the up.’
Second eldest brother Mohammed Zubair, 36, a shopkeeper, added: ‘It is like a dream come true for us - a few years ago we didn’t have enough space to sleep.
Luxury: Relatives of the Shaikh family, Fahreen Bano, left, Mehroz Bano, little Kaniz Fatima show off a decked-out bedroom in their house
All mod cons: Sayed Faiz, 20, sits next to his computer with webcam in his converted slum house
‘My father worked at a garment shop and we struggled to sustain ourselves. The men of the house had to sleep out in the street because there was no space inside.
'We used to wait endlessly for the workshops to empty out so we could spend our nights there.
‘Our father struggled to send us to school but see what we have become today. Two of my brothers are in Dubai, earning more than £1,500 each per month, and three of us here are also earning between £300-£500 each,' he said.
When the family bought the house five years ago it was worth £25,000, but after spending £10,000 on renovations it's now worth £55,000.
But despite the profit, buying a house in any other part of Mumbai, India’s wealthy entertainment and business capital, is a distant dream for the Shaikhs.
‘The property rates in Mumbai are soaring each day,' said Jamshed. 'Even if we could afford something small the apartments would be out in the suburbs, which will be too far from our shop and from the kids’ school.
‘Dharavi may be a slum for many, but for us it is our heaven.'
Posh: A luxury bathroom at the property
Fame: Rubina Ali, right, who acted as a young Latika in the film Slumdog Millionaire near her real slum home in
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040409/Five-star-slumdogs-Once-poor-families-transforming-Mumbai-shacks-luxury-homes-thanks-Indias-booming-economy.html#ixzz1YhG5X5YS
