A political party worker who produces crowds for electoral rallies. A “prison specialist” who serves other people’s prison sentences in exchange for a large fee. An engineer who is able to secure otherwise impossible building permits. These and other dealmakers—whose behind-the-scenes expertise and labor are often invisible—have an intrinsic role in the city's functioning and can be indispensable for navigating everyday life in Bombay, one of the world’s most complex, dynamic, and populous cities. Bombay Brokers collects profiles of thirty-six such “brokers.” Written by anthropologists, artists, city planners, and activists, these character sketches bring into relief the paradox that these brokers’ knowledge and labor are simultaneously invisible yet essential for Bombay’s functioning. Their centrality reveals the global-scale paradoxes and gaps that these brokers mediate and bridge. In this way, Bombay Brokers prompts a reconsideration of what counts as legitimate and valuable knowledge and labor while offering insight into changing structures of power in Bombay and around the globe.
Contributors. Anjali Arondekar, Sarthak Bagchi, Tobias Baitsch, Sangeeta Banerji, Srimati Basu, Tarini Bedi, Amita Bhide, Lisa Björkman, Uday Chandra, Simon Chauchard, Ka-Kin Cheuk, Michael Collins, Daisy Deomampo, Maura Finkelstein, Ajay Gandhi, Rupali Gupte, Kathryn C. Hardy, Lalitha Kamath, Prasad Khanolkar, Bhushan Korgaonkar, Ratoola Kundu, Ken Kuroda, Annelies Kusters, Lisa Mitchell, Shailaja Paik, Gautam Pemmaraju, Lubaina Rangwala, Llerena Guiu Searle, Atreyee Sen, Prasad Shetty, Rohan Shivkumar, Edward Simpson, David Strohl, Rachel Sturman, R. Swaminathan, Aneri Taskar, Yaffa Truelove, Sahana Udupa, Lalit Vachani, Leilah Vevaina
- Cover
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction. Urban Ethnography in The Global Interregnum / Lisa Björkman
- Part I. Development / Rachel Sturman
- 1. Bunty Singh: Builder of Dreams / Lalitha Kamath
- 2. Imran: Housing Contractor / Tobias Baitsch
- 3. Dalpat: Manager of Services / Lisa Björkman
- 4. Mehmoodbhai: Toilet Operator / Prasad Khanolkar
- 5. Kaushal: Land Agglomerator / Llerena Guiu Searle
- 6. Janu: Sister-Supervisor of Migrant Construction Workers / Uday Chandra
- Part II. Property / Lisa Björkman
- 7. Dr. K: Middle-Class Social Worker / Yaffa Truelove
- 8. Ashok Ravat: Shivaji Park’s Sentinel / Lalit Vachani
- 9. Shazia: Proof Maker / Sangeeta Banerji
- 10. Nirmala: Kamathipura’s Gatekeeper / Ratoola Kundu
- 11. Farhad: “Sue Maker” / Leilah Vevaina
- Part III. Business / Tarini Bedi
- 12. Ramita: Surrogacy Agent / Daisy Deomampo
- 13. Muhammad: Revalorizer of E-Waste / Aneri Taskar
- 14. Deepak: Making Mumbai (In China) / Ka-Kin Cheuk
- 15. Lubaina: Framing “Development” / Lubaina Rangwala
- 16. Shankar: Delivering Authenticity / Ken Kuroda
- 17. Manal-Muna: Cooking Up Value / Tarini Bedi
- 18. Ramji: Business Energizer / Lisa Björkman
- Part IV. Difference / Anjali Arondekar
- 19. Bhimsen Gaikwad: Singer of Justice / Shailaja Paik
- 20. Sultan: Image Manager / David J. Strohl
- 21. Raj: Carting Cosmopolitanism / Maura Finkelstein
- 22. Laxmi: Dealer in Emotion / R. Swaminathan
- 23. Dharamsey: Assembler of Tradition / Edward Simpson
- 24. Dalvi: Speaker of Cities / Gautam Pemmaraju
- Part V. Publics / Lisa Björkman & Michael Collins
- 25. Shashi: Dot Connector / Rohan Shivkumar
- 26. Anil Prakash: Amplifier of Cinema-Industrial Connections / Kathryn Hardy
- 27. Gauravpant Mishra: Crowd Maker / Sarthak Bagchi
- 28. Srinivasan: Kingmaker / Simon Chauchard
- 29. Madhu: Door Opener / Bhushan Korgaonkar
- 30. Poornima: Designing Relations / Ajay Gandhi
- Part VI. Truth / Lisa Björkman
- 31. Rajani Pandit: Detector of “Truths” / Srimati Basu
- 32. Afzal Taximan: Rumor Navigator / Sahana Udupa
- 33. Pawan: Prison Master / Atreyee Sen
- 34. Sujit: Master Communicator / Annelies Kusters
- 35. Chadda: Report Maker / Prasad Shetty & Rupali Gupte
- 36. Prakash: Data Entrepreneur / Amita Bhide
- Conclusion. Other Places, Other Times / Lisa Mitchell
- Glossary
- About the Contributors
- Index
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