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The man shared that he was shocked to see the living conditions in the chawl, with one family of five to six members sharing one small room with no attached toilets
He shared that his relatives were still content despite their living conditions in the chawl (Image: Pexels)
A one-night stay at a chawl in Mumbai left one man reflecting on the everyday comforts he had long taken for granted. From sharing a small room with several people to waiting in a queue to use a toilet, the experience gave him a glimpse into a very different way of living and led him to say, “I will never complain about my life.”
In a Reddit post titled “I stayed in a chawl for 1 night, and now I will never complain about my life”, he shared his experience, revealing that he had gone to visit a distant relative who lives in a chawl and, since it was already late, they asked him to spend the night with them.
The man said he was taken aback by the living conditions in the chawl. “I was shocked to see how people even stay there. 5-6 people sleep in one small room, no privacy, lots of noise around,” he said, adding that the following morning was even more challenging for him than the night.
“I Will Never Take These Small Things For Granted”
He said, “Worst part of it all was when I woke up in the morning and had to stand in line for the toilet. There were 10 people ahead of me, each carrying their own bucket. I couldn’t gather courage to stand in line and go to toilet, so I just skipped it.”
Despite the circumstances, he observed that his relatives and other residents seemed content with their lives in the chawl. He said they often spoke about the strong sense of community among residents, describing one another as “like a family” and saying people regularly help one another.
While his relatives were content, he said that the experience made him look at his own life very differently after he returned home. He said, “When I reached my flat and used the toilet, I felt so blessed. I will never take these small things for granted now.”
Internet Shares Their Experience Of Living In A Chawl
The post has since sparked a discussion, with users sharing their own experiences of growing up or living in Mumbai’s famous chawls.
“I have stayed in a chawl for my entire life, and I would say these chawl people are nothing but crabs in a bucket. They think that their chawl is the only world. And everyone being like family in the chawl is just BS. It’s just that they show they are family, whereas in reality they are just jealous, even if their neighbours make slight progress in life. Glad I left that chawl and am now living in an apartment. There is so much peace and privacy here,” a user shared.
Another user said, “I lived in a chawl for a large part of my life, had a slow start to my career and struggled to stabilise financially. Took me a while to get out of that life. Didn’t have a toilet at home, no AC, no privacy. Things are significantly better now, and I would never ever go back to that life again.”
Meanwhile, an individual quipped, “Grew up in a chawl, will not change it for the world. Nobody in our chawl was poor; we didn’t share toilets. Our doors were always open, and we lived like one big family. We ALWAYS had help; we could count on any of our neighbours. Especially when someone got sick. 80- and 90-year-olds could live by themselves because they knew they had people around who would help. Nothing like it.”
Key Questions Answered
Ask News18Living in a Mumbai chawl presents challenges such as sharing a small room with multiple family members and lacking attached toilets, requiring residents to queue for facilities. Additionally, chawls can be prone to flooding during monsoons, necessitating manual removal of water from homes, and some are located in cramped areas with narrow access, which can hinder rescue efforts during incidents like landslides.
Ask News18About the Author
A team of writers at News18.com bring you stories on what’s creating the buzz on the Internet while exploring science, cricket, tech, gender, Bollywood, and culture.
August 16, 2026, 16:45 IST
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