Essendon young gun Dyson Heppell recently returned from a trip to India as a part of the Red Dust Role Model Tour. Over the next week, you can follow his incredible journey via a daily diary from his life changing trip to the sub-continent.
Dyson’s diary:
""The seven day trip to India was an incredible experience. On our travels we saw many weird & wonderful things, amazing places and cultural experiences. We also witnessed first-hand the very real challenges faced by a third world country...”
Day Four - Monday 10th October
""Our new head of fitness Dean Robinson would be pleased to know that I again started the day with a gym session prior to flying out to Mumbai, one of the largest cities in India. Amazingly 22 million people live in Mumbai - the same population as Australia.
There were corrugated iron and blue tarp multistorey dwellings as far as the eye could see. In one slum in particular there areone million people living in one square mile!!
After we checked in to our hotel, we went out on an incredible inner sanctum tour of Mumbai with a young local man on a Red Dust University Scholarship called Armin.
First stop was the Gates of India where we experienced the persistence of the locals trying to sell their wares. We went to a silk dealer and all picked up some silk and cashmere scarves. The haggling is a big part of the experience and we think it was a good price.
Either way I’m sure Kate will be happy with my choice.
The second stop on our tour was something that very few people will ever experience. Armin took us into the slum in which he lives.
It was a surreal experience as we followed him through the opening of the slum, through many winding paths into the heart of the slum. We were met with very curious though friendly looks as we passed the locals on the way to Armin’s house.
All the way along there were small micro-business enterprises that assist with living in the slums including fruit sales, fish , gas bottles and we passed a man who was ironing clothes for a living with an old cast iron iron -it was like another world.
When we reached Armin’s house we took off our shoes and entered his home. What we saw was a very humble, but modest clean building. In total the home was about 20 square meters consisting of a lounge room, kitchenette, a small alcove for study and a small room 2 x 2 m at the rear of the property that doubles as a sitting room and where Armin’s sister Armina runs a beauty salon enterprise.
What was amazing about this room was that it backed on to the bay and had million dollar views of the city area.
Armin’s family, relatives and friends all came into the house and the children were all impeccably dressed in their best clothes. They were very welcoming and proud of their home.
Later that night we came back to the Armin’s slum to participate in a traditional game called Carpiti. Red Dust sponsors the team and the locals were keen to teach us their Indigenous game.
Carpiti is played on a court about half the size of the tennis court and is a cross between tiggy, cat and mouse and British Bulldogs. A large crowd gathered to watch these strangewesterners try to match it with the locals.
It was fair to say we had a size advantage, but the locals made up for it with speed and experience. Thankfully we all made it through unscathed and absolute ball with the local crowd. What a day! This was a very amazing and humbling experience and something I’ll remember fondly for the rest of my life.""
