0:00:03 > 0:00:06Don't you think it's astounding that our planet
0:00:06 > 0:00:09supports seven billion of us...
0:00:09 > 0:00:11BABIES' CRIES
0:00:11 > 0:00:12..and counting?
0:00:19 > 0:00:24Learning to survive in a crowded world is our biggest challenge.
0:00:26 > 0:00:31But there's one corner where we're already well on our way to adapting.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Welcome to India.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Over one in six in the world live here,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45and to make ends meet,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48more of us are moving to the city than anywhere else on Earth.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50TRANSLATION:
0:00:52 > 0:00:54We're resourceful
0:00:54 > 0:00:56and highly resilient.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00It's just as well.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04We need all our ingenuity to create a space we can call home.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11If you want to know how to succeed in this new, unchecked urban world,
0:01:11 > 0:01:14come and take a look over here.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Who DOESN'T like gold?
0:01:16 > 0:01:19We'll show you how, no matter how dense the crowd,
0:01:19 > 0:01:23we can carve out a home and build our future.
0:01:23 > 0:01:32This programme contains some strong language.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Come and meet a 23-year-old guy
0:01:37 > 0:01:41who's come to the megacity of Kolkata, looking to make it big.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Imran is known to everyone as Kaale and lives in this crumbling house
0:01:47 > 0:01:50in the heart of the city's jewellery-making district.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03Kaale has come here in search of gold, and he's not the only one.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38This old district is crammed with over 800 workshops,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42where goldsmiths create the original Indian bling.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Gold jewellery has long been the must-have adornment for Indian women,
0:02:47 > 0:02:50and doubles up as an instant emergency fund.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54It's our insurance policy, but far better to look at.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59If you add it all together,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Indian housewives hold 11% of the globe's gold stocks.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07That's more than the reserves of the US, Germany, Switzerland
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and the IMF put together.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19With night-time temperatures regularly over 30 degrees C,
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Kaale and his friends prefer the street to their stifling room.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30He and his closest colleagues get up at three to work,
0:03:30 > 0:03:32while the city briefly sleeps.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Kaale and his fellow gold sweepers have an agreement,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17allocating them a couple of streets each to scour for particles of gold.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22The first step after sweeping
0:04:22 > 0:04:25is this traditional gold-rush technique.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04The most closely-guarded part of Kaale's alchemy
0:05:04 > 0:05:07is carried out on the roof above his room.
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Now, if you want know how to make gold out of dirt, listen up.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16Take one bowl of sweepings,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19reduce to a fine silt by panning...
0:05:23 > 0:05:25..add a good slug of nitric acid,
0:05:25 > 0:05:29before putting on the heat for just a few seconds.
0:05:39 > 0:05:44Next, give the acid and mercury a thorough mix with your hand.
0:06:00 > 0:06:05Once the mercury has attracted all the gold, remove it from the pan...
0:06:08 > 0:06:11..and return to the heat to boil off the mercury.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36Kaale's room is controlled by one man, Naukada.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40He's recruited the panners for their specialist skills,
0:06:40 > 0:06:44learnt in their home city of Agra, 700 miles away.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10Kaale's not the only panner frustrated with the price he's getting for his gold.
0:07:27 > 0:07:32Many of the panners are resigned to their position under Naukada,
0:07:32 > 0:07:34but Kaale has bigger ambitions.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57With 1.2 billion of us here,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00all looking to make the best possible livelihood,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02you've got to be very canny
0:08:02 > 0:08:05at finding your niche ahead of anyone else,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09and that can mean looking in the most unlikely of places.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Take Versova beach, on the northern edge of Mumbai.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19This barren strip of sand hardly suggests big opportunity,
0:08:19 > 0:08:23but 50 years ago, new arrivals from Rajasthan
0:08:23 > 0:08:26made a surprising discovery.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Anil's grandfather realised that fresh water on a beach
0:08:35 > 0:08:39made it perfect for growing the desert crops from back home.
0:08:47 > 0:08:51The sand-loving, bittersweet vegetable fenugreek,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55known as methi, immediately flourished,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58growing its tasty sprouts in just three days.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01A solid family business was born.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25Today, there are 32 methi farmers here,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27many with four or five employees,
0:09:27 > 0:09:33and they've been granted a licence to cultivate this municipal beach.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38Others have followed, providing services to the growing community.
0:09:40 > 0:09:45But the houses these recent arrivals have built on the sand are illegal.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50Father to one of the 40 families calling the beach their home
0:09:50 > 0:09:52is Rajesh.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06He came here after falling for his wife Sevita.
0:10:35 > 0:10:394-year-old Vaishnavi has an 8-year-old brother, Harsh.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42They've both been brought up on the beach,
0:10:42 > 0:10:47unlike their father, who grew up in his well-to-do parents' apartment.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49But then he fell in love.
0:11:05 > 0:11:10Sevita is from a poor family and has a limp from childhood polio.
0:11:10 > 0:11:14This was so unacceptable, Rajesh's father also made sure
0:11:14 > 0:11:18his son lost the job he'd secured him at Mumbai airport.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33Rajesh now works from home,
0:11:33 > 0:11:37so Sevita expects him to do his fair share of the early-morning chores.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00My son is going to school now. Bye.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- Bye.- Bye.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Sevita has a part-time job as a cleaner
0:12:12 > 0:12:15for a middle-class family in the city.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17But to earn a bit more on the side,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20she deals in the beach's home-grown speciality.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01The family's main business, however,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05is doubling up their home as a local pub for the methi farmers.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20The only drink on offer is cane liquor.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Rajesh doesn't have a liquor licence
0:13:36 > 0:13:41and his illegal business has landed him in jail once already.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54Too much.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02Rajesh has few other options,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05and so reckons the risk is one worth taking.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Besides, right now he has more immediate worries.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12There's a rumour that the local council - the BMC -
0:14:12 > 0:14:16are preparing for one of their periodic evictions
0:14:16 > 0:14:19of the families squatting on the beach.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13We're certainly hard-working,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16but having our heads down doesn't mean we're cut off.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Keeping our eyes open to the world around us
0:15:19 > 0:15:22might just give us that all-important edge.
0:15:22 > 0:15:28In the jewellery district, the gold sweepers take a close interest
0:15:28 > 0:15:30in the global spot price of gold.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34A shift in value has a direct impact on their earnings,
0:15:34 > 0:15:36though not in the way you might expect.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07With the price of gold at an all-time high,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09and fewer customers for jewellery,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12there's far less gold dust on the streets.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17For Kaale, this means his dream of escaping the landlord's cramped dormitory
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and setting up on his own has got harder still.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30But he has an idea, and is up earlier than ever.
0:16:30 > 0:16:37He plans to bypass his landlord by dealing in a different kind of dirt.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41The gold dust washed off the goldsmiths' bodies,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and swept from their floors,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47eventually ends up with all the other muck - in the drains.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59Working flat out for 20 minutes,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03Kaale dredges enough sludge to fill six bags.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21They dredge three more drains
0:18:21 > 0:18:24before Kaale and his friends call it a night.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58To shift the night's haul,
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Kaale makes a call to one of the large-scale refiners.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25Kaale's plan to cut out his landlord in the house seems set.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05At last, the buyer, Javed, does turn up,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07but he's playing it very cool.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16JAVED:
0:20:19 > 0:20:25Once Javed's happy there's gold in the mud, negotiations can begin.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37If we've got a good business idea, we're not the type of people
0:21:37 > 0:21:40to let paperwork and the law get in the way.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Over 90% of our working population earn their money off the books,
0:21:44 > 0:21:47generating two thirds of our GDP.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Ironically, that includes selling knocked-off books,
0:21:53 > 0:21:58something the entrepreneurs where YOU come from might not be so happy about.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00Steve Jobs, Steve Jobs,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02and Deepak Chopra, Life After Death.
0:22:05 > 0:22:10Meet Salman, who earns his living selling the books to Mumbai commuters.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26Salman works the prime retail space of this busy junction
0:22:26 > 0:22:30with a bunch of friends, who have a strict profit-sharing agreement.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54Salman started out selling newspapers on the streets when he was nine,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57before spotting there were better returns in paperbacks
0:22:57 > 0:23:00turned out by the city's top backstreet press.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Hi, sir. Novels?
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Black marketeers like Salman and the gang are easy targets.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Salman's friend Ajay ended up here
0:24:59 > 0:25:03after an accident with a haymaking machine back in his village.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16Ajay consistently tops the cooperative's sales rankings,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18guaranteeing his popularity.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Salman and some of his family currently sleep
0:26:19 > 0:26:22in a municipal gardens next to the junction.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59PHONE RINGS
0:27:06 > 0:27:09While Salman mainly sleeps out, close to his work,
0:27:09 > 0:27:12his mum lives at home, just outside the city.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Like mums everywhere, she worries for him and his future.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57CHILD: Good night!
0:28:17 > 0:28:21Let me take you to a secret place across the mighty Ganges.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24On this abandoned riverbank,
0:28:24 > 0:28:29hundreds work in an underground, yet highly organised industry.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Welcome to Kolkata's very own gold rush.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36This is where Javed's brought the drain sludge
0:28:36 > 0:28:39that he purchased from Kaale in the jewellery district.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43He and his family are major players around these parts.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58Javed's hopes of transforming the sludge into cold, hard cash
0:28:58 > 0:29:01relies on the skill of his 20 employees.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42Before the gold can be extracted, the sludge must be prepared.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53The sieving is supervised by Javed's father Abdul,
0:29:53 > 0:29:54head of the family firm.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04The only mechanised phase of the process follows.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24See? This is very good, fine powder.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32The finely-ground mud is ready for Javed's casino.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35This labour-intensive wooden sluice technology
0:30:35 > 0:30:38is straight from 19th-century California,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42using water hauled by hand from the Ganges.
0:30:42 > 0:30:47When conjuring gold from mud, there's no beating the human touch.
0:31:10 > 0:31:13A vigorous brushing
0:31:13 > 0:31:16dislodges the precious sediment from the grooves in the wood.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Air is blasted into the charcoal-fired crucible
0:31:40 > 0:31:45to force up the temperature and drive off any impurities.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11The solidified ranga bowls are then heated to an even higher temperature
0:32:11 > 0:32:16in a handmade oven for several hours, to burn off the mercury.
0:32:40 > 0:32:44A small disc of alloyed silver and gold is all that's left.
0:32:45 > 0:32:51Javed's brother Nabil refines it piece by piece, using nitric acid.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59A final smelting produces, at long last,
0:32:59 > 0:33:03pure 24-carat gold.
0:33:29 > 0:33:33Earning cash is always the top priority,
0:33:33 > 0:33:36but making a home is also crucial.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It provides the stability we hope will nurture
0:33:39 > 0:33:42the success and wealth of the next generation.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44On the beach in Mumbai,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48today is Rajesh and Sevita's wedding anniversary.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51It's nine years since they moved here,
0:33:51 > 0:33:54after their controversial love marriage,
0:33:54 > 0:33:56and even though money is tight,
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Rajesh is determined to buy Sevita a present.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Splashing out on a new sari means that Rajesh needs more credit
0:34:34 > 0:34:36to restock his pub.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39He drops a call to his local money lender,
0:34:39 > 0:34:42who he already owes a substantial sum.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06The money lender relents and lets Rajesh extend his loan.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11Failing to keep up his repayments now would have serious consequences.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33Rajesh now desperately needs to get the pub back up and running
0:35:33 > 0:35:34and stimulate some cash flow.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Once dusk falls,
0:35:40 > 0:35:45he can safely make his rendezvous with his illicit liquor supplier.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Word has already got out
0:36:31 > 0:36:35that the best-value bar on the beach is back in business.
0:36:35 > 0:36:41Rajesh's strategy is to corner the no-frills end of the market.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00With the customers having drunk their pockets dry,
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Rajesh calls time at the bar,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05so he can present Sevita with her surprise.
0:37:27 > 0:37:34- CHILD:- # Happy birthday to you Dear mummy, dear papa! #
0:37:45 > 0:37:48But such harmony on the beach could be short-lived.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51The residents of new luxury apartments
0:37:51 > 0:37:54want squatters like Rajesh moved on,
0:37:54 > 0:37:56and they're not alone.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58Methi farmer Anil's family
0:37:58 > 0:38:01built illegally themselves when they first arrived,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04but they've since been given the right to remain,
0:38:04 > 0:38:10and the growing competition over space explains their antipathy towards newer arrivals.
0:38:53 > 0:38:58Kaale is still in the room he shares with 15 other gold sweepers,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00all under the control of their landlord.
0:39:07 > 0:39:11But he's just heard about a room that's come available nearby.
0:39:11 > 0:39:16Perhaps this is the moment he's been waiting for to make his escape.
0:40:28 > 0:40:312,000 rupees a month isn't unreasonable,
0:40:31 > 0:40:34but on top of food and other outgoings,
0:40:34 > 0:40:36it's well out of Kaale's reach.
0:40:36 > 0:40:41Somehow, he needs to radically improve the returns
0:40:41 > 0:40:42for his drain sludge.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Down at the sludge refinery by the Ganges,
0:40:50 > 0:40:52the workers turn up at first light...
0:40:54 > 0:40:58..while their boss Javed can enjoy a more leisurely approach.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06First things first -
0:41:06 > 0:41:07breakfast.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Kaale has come down to the refinery
0:42:47 > 0:42:51with fresh determination after seeing the room.
0:43:01 > 0:43:05He's realised that, as a newcomer to the drain sludge business,
0:43:05 > 0:43:10he must play tough if he's ever going to be paid a fair amount.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23There's a mounting panic among residents of the beach in Mumbai.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27There's word that the council are serious about their eviction threat
0:44:27 > 0:44:29and are sending over the bulldozers.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54But Rajesh has seen it all before.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Faced with the risk of losing everything,
0:45:06 > 0:45:10most people aren't taking any chances.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27One of the council's security guards is an old customer,
0:45:27 > 0:45:31with no qualms over ordering a drink from the illegal pub.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37He's not convinced by Rajesh's preparation
0:45:37 > 0:45:41and tips him off that this time the eviction IS for real.
0:46:05 > 0:46:07Rajesh has an added problem.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16If the cops find his booze during the eviction,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19he would quickly end up back in prison.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37Luckily for the future of the family's home and possessions,
0:46:37 > 0:46:41Sevita's rushed back from her job in time to help.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Unlike Rajesh's upbringing in a middle-class apartment,
0:47:07 > 0:47:09Sevita grew up in illegal settlements.
0:47:38 > 0:47:42The money lender approaches on his daily round.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51In just two hours,
0:49:51 > 0:49:56the houses of 40 families have been reduced to a jumbled mess.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Kaale, in the jewellery district,
0:50:06 > 0:50:11is again using the brief hours of quiet in the middle of the night.
0:50:19 > 0:50:22He's confident he's found a buyer
0:50:22 > 0:50:25who will pay properly for the sludge.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Kaale has a new plan to strengthen his bartering position.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Instead of letting the buyer come to him,
0:51:18 > 0:51:21he'll take the sludge to the buyer's own turf.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22The race across town has paid off.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24The new buyer, Akbar, is still present.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31But will he offer more than the 5,000 rupees Javed paid
0:52:31 > 0:52:33for this similar amount of sludge?
0:53:54 > 0:53:58On the beach, everyone is busy rebuilding their homes
0:53:58 > 0:54:02in the exact same position as before yesterday's demolition.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09The cops didn't find Rajesh's booze,
0:54:09 > 0:54:12and his dismantled house survived unscathed.
0:54:13 > 0:54:17Rajesh himself has been off helping some friends,
0:54:17 > 0:54:20leaving Sevita to reconstruct their home alone.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54But there's a priority neither can afford to ignore.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57Before the walls are even on, the pub is back up and running,
0:54:57 > 0:55:02providing the income so crucial for servicing their debt.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51Now Kaale's getting a better price for his drain sludge,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54renting a room may be within reach.
0:56:00 > 0:56:05He's taking his dredging friends along for a second viewing
0:56:05 > 0:56:07of the place offered at 2,000 rupees a month.
0:57:18 > 0:57:21And on the beach, there's a new contentment, too.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24The BMC like to flex their muscles occasionally,
0:57:24 > 0:57:27but attention has now moved on.
0:57:35 > 0:57:41For Rajesh and Sevita, life on the beach is never going to be easy.
0:57:41 > 0:57:45But, as adaptable, resourceful survivors,
0:57:45 > 0:57:50they will always be able to provide a home for their family,
0:57:50 > 0:57:54and with that comes hope for a better future.
0:58:20 > 0:58:23Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd