Her silent cause: Sumaira Abdulali's fight for a less noisy Mumbai

Sumaira Abdulali might be known for fighting what is on top of the list of Mumbai's problems

I get as many lower income households complaining about the noise during festivals and rallies as I do from wealthier ones,” Sumaira Abdulali tells me. “They say the wealthy have double-glazed windows to shut out the noise. What do the lower income households have?” 

Abdulali, a slim 50-something, whose calm exterior belies the resolve underneath, goes on to add that homes in slums and lower-income zip codes are packed so tight that complaining about a neighbour can mean bad blood which is unaffordable.

She might be known for fighting what is on top of the list of Mumbai’s problems —