This paper analyses the economic life of the Pardhis, a denotified tribal community, in the light of field data collected from a non-regularised slum area, known as Jai Ambe Nagar, in an eastern suburb of Mumbai. It looks at the various elements that constitute the organisation of economic life of Pardhis in this enclave. It also reflects on the social embeddedness of the Pardhi's economic life by analysing the relationship of their economic life with sociocultural institutions of the community, particularly the kinship system. There are tendencies of forced adaptation to the plurality of forces unleashed by the urban setting or urbanism that has not resulted into significant changes in their traditional institutions and practices. Structures and normative orientations of the traditional order still persist among them and on many occasions get reinforced due to the interplay of different urban situations.
