Experience the Mystery & Magic of Mumbai – India

Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 4:04 am

You may have heard of Mumbai but not know much about it. How about Bombay? Many people are surprised to learn that Bombay no longer exists, it became Mumbai. It’s a fascinating city with many surprises…

Where is it?

Mumbai is a collection of seven islands and is the capital of the state of Maharashtra. It’s on the west coast of India and has a deep, natural harbour which is extremely busy, dealing with over 60% of all of the cargo that arrives in India.

A Brief history

In 300 BC, seven islands were made into a Hindu and Buddhist centre by the Maurya Empire. The seven islands are Isle of Bombay, Colaba, Old Woman’s Island (Little Colaba), Mahim, Mazagaon, Parel and Worli.

These islands were controlled by various empires and then taken over by Portuguese settlers who used it as a trading post. In 1668, the British East India Company took them over because their highly successful trading pushed out the Portuguese.

At this point, the islands were merged into ‘Bombay’ and the area continued to flourish as trade increased. The new found wealth of the area led to economic and educational development and improvement all through the 1800’s. As a result, it was the base for the movement for Indian Independence. When India finally gained Independence in 1947, the islands became part of the State of Bombay.

In 1960, the new state of Maharashtra was created. Bombay was made the capital and it was renamed Mumbai in 1996.

Mumbai – home of Bollywood

Bollywood is the name that has been given to the extremely popular Hindi film industry. The name comes from the words ‘Bombay’ and ‘Hollywood’. Bollywood is one of the largest film producers in the world and the biggest in India.

Cinema is huge in Mumbai and it has the largest IMAX theatre in the world. There is also an International Film Festival as well as an increasingly popular theater culture.

What’s the weather like?

Mumbai is in a tropical zone and has two main seasons – humid and dry. Between March and October it has high humidity with the mercury soaring to over 30 degrees C / 86 degrees F. From June to September, it’s monsoon time. The annual rainfall is around 70.9 inches / 1.800 millimitres, with an average of 23.6 inches / 600 millimetres in July alone!

World Heritage Sites

Mumbai has two UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is an historic railway station, which looks a little like St Pancras Railway Station in London and is one of the busiest stations in India. It took 10 years to build and was originally called Victoria Terminus in honor of Queen Victoria who was also Empress of India. It was opened on her Golden Jubilee in 1887. It was renamed in 1996, after a Maratha King from the 1600’s and named a World Heritage Site in 2004.
The Elephanta Caves on Elephanta Island near Mumbai are hewn from solid rock and cover 60,000 square feet / 5,600 square meters. The caves are filled with beautiful sculptures and are thought to date back to 810 AD. The entire complex is said to be he home of Shiva (Sanskrit for ‘auspicious one’) who is the supreme God to Shaiva Hindus. It was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.

What could I see if I visit there?

Essel World – Contains Asia’s largest water park, Water Kingdom.
Girgaum Chaupati Beach – locally called Chaupati, which is pronounced chow patty. During the celebrations for Ganesh chaturthi, hundreds of people travel from all over India to this beach to immerse idols of Lord Ganapati in the Arabian Sea. On this festival day, Lord Ganapati, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and Parvati, is said to be present on earth for all of his followers.
Juhu Beach – The most famous beach in Mumbai. Gandhi used to live at the north end of this beach at a place called Gandhi Gram. It has numerous street vendors selling food but the hygiene standards can often be a little hit and miss!
Festivals – There are numerous festivals with the people of Mumbai celebrating both Indian and Western Festivals.

Poverty

Sadly, like many areas of the world, India has a large slum population. The 2001 Census tells us that the population was then almost 12 million and 54% of them lived in slums. The World Gazetteer extrapolated those figures to show that by 2008, it had risen to over thirteen million. The population density is thought to be an almost unbelievable 22,000 people per square kilometre.

Because space is so short, the people of Mumbai often live in cheap, cramped housing which is often a long way from where they work. This results in overcrowded roads, buses and trains. Over 800,000 people live in the second largest slum in Asia, which is called Dharavi and is in the middle of Mumbai. Bizarrely, slums are now a growing tourist attraction, fuelled by the success of the film, Slumdog Millionaire.

Visiting Mumbai

Many people who visit India say it changes them forever. The sights, colors, noise and aromas never leave them and India continues to pull them back. It’s easy to book up via the internet so consider Mumbai for your next vacation. It could start a love affair that never ends!

Find flights and hotels quickly and easily at Expedia.com so that you can explore the World Heritage sites and experience the mystery and magic of Mumbai