Welcome to Mumbai - India's most dynamic and cosmopolitan
city, with frenetic lifestyles, multicultural society and a plethora of
festivals.
Visit Mumbai, live your dream with the glamour
of Bollywood Cinema, Bhelpuri on the Chowpatty beach, enjoy the trendy pubs
and bars.
The capital city of
Maharashtra State, formerly known as Bombay lies in the southwestern part of
India and occupies a peninsular site originally composed of seven
islets lying off the Konkan coast of western India. Oozing with the cocksure
self-confidence of a maverick moneymaker and "Bindass" (carefree)
attitude, Mumbai is also country's financial and commercial hub and has a
principal port on the Arabian Sea
 History
of Mumbai |
 |
Mumbai
originally consisted of seven islands, inhabited by small Koli fishing
communities. At different times, various dynasties held this
insignificant outlying district; the city of Puri on Elephanta is thought to
have been the major settlement in the region, until King Bimba, or Bhima,
built the town of Mahim on one island, at the end of the thirteenth century.
Hindus controlled the area until it was captured in the fourteenth century
by the Muslim Gujarat Sultanate.
In 1534, Sultan Bahadur of Ahmedabad ceded the city to the
Portuguese, who felt the land to be of little importance, and concentrated
development in the areas around Mahim and Bassein. They handed over the
largest island to the English in 1661, as part of the dowry when the
Portuguese infanta Catherine of Braganza married Charles II four years later
Charles received the remaining islands and the port, and the town took on
the anglicized
name of Bombay from the Portuguese "Buan Bahia"
or Good Bay.
This was the first part of India that
could properly be termed a colony, elsewhere on the subcontinent the English
had merely been granted the right to set up "factories", or
trading posts. Because of its natural safe harbour and strategic position
for trade, the East India Company, based at Surat, wanted to buy the land,
in 1668 a deal was struck, and Charles leased Mumbai to them for a pittance.
| Shopping
in Mumbai |
|
Shopping in Mumbai is a memorable experience as one wanders
through its bazaars with striking names like Chor Bazaar, Mutton Street and
Zaveri Bazaar. Shopping in Mumbai can be anyway one likes - air-conditioned
and fixed price, or street market and lots of hard bargaining.
| How
to Reach Mumbai |
|
Air : Sahara International Airport is an
important point of entry for many foreign airlines, and nearby Santa Cruz
Airport serves domestic flights. Mumbai handles about 60% of the
international and nearly 40% of the domestic air traffic in India.
International flights connect Mumbai to all the major cities of the world.
Rail : Mumbai (Bombay) is the railhead for
the Western and Central Railways, and trains from the city carry goods and
passengers to all parts of India. Two suburban electric train systems
provide the main public transportation and they daily convey hundreds of
thousands of commuters in the metropolitan region.
Road
: Mumbai (Bombay) is well connected by a network of roads to the rest of
India. There is also a municipally owned bus fleet over here.
| Nearby
Cities |
|
» Pune: 124 km
» Nasik:
185 km
» Surat: 248 km
» Mahabaleshwar:
290 km
» Aurangabad: 388 km
Destinations
