Mumbai Overview

Mumbai has become the principal gateway to the Indian subcontinent since the opening of the Suez Canal in the 1860. It is the powerhouse of Indian Buiseness, industry and trade. Housing Bollywood the single film industry on a national level that churns out 100 of Hindi blockbusters every year Mumbai is the source of most seductive media images. The capital of Maharashtra indeed can be a compelling time killer. To experience Mumbai enjoyable one needs to know the tactics of handling heat, humidity, hassle, traffic fumes, the relentless crowds, and appalling poverty of India's most dynamic and westernized city. One of the basic impressions of Mumbai is its chronic shortage of space. The whole city appears to be crammed in a narrow spit of Land. Just within 500 years of its discovery by the Portuguese sailors this swamp ridden coast of the Arabian Sea completely changed from an aboriginal fishing settlement into a sprawling cosmopolitan place of more than 20 million people at present. However like the flip side of the story Mumbai also houses Asia's largest slum, the city is certainly an ordeal that some travelers make it out to be. The biggest hurdle is to manage a place for accommodation and then anyone will enjoy the frenzied pace and the crowded, cosmopolitan feel of Mumbai.

Mumbai from a tourist point of view:

Renowned author Aldous Huxley famously described Mumbai as the most appalling city of either hemisphere. The city has definitely has got something for every one. The population of Mumbai is highly cosmopolitanized. Here one can find representatives from almost every linguistic and religious groups of India. Even though Marathi is the dominant language that is spoken by one third of the total population in Mumbai Gujrati, Urdu, Hindi and English are also used thoroughly. Further more the city's diversity is reflected in the cultural life of the city mainly through its museums, theatres, libraries and galleries. There are also popular waterfront destinations like Marine drive where one can bask the setting sun of the evening enjoying the panoramic view of Arabian Sea or experience the carnival like appearance of the Juhu Beach in any of days in a week. A tranquility seeker will also never go unsatisfied from here since Mumbai has got numerous religious sites, lakes and parks.