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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.
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