Mumbai

Known for its crowds and chaos, Mumbai is a hustling-bustling centre of activity. But it is also so much more. Anyone who has been there will tell you that the vibes of this city is literally unlike anything you could ever find on the planet.

One of the many things about here that need no telling is the fact that Mumbai is the capital of several sectors – besides being the capital of the Maharashtra state (the biggest of its kind in the country), the metropolis is also the fashion capital, the financial capital, and the headquarters of the mainstream film industry, popularly known as Bollywood.

Essentially, Mumbai is a centre of various kinds of intermingled activity underneath a network of bridges cordoned into an island of sorts – only this island is almost entirely connected to the mainland. This is a land known for sights that cannot even be imagined elsewhere – the extreme rich and poor living next to each other, scores of struggling actors struggling to make a living while the stock market veterans cruise in their luxury cars, and fashion-savvy people right alongside migrant laborers are only some of the many pictures Mumbai has to offer.

Like other main cities in the British Raj, Mumbai – formerly known as Bombay – too bears the marks of colonialism. One can see these examples everywhere, from the still strong and functioning Bombay High Court to the Gateway of India, and from the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus (which was formerly known as the Victoria Terminus) to various unnamed dilapidated and abandoned homes that lie between many a modern skyscrapers. Strangely enough, while one might think that would take away from the spectacle, it only makes the city all the more fascinating.

Some facts about Mumbai

• The Antilla, owned by Mukesh Ambani and located in Mumbai, is the most expensive home in the world.
• While Mumbai is not as big as other India metropoles, it still has an impressive coastline over 150 kilometers.
• Famous author Rudyard Kipling, who wrote The Jungle Book was born in Mumbai on 30 December in 1865.