{"id":2977,"date":"2019-08-20T10:15:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T14:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploringed.com\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2023-05-23T11:11:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T15:11:59","slug":"india-mumbai-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploringed.com\/india-mumbai-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Mumbai \u2013 City of Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Introduction<\/h2>\n

Even though I have visited India several times, this was my first trip to Mumbai.<\/p>\n

I knew it was the target of a deadly terrorist attack on the Taj\u00a0Hotel.<\/p>\n

\"Taj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I knew it was the financial and business capital of India with a sprawling skyline.<\/p>\n

\"business<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Mumbai was modern in many ways, I was aware it was still India with cows roaming the streets.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since I mostly associated Mumbai with Indian movies, particularly Slumdog Millionaire, I decided I would visit the slums and see if it was similar to the movie.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

I discovered that many of the connotations of a slum (crime-ridden, hopeless denizens) did not apply. Instead, I found it was bustling with many hard-working people pursuing their dreams. My visit there made me realize that every time I thought I knew something about Mumbai, my impression often changed by walking around the corner.<\/p>\n

My Story<\/h3>\n

In January 2019, I finally was able to realize my dream of visiting the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious festival in the world. I was able to stop in Mumbai for three days as part of the trip. I thought it would be informative to visit, but found it is a captivating city that I should have experienced long ago.<\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Mumbai is the most populated city in India with over 22 million. The city has had explosive growth over the last two decades with migrants seeking business opportunities\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Chor<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026and millions of commuters going to their jobs through Chhatrapati Shivaji Train Station.<\/p>\n

\"Commuters<\/a><\/p>\n

Mumbai provides about one-third of India\u2019s tax income, processes about half the country\u2019s foreign trade, and is the home for most of India\u2019s largest corporations. Let\u2019s not forget, Bollywood is the biggest producer of films in the world (sorry Hollywood !).<\/p>\n

The city was called Bombay for much of the last four hundred years, possibly from the Portuguese phrase Bom Bahia meaning “Good Bay”. The name Mumbai has been used in the main local languages for at least as long. The name is a combination of a local Hindu goddess (Mumba) and mother (\u201cAai\u201d in Marathi). The city changed its official name from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995.<\/p>\n

Mumbai, like most metropolitan areas of India, has many languages spoken including Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. I found I could get by with English, as many people have at least a rudimentary understanding, but deciphering the accents was often a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

History<\/h3>\n

How did Mumbai grow from a fishing village to one of the world\u2019s largest and most dynamic cities in less than 500 years?<\/p>\n

In 1534 Portugal captured seven islands, including Mumbai, from the Sultan of Gujarat. In 1661, England obtained the islands through marriage with Portuguese royalty. Between 1782 and 1845 the British combined the original seven islands into one landmass through reclamation projects.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/a><\/p>\n

The British expanded their territory by annexing adjacent Salsette Island in the late 18th century. They later reclaimed more land and incorporated Mumbai into Salsette Island. Today Greater Mumbai is most of Salsette Island and the planned city of Navi Mumbai which is across the Thane River.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a><\/p>\n

The city grew dramatically in the 19th century. In 1853, the British opened the first Indian railway starting from Mumbai, which lured many immigrants to fill new jobs. The textile industry boom in 1854 made Mumbai a major industrial hub in the country. Mumbai\u2019s trade flourished with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, increasing the cargo ship traffic to the city\u2019s large harbors.<\/p>\n

Mumbai was important to the Indian Independence movement. In 1885, the Indian National Congress, India\u2019s dominant political party for decades, was founded here. Mahatma Gandhi resided in the city pre-independence and his headquarters is a small museum worth visiting…<\/p>\n

\"Mahatma<\/a><\/p>\n

Mumbai\u2019s economy has continued to prosper since independence. Textiles continued to be an important component, but not the mainstay, as there are substantial operations in light manufacturing, auto production, food processing, financial services, Bollywood and other industries.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Navigating Mumbai<\/h3>\n

Since I was there only a few days before going to the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, I took two tours from Mumbai Dream Tours<\/a>.\u00a0 One was a small walking group through Dharavi and the other was a personal tour in a car through Mumbai City (southern part). The guides were knowledgeable, personable and spoke easy-to-understand fluent English.<\/p>\n

On my way back to New York, I had a half-day stop in Mumbai and hired Altaf<\/a>, who was also my Mumbai Dream Tour driver to drive me to the Kanheri Caves in the Sanjay Gandhi Park north of the airport.<\/p>\n

Here is a photo of Altaf and Mumbai Dream Tour guide Arjun.<\/p>\n

\"Ed<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The following map shows some of the sites I visited in Mumbai City.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/a><\/h3>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The Gateway of India<\/h3>\n

The Gateway of India, the unofficial symbol of Mumbai, looks over the harbor and the Arabian Sea.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The gateway was built over eleven years, next to the Taj Hotel. It was finished in 1924 and welcomed King George V and Queen Mary. Ironically, it was the site where the last soldiers from Great Britain left India after independence. I found the late afternoon to the early evening was best for photography, as the sun is shining on the land side of the gateway.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Colaba<\/h3>\n

Colaba sits on a peninsula at the southern tip of Mumbai and is the tourist headquarters of the city. It is filled with restaurants, cafes, street vendors, shops and public art such as this baby sculpture by Chintan Upadhya.<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/a><\/p>\n

The artist used vivid colors to paint traditional and contemporary iconography on the head of a happy baby.<\/p>\n

Every evening, there is a gathering of people on the promenade next to the bay to watch the sunset.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus<\/h3>\n

The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was built over ten years, finishing in 1888. It was originally called (what else?) Victoria Terminus. The station’s name was changed in 1996 to honor the 17th-century founder of the\u00a0Maratha Empire.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/a><\/p>\n

This is an excellent example of Victorian Gothic Revival style, a subset of Indo-Saracenic which combines British, Italian, and Indian architectural features.<\/p>\n

\"Lion<\/a><\/p>\n

UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site because \u201cits remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional Indian palace architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Crawford Market<\/h3>\n

Crawford Market, officially Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai, is within a colonial building and is a bustling food market.<\/p>\n

\"Crawford<\/a><\/p>\n

Its official name comes from a social reformer from the 19th century who was an advocate for women\u2019s education.<\/p>\n

They sell wholesale fruits and vegetables\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Fruit<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026butchered meats\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Butcher<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2026and pets.<\/p>\n

\"Birds<\/a><\/p>\n

I found the market to be tidy, clean and well organized, which is not the case for many comparable ones in India.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Mangaldas Market<\/h3>\n

Mangaldas Market is the main cloth market in Mumbai City, offering material for sarees, dresses, shirts, pants, pillows, bed covers, furniture and many other things.<\/p>\n

\"Clothing<\/a><\/p>\n

The vast selection from numerous small stalls within several buildings is well priced.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Jama Mosque<\/h3>\n

The Jama Mosque is a fairytale-complex made out of brick and stone.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a><\/p>\n

The original one-story building was completed in 1802 and has expanded considerably since. It is known for its library of sacred books.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/h3>\n

Chor Market<\/h3>\n

The Chor Bazaar got its name as the \u201cthieves market\u201d when the British mispronounced the original name of Shor Bazaar, meaning \u201cnoisy market\u201d. There were two aspects of the area that stood out to me.<\/p>\n

First were the streets where discarded cars are dismantled in order to sell the recycled parts.<\/p>\n