Mumbai (Bombay) Marine Drive, Mumbai
Classification	Metropolitan City
Country	India
State	Maharashtra
Languages	English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and others
Time zone	GMT +5:30
Importance	Largest metropolitan city in India
Population - Total - Density - Sex Ratio	12,622,500 (2004)[1] (http://www.world-gazetteer.com/t/t_in.htm) 28,834/km2 811 females/1000 males
Literacy Rate - Total - Male - Female	77.38 % (2001) 82.08 % (2001) 71.67 % (2001)
Area	437.77 km2
Coastal Length	140 km
Latitude Longitude	18.96 ° N 72.82 ° E
Altitude	8 metres average
Temperature - Summer - Winter	27 ° C to 36 °C 13 °C to 26 °C
Rainfall	1800 - 2400 mm

Bombay, located in the western Indian state of Maharashtra is the most populous city (see list) and the sixth most populous agglomeration in the world (see list). A coastal city with a deep natural bay, Mumbai is a significant contributor to Indian trade and taxation. The name was officially changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, but the original name is widely used by many of the city's inhabitants.

History

The city originally consisted of seven islands. These seven islands were Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Worli, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. It was called Mumba (after Mumbadevi) and part of the kingdom of Ashoka and then various Hindu rulers of the Silhara dynasty until 1343 when it was taken by the kingdom of Gujerat. In 1534 the Portuguese took the islands from Bahadur Shah of Gujarat and renamed the area Bom Baia which means ("Good Bay") in Portuguese (masculine form). The name was later corrupted to Bombaím.

The islands remained in their hands until 1661 when it was part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza to Charles II of England. He in turn leased it to the British East India Company in 1668 for £10 per annum. The company found the deep harbour at Bombay eminently suitable, the population rose from 10,000 in 1661 to 60,000 by 1675, and in 1687 the East India Company transferred their headquarters there from Surat.

Completed in 1784, the Hornby Vellard was the first of the engineering projects aimed at joining the seven islands. William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay, initiated the project in 1782 despite opposition from the directors of the East India Company. The vellard was to prevent floods at high tide in the low-lying areas of Bombay by blocking the Worli creek. The cost of the vellard was estimated at Rs. 100,000.

From 1817 the city was reshaped with large civil engineering projects merging the seven islands into one single mass of around 435 km² by 1845. In 1853 the first railway link in India was completed, between Bombay and Thana. The city remained in Company hands until after the Indian Mutiny (or First War of Independence) of 1857 when it was taken from the Company by the Crown. Flora Fountain, Victoria Terminus, Hanging Gardens and the lakes were built in this time period. The Bombay Municipal Corporation was founded in 1872. Gateway of India and Prince of Wales museum were built during the early 20^th century under British rule.

Upto the end of the Second World War, Bombay covered only about 67 km² of land from Colaba in the south to Mahim and Sion in the north. In 1950, the city expanded northward with the inclusion of portions of Salsette island, and by 1957 a number of suburban municipal towns - including Bandra, Kurla, Andheri, Juhu, Malad & Borivali - and some villages of Thane were incorporated into Greater Bombay, with an area of 169 square miles (434 square kilometres). The metropolitan area has continued to expand.

Also see: Growth of Mumbai

Geography and climate

Bombay spans over 438 km&sup2 in area and is a linear city along the coast of the Arabian Sea. The city is also known as the Island City as it is situated on an island - Salcette Island. The city has a warm and humid climate throughout the year and an average temperature of 32ºC/day and 25ºC/night. Mumbai is located at sea level. Some parts of the city are a few metres below sea level. The highest point in the city is about 450m in the Powai-Kanehri ranges.

The city being adjacent to water, the temperature changes are not as drastic as those inland. Mumbai enjoys its monsoon showers from June to September with the annual rainfall being 216cm. Light fog in the northern reaches of the city in Dec/Jan. Hail is rare. The lowest recorded temperature is 7°C (1962), the highest, 42°C. Temperatures (max/min): Jan: 26/13°C May: 35/28°C July: 30/26°C Oct: 38/23°C.

Street scene, Mumbai

Bombay was originally made of seven islands which were Colaba, Mahim, Mazgaon, Parel, Worli, Bombay and Little Colaba (Old Woman's Island). It was then merged with the surrounding islands Salcette and Trombay to get its present land form.

An important recreational area and landmark in the city, officially named Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Road, but better known as Marine Drive, is a long road in the southwest, often referred to as the Queen's Necklace because of the glittering sweep of the streetlights at night as the road winds around the bay. Also see: PIN codes of Bombay ; Breakup of Monthly weather

Government

• Mayor: Shri Devlé Mahadev Bhagoji (March 10, 2002 - )
• Municipal Commissioner: Johny Joseph (February 29, 2004 - )
• Police Commissioner: Mr. Anami Narayan Roy (February 5, 2004 - )
• Sheriff: Dr. Jagannathrao Hegdé (December 22,2003 - )
• Collector: Mr. Pradeep Vyas

See Administrative divisions of Mumbai

Economy

Bombay is undoubtedly the financial capital of India. It is the highest contributor to India's direct income tax (40%) as well as corporate taxes( Rs.40,000 crores, annually ). It is also the epi-center of the largest film industry in the world (in terms of number of films produced), "[Bollywood]". Over 300 films are produced each year in Bollywood although only few of them turn out to be financial successes. Bombay is also the location of the oldest stock exchange in Asia, The "[Bombay Stock Exchange]" established in 1875. The average daily turnover of the exchange in 2002-03 was 1251.29 crore rupees (approx. 275 million US dollars.) The average number of daily trades in 2002-03 was 563,000.) The financial industry is based in Dalal Street, Fort, South Bombay.

Transportation

External Transportation

• International Airport: Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly Sahar International Airport)
• Domestic Air terminal: Santacruz Airport in Santacruz, a suburb of Mumbai
• Railway: Bombay houses the headquarters of Western Railway and Central Railway. The main stations are Churchgate railway station (Western Railway) and Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Victoria Terminus - Central Railway). Long distance trains embark from here to distant parts of India.

Internal Transportation

• The most efficient Suburban railway in India which runs over 200 km connecting the city with the suburbs.The Western Railway runs an astounding number of 1007 trains daily.
• BEST (municipal run) buses.
• Yellow and black metered taxis.
• 3 wheeled Auto rickshaws in the suburbs.
• Ferry services to Uran, JNPT and Alibag.
• Trams were abandoned on 31 March, 1964.
• Hovercraft servies abandoned in the late 90's due to high costs.
• Helicopter services from Bombay to Bombay High. Not used for intra city transportation due to noise pollution.

Also see: Railway stations in Bombay

People

Bombayites live in one of India's most cosmopolitan cities (70% of its residents are of non-Maharashtrian descent.) A resident of the city may be called either a Bombayite (from the city's former name Bombay) or a Mumbaikar (from the Marathi suffix of origin along with Mumbai).

Due to this mix of ethnicities and the relatively liberal outlook of Bombayites, the city enjoys a vibrant night-life and a measure of public safety not available to women in many other indian cities. According to surveys, MBombay is perceived to be one of the safest Indian cities for women, a city where they feel free to wear the clothes they like and travel at any time alone.

Within Bombay, areas correspond to the nearest railway station on the suburban railway network and people often associate themselves with the particular area where they live. People prefer to stay close to the railway station as the railways are the lifeline of Bombay. Hundreds of people migrate to Bombay every day in search of jobs. This has created a heavy strain on the city's resources and emerged as an issue of the local people residing here since long time.

While Marathi is the official language of Maharashtra, Hindi is perhaps the most commonly spoken language in the city. The dialect spoken in Bombay, termed Bambaiya Hindi, is a mixture of Hindi with words imported from many other Indian languages and English. Besides Hindi and Marathi, English is also spoken widely in government offices and other public places; at home and in local groups, mostly manifested at a myraid number of the city's trendy colleges.

Demographics

See demographics of Bombay

Educational and cultural institutions

Mumbai city has a large number of premiere educational and cultural institutions. There are two universities. Mumbai University and the SNDT University open to women only. The Mumbai University has almost all the colleges in Mumbai affiliated to it. See: List of Bombay Colleges

Number of municipal primary schools: 1,188 (as of 1st September, 1999) Source: Municipal Corporation statistics.

Cultural, social, and miscellaneous institutions

• Bombay Natural History Society
• Prince of Wales Museum
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences
• National Center of Performing Arts
• JJ School of Arts
• Jehangir Art Gallery
• Victoria Gardens Zoo

Recreation and malls

Mumbai has several large shopping malls, recreation centers, pubs etc. Bollywood movies are very popular. Mumbai is also a centre for various concerts of Hindustani Classical Music and other performing arts. The city also has an IMAX dome theater, the largest in Asia.

Mumbai is lately (from 2001) following the trend of multiplex theaters, movie theaters with normally more than 2-3 screens. The oldest multiplex theater in Mumbai is the G7 which is located at Bandra & is accoutred with 7 screens(3 large & 4 mini). Others are Fame Adlabs & Fun Republic (Andheri West-New link Road, both having 4 screens), R-Adlabs (Mulund West, having 4 screens), 24-Carat (Jogeshwari West-S V Road, having 4 screens), Sun-city (Vile-Parle East-Opp: Shaan Cinema, having 2 screens), Movie-time (Malad West-Link Road, having 2 screens)

Industry and commerce

Mumbai is the economic capital of India. Major industries are chemicals, textiles, information technology and fisheries. India's film industry has a strong presence in Mumbai.

Also See: Telecom companies in Mumbai

Present problems

Population is the biggest problem facing Mumbai. Land is scarce, cost of living is high. Population explosion has put a tremendous strain on the basic infrastructure and transport facilities of this city. In fact, Mumbai is set to replace Tokyo as the world's most populous city by 2020 . Many local political activists demand that unemployed immigrants to the city after 1995 must vacate, so that the population in the city's slums is reduced.

City Quick Look

Gateway of India	Flora Fountain	Missing image Victoriya_Terminus_Railway_Station_Bombay,India.jpg CST Railway Station
Municipal Corporation Bombay	Air India Office	South Mumbai
Taj Hotel	Marine Drive	North Indian Railway at CST Station

Trivia

• Is the world's only city to accomodate a National Park within city limits.
• Has 3 lakes - Tulsi, Powai, Vihar.
• Has 3 rivers - Mithi (Mahim), Dahisar, Oshiwara
• Has 4 forts - Sewree, Bandra, Mahim & Worli plus reminants old the old fort in South Bombay.
• Tallest building in India, The Shreepati Arcade (45 floors) is in Bombay.
• Is situated on an island - Salcette Island.
• In 1995, Nariman Point had the highest land price in the world.
• City divided into 2 districts: Old Bombay (city) and Greater Bombay (Bombay suburbs). Capital of Suburbs is Bandra (East).
• City contributes 6 Lok Sabha seats.
• Headquarters of Central Railway and Western Railway
• Coral Reef found near the city in 1997.
• 2 airports & 1 aerodrome (former airport - Juhu)
• Tel code: 022
• PIN code: 400 0xx
• Vehicle licence code: MH-01 (city), MH-02 (western suburbs), MH-03(eastern suburbs)
• Local time is 39 mins behind IST. Local time was used from 1884 to 1905 and unofficially till 1955.

Events

• 600 BC - First known permanent settlement.
• 300 BC - Part of Ashokas Empire.
• 9-13 cent AD - part of Silhara dynasty.
• 1343 - Part of the Gujarat sultanate.
• 1508 - Francis Almeida sailed into the deep natural harbour.
• 1534 - Mumbai ceded to the Portuguese.
• 1661 - Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza brings Bom Bahia to King Charles II of England as part of her marriage dowry.
• 1668/1669 - East India Company takes over Bombay
• 1670 - First printing press imported to Bombay by Parsi businessman Bhimji Parikh
• 1675 - Population estimated to have risen to 60,000 from 10,000 in 1661.
• 1675 - The Mumba Devi temple built by an immigrant Hindu woman, Mumba, near the main landing site on the former Bori Bunder creek or inlet, against the north wall of the English Fort Saint George.
• 1735 - Start of ship building industry.
• 1777 - First newspaper published in Bombay by Rustomji.
• 1822 - First vernacular language newspaper in Bombay, Mumbai Samachar published by Fardoonjee. India's oldest newspaper still being published.
• 1838 - First edition of Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce launched
• 1845 - Grant Medical College founded.
• April 16, 1853 - First railway line in India between Bombay and Thane.
• 1854 - First cotton mill started.
• 1857 - University of Bombay established.
• 1870 - Bombay Port Trust formed.
• 1872 - Bombay Municipal Corporation founded.
• 1885 - Indian National Congress formed at Gowalia tank Maidan .
• 1887 - Victoria Jubilee Technological Institute (VJTI) established. First and only institute offering degree in engineering until 1960.
• 1911 - King George V and Queen Mary visit Bombay. Gateway of India built to commemorate the visit.
• January 12, 1915 - Gandhi returns to India from South Africa at Mumbai.
• January 22, 1926 - King Edward Memorial Hospital inaugarated.
• July 15, 1926 - First motorised bus ran between Afghan church and Crawford Market.
• October 15, 1932 - J. R. D. Tata flew from Karachi to Bombay via Ahmedabad landing on a grass strip at Juhu paving the way for civil aviation in India.
• August 8, 1942 - Quit India Movement declaration passed at Gowalia Tank Maidan.
• April 14, 1944 - Massive explosion rocks Bombay Harbour.
• 1958 - IIT Bombay established in Powai.
• 1964 - 31 March - Last tram made its journey from Bori Bundar to Dadar.
• 1993 - Serial bomb blasts across Mumbai kill 300 and injure hundreds more.
• 1996 - Bombay renamed to Mumbai. subsequently University of Bombay renamed to University of Mumbai.
• 1998 - Victoria Jubilee Technological Institute renamed to Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute.
• August 25, 2003 - Two bombings by Islamic militants kill 48 and injure 150.
• 2004 - The fourth World Social Forum held in Mumbai, from 16-21 January.

Miscellaneous

Important phone numbers

• 100 - Police
• 101 - Fire
• 102 - Ambulance
• 108 - Disaster Report
• 1916 - Civic Complaint
• 28888888 - General phone number enquiry

Radio stations

• Go 92.5 - 92.5 MHz
• Radio Mirchi - 98.3 MHz
• Win FM - 94.6 MHz
• Radio City - 91 MHz
• AIR FM Rainbow - 107.1 MHz
• AIR FM Gold- 100.7 MHz

Related articles

• Administrative divisions of Mumbai
• List of tourist attractions in Mumbai
• Public transport in Mumbai
• Images of Mumbai
• Kamathipura - Mumbai's oldest and Asia's largest red-light area

Also see

• List of cities in India
• List of cities in the world

External links

• Mumbai City Guide (http://www.bombay-india.net/)
• University of Mumbai (http://www.mu.ac.in)
• Official site of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (http://www.mcgm.gov.in/)
• Report about Mumbai's population explosion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1093424.stm)
• Mid Day Newspaper - latest Bombay news (http://www.mid-day.com)
• Metro (http://www.metropla.net/as/mumb/mumbai.htm)
• official site of Directorate of Technical Education Maharashtra (http://www.dte.org.in/)
• Photographs (http://www.bombaybeats.fm/photos/photo-thumbnails.asp?albumid=12)
• Bombay City Photo Blog (http://bombaycity.blogspot.com)
• The Mumbai (Bombay) LiveJournal blog community (http://www.livejournal.com/community/mumbai)

Bombay is a 1995 Tamil/Hindi movie by Mani Ratnam starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala with music composed by A.R. Rahman.

Bombay Dreams is a musical produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, composed by A.R. Rahman.

Bombay is the name of a town in Franklin County, New York in the USA.