Mumbai

City Of Dreams
 history
Bombay, now known as Mumbai, is home to around 10 million people. It is a
thriving cosmopolitan, multi-cultural city, and is the centre of India's
entertainment industry.
• At first there were just seven islands separated by swamps: the land was
dangerous and unhealthy. A thousand years ago the islands were part of
the Magadhan empire. Later they belonged to the Silhara family and in
1343 they became part of the lands of the Sultan of Gujarat.
• In 1534, the Portuguese captured the islands and established a trading
centre there. The Portuguese called the place Bom Bahia, meaning 'the
good bay', which the English pronounced Bombay.
• This trading place slowly grew, with local people trading products such as
silk, muslin, chintz, onyx, rice, cotton and tobacco. By 1626, there was a
great warehouse, a friary, a fort and a ship building yard. There were also
new houses for the general population, and mansions for the wealthy.
• Bombay is known as a 'mayapuri', a 'City of Dreams' for the
following reasons:
• Despite its overcrowding and lack of sanitation facilities, a
continuous stream of migrants come to the city of Mumbai.
This so since Bombay has historically provided ample
economic opportunities
• Also, Bombay has historically been the centre of the Hindi
film industry. This has given the city a sort of glamour.
• The cumulative effect of these factors was that the image
of Bombay got germinated as the city of dream and reality,
of slums and star bunglows.
•
 City of firsts

• From India’s first five star hotel, the Taj Mahal

Palace, to the country’s first movie screening – by
the Lumiere Brothers in 1896 – Mumbai has been
home to many ‘firsts’ and ‘premieres’ in the
country. The subcontinent’s first passenger train
ran in Mumbai from the now defunct Bori Bunder
station to Thane in 1853, and the country’s first
civil aviation airport opened at Juhu in 1928 –
showing how Mumbai holds promise of
innovation beyond that of any other Indian city.
 Architecture

• From the stunning Bandra-Worli Sea link to the

pristine white Haji Ali Dargah, Mumbai’s
architecture is complex, rich and exceptional.
Marine Drive whose lights form an arc resembling
a string of pearls dubbed as Queen’s Necklace,
and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus whose
Victorian architecture has resiliently stood
through more than a century of events from
terror attacks to freedom struggles – are all
symbolic of Mumbai’s charm to the rest of the
subcontinent.
 Better than other cities
• Presence of state of the art EMUs:
• Better infrastructure:
• One of the world's best airports
• One of the tallest structures in the country:
• Compulsory metered auto rickshaws:
• Malls:
• . Rail connectivity
 Bombay- mumbai
• The city’s official name change, to Mumbai from
Bombay happened when regional political party
Shiv Sena came into power in 1995. The Shiv Sena
saw Bombay as a legacy of British colonialism and
wanted the city’s name to reflect its Maratha
heritage, hence renaming it to pay tribute to the
goddess Mumbadevi. However, the name change
wasn’t a singular incident specific to Mumbai. It is
part of a larger, ongoing wave where places
across India have undergone name changes often
to rid themselves of names given by the British.
•Mumbai, the economic capital of India, has been growing in terms
of population as well as space.
•In 2001, the urban agglomeration of Greater Mumbai reached 16.4
million. In spatial terms, it is expanding on reclaimed land from the
sea and eastward expansion in the mainland.
•The population 41 growth rate in the municipal corporation area
has been declining during the past two census decades (from 44%
during 1981-91 to 15% during 1991- 2001).
• However, its periphery has been witnessing dramatic population
increase and is still growing at a faster rate (63% during 1991-2001)
as compared to the core area.
•This impressive growth is due to the development of new areas
and projects by the City and Industrial Development Corporation of
Maharashtra (CIDCO) in the east and
• the inclusion of peripheral towns such as Thane into the
Greater Mumbai urban agglomeration area. This had special
impact in terms of pressure on ecologically sensitive land,
encroachment of open spaces, conversion of agricultural land,
etc. The new areas often came up on reclaimed land,
wetlands and mangroves affecting the flora and fauna of
Mumbai.
 Bollywood

• Bollywood, India’s largest and one of the world’s

largest film industries is synonymous with
Mumbai. The city has accordingly established
itself as the film capital of India. It is where many
Bollywood storylines are based, where top
studios are located and where the most famous
directors, producers, actors and crew members
live. And so, to the rest of India the charm and
appeal of Bollywood holds true for Mumbai as
well.
 Past and future

• Mumbai’s dream-like quality has as much to do with its

rich past as it has with its promising future. While the
city’s global importance and position grows by the day
as India re-positions its economy globally, it was a hub
of civilization and exchange with other great
civilizations even 2000 years ago. The stunning Kanheri
Caves, Elephanta Caves are remnants of a rich past
where Mumbai fared as a commercial and ideological
hotspot. Even Mumbai’s journey from a scattered
group of seven historic islands to its current form is
nothing short of dream-like for onlookers from
elsewhere in the country.
 Attractive to migrants

• As the commercial capital of the country,

Mumbai has much appeal to anyone in search
of work and better career prospects. Migrants
from every part of the country move to the
city every day in search of a better life, hence
the name ‘City of Dreams’ was coined. In spite
of its many slums and alarming extremes in
wealth distribution, it is seen as a city that will
reward anyone who is willing to work hard.
Development in 19th century
• The University of Bombay was the first modern institution
of higher education to be established in India in 1857.
• The Commercial Bank, the Chartered and the Central Bank
of Western India, etc were established in Bombay attracting
a considerable industrial population] The outbreak of
the American Civil Warin 1861 led to an enormous increase
in cotton-trade.[116]
• The Bombay Shipping and Iron Shipping Companies were
started in 1863 to make Bombay merchants independent of
the English.[66]
• The Bombay Coast and River Steam Navigation
Company was established in 1866 for the maintenance of
steam ferries between Bombay and the nearby islands;
while the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 revolutionized
the marine trade of Bombay.[102]
• The Bombay Municipal Corporation was established in
1872, providing a modern framework of governance for the
rapidly growing city.
• Development in 20th
• In April 1950, Greater Bombay District came into existence with the
merger of Bombay Suburbs and Bombay City.
• In the early 1960s, the Parsi and Marwaris Migrant communities owned
majority of the industry and trade enterprises in the city, while the white-
collar jobs were mainly sought by the South Indian migrants to the city.
• Nehru Centre was established in 1972 at Worli in
Bombay.[172] The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development
Authority (MMRDA) was set up on 26 January 1975 by the Government of
Maharashtra as an apex body for planning and co-ordination of
development activities in the Mumbai metropolitan region.[173] Nehru
Science Centre, India's largest interactive science centre, was established
in 1972 at Worli in Bombay.
• The Jawaharlal Nehru Port was commissioned on 26 May 1989 at Nhava
Sheva