Everything about Bombay India totally explained
Mumbai (
Marathi:,, :), formerly
Bombay, is the capital of the
Indian state of
Maharashtra. With an estimated population of thirteen
million, it's the second most populous city in the world. Along with the neighbouring suburbs of
Navi Mumbai and
Thane, it forms, at nineteen million, the
world's fifth most populous metropolitan area. Mumbai lies on the
west coast of India and has a deep natural
harbour. Mumbai's port handles over half of India's maritime cargo.
Mumbai is the commercial and entertainment center of India, generating 5% of India's
GDP and accounting for 25 per cent of industrial output, forty per cent of maritime trade, and seventy per cent of capital transactions to
India's economy. Mumbai is one of the world's top ten centers of
commerce by global financial flow, home to such important financial institutions as the
Reserve Bank of India, the
Bombay Stock Exchange, the
National Stock Exchange of India and the corporate
headquarters of many
Indian companies and numerous
multinational corporations. The city also houses India's
Hindi film and television industry, known as
Bollywood. Mumbai's business opportunities, as well as its high
standard of living, attract migrants from all over India and, in turn, make the city a potpourri of many communities and
cultures.
Names
The name Mumbai is an
eponym,
etymologically derived from
Mumba or
Maha-Amba— the name of the
Hindu goddess
Mumbadevi, and
Aai — mother in
Marathi. The former name
Bombay had its origins in the 16th century when the
Portuguese arrived in the area and called it by various names, which finally took the written form
Bombaim, still common in current Portuguese use. After the
British gained possession in the 17th century, it was
anglicised to
Bombay, although it was known as
Mumbai or
Mambai to Marathi and Gujarati-speakers, and as
Bambai in Hindi, Urdu. The name was officially changed to its Marathi pronunciation of
Mumbai in 1995.
A widespread explanation of the origin of the traditional English name
Bombay holds that it was derived from a Portuguese name meaning
good bay. This is based on the fact that
bom (masc.) is Portuguese for
good whereas the English word
bay is similar to the Portuguese
baía (fem.,
bahia in old spelling). The normal Portuguese rendering of
good bay would have been
boa bahia rather than the grammatically incorrect
bom bahia. However, it's possible to find the form
baim (masc.) for
little bay in sixteenth-century Portuguese.
Other sources have a different origin for the Portuguese
toponym Bombaim. José Pedro Machado's
Dicionário Onomástico Etimológico da Língua Portuguesa ("Portuguese Dictionary of Onomastics and Etymology") mentions what is probably the first Portuguese reference to the place, dated from 1516, as
Benamajambu or
Tena-Maiambu, pointing out that "MAIAMBU"' seems to refer to Mumba-Devi, the Hindu goddess after which the place is named in Marathi (Mumbai). In that same century, the spelling seems to have evolved to
Mombayn (1525) and then
Mombaim (1563). The final form
Bombaim appears later in the 16th century, as recorded by Gaspar Correia in his
Lendas da Índia ("Legends of India"). J.P. Machado seems to reject the "Bom Bahia" hypothesis, asserting that Portuguese records mentioning the presence of a bay at the place led the English to assume that the noun (
bahia, "bay") was an integral part of the Portuguese toponym, hence the English version Bombay, adapted from Portuguese.
.
History
Artefacts found near
Kandivali in northern Mumbai indicate that these islands had been inhabited since the
Stone Age. Documented evidence of human habitation dates back to 250 BC, when it was known as
Heptanesia (
Ptolemy) (
Ancient Greek:
A Cluster of Seven Islands). In the 3rd century BC, the islands formed part of the
Maurya Empire, ruled by the
Buddhist emperor,
Aşoka. During its first few centuries, control over Mumbai was disputed between the
Indo-Scythian Western Satraps and the
Satavahanas. The Hindu rulers of the
Silhara Dynasty later governed the islands until 1343, when the kingdom of
Gujarat annexed them. Some of the oldest edifices of the archipelago – the
Elephanta Caves and the
Walkeshwar temple complex date from this era.
In 1534, the
Portuguese appropriated the islands from
Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. They were ceded to
Charles II of England in 1661, as
dowry for
Catherine de Braganza. These islands, were in turn leased to the
British East India Company in 1668 for a sum of
£10
per annum. The company found the deep
harbour on the east coast of the islands to be ideal for setting up their first port in the sub-continent. The population quickly rose from 10,000 in 1661, to 60,000 in 1675; In 1687, the British East India Company transferred its headquarters from
Surat to Bombay. The city eventually became the headquarters of the
Bombay Presidency. From 1817 onwards, the city was reshaped with large
civil engineering projects aimed at merging all the islands in the archipelago into a single amalgamated mass. This project, known as the
Hornby Vellard, was completed by 1845, and resulted in the total area swelling to 438
km². In 1853, India's first passenger
railway line was established, connecting Bombay to the town of
Thane. During the
American Civil War (1861–1865), the city became the world's chief
cotton trading market, resulting in a boom in the economy and subsequently enhancing the city's stature.
The opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869 transformed Bombay into one of the largest seaports on the
Arabian Sea. Over the next thirty years, the city grew into a major urban centre, spurred by an improvement in infrastructure and the construction of many of the city's institutions. The population of the city swelled to one million by 1906, making it the second largest in India after
Calcutta. As capital of the
Bombay Presidency, it was a major base for the
Indian independence movement, with the
Quit India Movement called by
Mahatma Gandhi in 1942 being its most rubric event. After India's independence in 1947, it became the capital of
Bombay State. In the 1950 the city expanded to its present limits by incorporating parts of Salsette island which lay to the north.
After 1955, when the
State of Bombay was being re-organised along linguistic lines into the states of
Maharashtra and
Gujarat, there was a demand that the city be constituted as an autonomous city-state. However, the
Samyukta Maharashtra movement opposed this, and insisted that Mumbai be declared the capital of Maharashtra. Following protests in which 105 people were killed by police firing, Maharashtra state was formed with Mumbai as its capital on
May 1,
1960.
The late 1970s witnessed a construction boom and a significant influx of migrants, which saw Mumbai overtake
Kolkata as India's most populous city. This influx caused unrest among local
Maharashtrians who worried about the loss of culture, jobs, and language. The
Shiv Sena Party was formed by
Balasaheb Thackeray for the purpose of securing the interests of Maharashtrians. The city's secular fabric was torn apart in the
riots of 1992–93, after large scale sectarian violence caused extensive loss of life and property. A few months later, on
March 12,
a series of co-ordinated bombings at several city landmarks by the
Mumbai underworld killed around three hundred people. In 1995, the city was renamed
Mumbai by the Shiv Sena government of Maharashtra, in keeping with their policy of renaming colonial institutions after historic local appellations. There have also been terrorist attacks, sponsored by Islamic extremists, on public transport buses in past years. In 2006, Mumbai was also the site of a
major terrorist attack in which over two hundred people were killed when several bombs exploded almost simultaneously on the
Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Geography
Mumbai is located on seven now-merged islands (see
seven islands of Bombay) which are
Isle of Bombay,
Mazagaon,
Colaba,
Old Woman's Island,
Parel,
Worli, and
Salsette Island. Mumbai lies at the mouth of
Ulhas River off the western coast of India, in the coastal region known as the
Konkan. Much of Mumbai is just above
sea level, and the average elevation ranges from to . Northern Mumbai is hilly, and the highest point in the city is 450 metres (1,450
feet). Mumbai spans a total area of 603
km² (233
sq mi).
Four lakes supply water to Mumbai: Lakes Vihar, Vaitarna, Tulsi and Tansa.
Tulsi Lake and
Vihar Lake are located within the metropolitan limits, in
Borivili National Park, and supply part of the city's drinking water. The waters of a fifth lake also within the city,
Powai, isn't used. Mumbai also has three small rivers within the city limits originating in the National Park. The coastline of the city is indented with numerous
creeks and bays. The eastern coast of Salsette Island is covered with large
mangrove swamps, rich in
biodiversity. The western coast is mostly sandy and rocky.
Soil cover in the city region is predominantly sandy due to its proximity to the sea. In the suburbs, the soil cover is largely alluvial and loamy. The underlying rock of the region is composed of black
Deccan basalt flows, and their acid and
basic variants dating back to the late
Cretaceous and early
Eocene eras. Mumbai sits on a seismically active zone owing to the presence of three fault lines in the vicinity. The area is classified as a Zone III region, which means an earthquake of up to magnitude 6.5 on the
Richter-scale may be expected.
Mumbai is classified as a metropolis of India, under the jurisdiction of the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. It consists of two distinct regions — the city and the suburbs, which also form two separate districts of Maharashtra. The city region is also commonly referred to as the
Island City.
Climate
The climate of the city, being in the tropical zone, and near the
Arabian Sea, may be broadly classified into two main seasons — the humid season, and the dry season. The humid season, between March and October, is characterized by high humidity and temperatures of over . Between June and September, the monsoon rains lash the city supplying most of the city's annual rainfall of . The maximum annual rainfall ever recorded was in 1954. The
highest rainfall recorded in a single day was 944 mm (37.16 inches) on
2005-07-26. The dry season, between November and February, is characterized by moderate levels of humidity and warm to cool weather. Cold northerly winds are responsible for a mild chill during January and February.
Annual temperatures range from a high of to a low of .
The record high is and record low is on
1962-01-22.. Though is the lowest recorded by one of the two official meteorological weather stations, a low of was recorded on
February 8,
2008 at a weather station near
Kanheri Caves that lies within city limits.
Economy
Mumbai is India's largest city. Mumbai serves as an important economic hub of the country, contributing 10% of all factory employment, 40% of all
income tax collections, 60% of all
customs duty collections, 20% of all central
excise tax collections, 40% of India's
foreign trade and 40
billion Rupees (
US$ 1 billion) in
corporate taxes. Mumbai's per-capita income is Rs.48,954 which is almost three times the national average. Many of India's numerous conglomerates (including
State Bank Of India,
Tata Group,
Godrej and
Reliance), and four of the
Fortune Global 500 companies are based in Mumbai. Many foreign banks and financial institutions also have branches in this area, the
World Trade Centre (Mumbai) being the most prominent one. Up until the 1980s, Mumbai owed its prosperity largely to textile mills and the seaport, but the local economy has since been diversified to include engineering, diamond-polishing,
healthcare and
information technology. Mumbai is home to the
Bhabha Atomic Research Center, and most of India's specialized, technical industries, having a modern industrial infrastructure and vast, skilled human resources. Rising venture capital firms, start-ups and established brands work in
aerospace,
optical engineering, medical research, computers and electronic equipment of all varieties, shipbuilding and salvaging, and renewable energy and power.
State and central government employees make up a large percentage of the city's workforce. Mumbai also has a large unskilled and semi-skilled labour population, who primarily earn their livelihood as hawkers, taxi drivers, mechanics and other such
blue collar professions. The port and shipping industry, too, employs many residents, directly or indirectly. In
Dharavi, in central Mumbai, there's an increasingly large
recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of the city; the district has an estimated 15,000 single-room
factories.
The media industry is another major employer in Mumbai. Most of India's major television and satellite networks, as well as its major publishing houses, are headquartered here. The centre of the Hindi movie industry,
Bollywood produces the largest number of films per year in the world; and the name Bollywood is a
portmanteau of Bombay and Hollywood.
Marathi television and
Marathi film industry are also based in Mumbai.
Along with the rest of India, Mumbai, its commercial capital, has witnessed an
economic boom since the liberalisation of 1991, the finance boom in the mid-nineties and the IT, export, services and
BPO boom in this decade. The middle class in Mumbai is the segment most impacted by this boom and is the driver behind the consequent consumer boom. Upward mobility among Mumbaikars has led to a direct increase in consumer spending. Mumbai has been ranked 10th among the world's biggest
centres of commerce in terms of financial flow in a survey compiled by Mastercard Worldwide.
Civic administration
The city is administered by the
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) (formerly the Bombay Municipal Corporation), with executive power vested in the
Municipal Commissioner, who is an
IAS officer appointed by the
state government. The Corporation comprises 227 directly elected Councillors representing the twenty four
municipal wards, five nominated Councillors, and a titular
Mayor. The BMC is in charge of the civic and infrastructure needs of the metropolis. An Assistant Municipal Commissioner oversees each ward for administrative purposes. Almost all the state political parties field candidates in the elections for Councillors. The
Mumbai Metropolitan Region consists of 7 Municipal Corporations and 13 Municipal Councils. In addition to the
BMC, it includes the Municipal Corporations of
Thane,
Kalyan - Dombivali,
Navi Mumbai,
Mira-Bhayandar,
Bhiwandi - Nizampur and
Ulhasnagar.
The Greater Mumbai forms two
districts of Maharashtra, with each district under the jurisdiction of a
District Collector. The Collectors are in charge of property records and revenue collection for the
Central Government, and oversee the
national elections held in the city.
The
Mumbai Police is headed by a
Police Commissioner, who is an
IPS officer. The Mumbai Police comes under the state Home Ministry. The city is divided into seven police zones and seventeen traffic police zones, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police. The Traffic Police is a semi-autonomous body under the Mumbai Police. The
Mumbai Fire Brigade department is headed by the Chief Fire Officer, who is assisted by four Deputy Chief Fire Officers and 6 Divisional Officers.
Mumbai is the seat of the
Bombay High Court, which exercises jurisdiction over the states of
Maharashtra and
Goa, and the
Union Territories of
Daman and Diu and
Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Mumbai also has two lower courts, the
Small Causes Court for civil matters, and the
Sessions Court for criminal cases. Mumbai also has a special TADA (
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities) court for people accused of conspiring and abetting acts of terrorism in the city.
The city elects six members to the
Lok Sabha and thirty-four members to the
Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha (State assembly). Mumbai is headed by mayor
Shubha Raul,
Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak, and
Sheriff Indu Shahani.
Transport
Most of Mumbai's inhabitants rely on
public transport to travel to and from their workplace. Transport systems in Mumbai include the
Mumbai Suburban Railway,
BEST buses, taxis,
auto rickshaws, ferries, and aeroplanes.
The city is the headquarters of two
railway zones – the Central Railway (CR) headquartered at
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and the Western Railway (WR) headquartered near
Churchgate. The backbone of the city's transport, the
Mumbai Suburban Railway, is composed of three separate networks running the length of the city, in a north-south direction.
The
Mumbai Metro, an underground and elevated railway system that's currently under construction, will run from Versova to Andheri to Ghatkopar when the first phase is completed in 2009. Mumbai is well connected to most parts of
India by the
Indian Railways. Trains originate from
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus,
Dadar,
Lokmanya Tilak Terminus,
Mumbai Central and
Bandra terminus. Mumbai's suburban rail systems carry a total of 2.2 billion passengers every year, one third of the world's population.
Public
buses run by
BEST cover almost all parts of the metropolis, as well as parts of
Navi Mumbai and
Thane. Buses are used for commuting short to medium distances, while train fares are more economical for long distance commutes. The BEST runs a total of 3,400 buses, ferrying 4.5 million passengers over 340 routes. Its fleet consists of single-decker, double-decker, vestibule, low-floor, disabled-friendly, and air-conditioned buses.
MSRTC buses provide intercity transport and connect Mumbai with other major cities of
Maharashtra and other states. The
Mumbai Darshan is a tourist bus service which explores numerous
tourist attractions in Mumbai
Black and yellow-metered,
taxis traverse most of the metropolis.
Auto rickshaws operate in the suburban areas of Mumbai. Rickshaws run on
Compressed Natural Gas, are the main form of hired transport. These three-wheeled vehicles are a quick way to get around. They are the cheapest form of hired transport and can accommodate up to three passengers.
Mumbai's
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (formerly, Sahar International Airport) is the busiest airport in South Asia. The
Juhu aerodrome was India's first airport, and now hosts a
flying club and a
heliport. The proposed
Navi Mumbai International Airport which is to be built in the Kopra-Panvel area, has been sanctioned by the Government and would help relieve the increasing traffic burden on the existing airport. Mumbai handles about 25% of the domestic and 38% of the international air passenger traffic in the country.
With its unique topography, Mumbai has one of the best natural harbours in the world, handling 50% of the country's passenger traffic, and much of India's cargo. It is also an important base for the
Indian Navy, being the headquarters of the Western Naval Command. Ferries from
Ferry Wharf allow cheap access to islands and beaches in the area.
Utility services
The
BMC supplies
potable water to the city, most of which comes from the Tulsi and Vihar lakes, as well as a few lakes further north. The water is filtered at
Bhandup, which is Asia's largest water filtration plant. Even
India's first underground water tunnel will come up in Mumbai. The
BMC is also responsible for the road maintenance and garbage collection in the city. Almost all of Mumbai's daily refuse of 7,800
metric tonnes is transported to dumping grounds in
Gorai in the northwest,
Mulund in the northeast, and
Deonar in the east.
Sewage treatment is carried out at
Worli and
Bandra, and disposed off by two independent marine outfalls of and at Bandra and Worli respectively. A third outfall at Malad is in the planning stages.
Electricity is provided by
BEST in the island city, and by
Reliance Energy,
Tata Power, and
Mahavitaran (Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd) in the suburbs. Most of the city's electricity is
hydroelectric and
nuclear based. Consumption of electricity is growing faster than production capacity. The largest
telephone service provider is the state-owned
MTNL, which held a
monopoly over fixed line and cellular services up until 2000, and provides fixed line as well as mobile
WLL services.
Cell phone coverage is extensive, and the main service providers are
Vodafone Essar,
Airtel,
BPL group,
Reliance Communications and
Tata Indicom. Both
GSM and
CDMA services are available in the city.
Broadband internet penetration is increasing in the city, with MTNL and
Tata being the leading service providers.
Since 1995, many parts of the city also have access to piped gas, provided by Mahanagar Gas Limited, which also provides compressed natural gas to 127 gas stations.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, the population of Mumbai is about 13 million, with the population of the urban agglomerate exceeding 16 million. The Rural
Mumbai Metropolitan Region has a population of 1.04 million. and the
Mumbai Metropolitan Area has a population of 20,870,764. The population density is estimated to be about 22,000 persons per square kilometre. The overall literacy rate of the city is above 86%, higher than the national average.
There are 875 females to every 1,000 males – which is lower than the national average.
The religions represented in Mumbai include
Hindus (68% of the population),
Muslims (17% of the population), and
Christians and
Jains (4% each). The remainder are
Parsis,
Buddhists,
Sikhs,
Jews and
atheists.
According to the 1991 census, the ethnic groups demographics are -
Maharashtrians (53%),
Gujaratis (22%),
North Indians (17%),
Tamilians (3%),
Sindhis (3%),
Tuluvas/
Kannadigas (2%) and others.
Mumbai has a large
polyglot population unlike any other
metropolitan city of India.
Marathi, the official language of Maharashtra state, is widely spoken. Other languages spoken are
Hindi and
English. A colloquial form of Hindi, known as
Bambaiya – a blend of
Marathi,
Hindi,
Indian English and some invented colloquial words are spoken on the streets. English is extensively spoken, and is the principal language of the city's
white collar workforce.
Like other
metropolises in the developing world, Mumbai suffers from the same major urbanisation problems seen in many fast growing cities in
developing countries — widespread poverty and unemployment, poor public health, civic and educational standards for a large section of the population. With available space at a premium, Mumbai residents often reside in cramped, relatively expensive housing, usually far from workplaces, and therefore requiring long commutes on crowded mass transit, or clogged roadways. According to 2001 census of India, about 54% of the city's population lives in slums. Mumbai recorded 27,577 incidents of crime in 2004, which is down 11% from 30,991 in 2001. The city's main jail is the
Arthur Road Jail. The number of migrants to Mumbai from outside
Maharashtra during the 1991-2001 decade was 1.12 million, which amounted to 54.8% of the net addition to the population of Mumbai.
People and Culture
A resident of Mumbai is called a
Mumbaikar,
Mumbaite or
Bombayite. Many residents live close to major railway stations for easy access to their workplaces, as a significant amount of time is spent on daily commuting.Mumbai's appetizing foods and cuisines have been influenced by the rich but not too spicy styles of cooking from the surrounding
Maharashtra and
Gujarat states. Some of the unique and famous palatable specialties include
Dhan Sak,
Khicheri,
Bombli Batata Bhaji,
Kamag Kakri,
Solachi Kadhi,
Min Vela Curry and
Curried Bombay Duck. Local roadside
fast food includes
vada pav,
panipuri, paav bhaji, and
bhelpuri.
Mumbai is the birthplace of
Indian cinema (
Dadasaheb Phalke laid the foundations with his silent movies followed by his
Marathi talkies), with the oldest film broadcast here in the early 20th century. Mumbai also boasts of large number of cinemas, including the world's largest
IMAX dome theatre, which feature mainstream
Bollywood,
Marathi and
Hollywood movies. Many film festivals are avidly attended throughout the year. Besides catering to cinephiles, the city has a thriving theatrical tradition in Marathi, Hindi, Urdu, English and other regional languages.
Contemporary art is well-represented in both government funded art spaces and private commercial galleries. The government-funded
art galleries include The
Jehangir Art Gallery and The
National Gallery of Modern Art. Built in 1833, the
Asiatic Society of Bombay is the oldest
public library in the city. The
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum) is a renowned museum in the heart of
South Mumbai near the
Gateway of India which houses rare and ancient exhibits of Indian history. Mumbai also has a very popular zoo named
Jijamata Udyaan which also harbours a beauteous garden within its boundaries. The city of Mumbai is home to many well known Indian
poets.
Mumbai has two
UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the
Elephanta Caves. The
Western Railways is also planning to make a proposal to the
UNESCO to include the
Churchgate building in the list of
World Heritage Sites. Popular places in the city are
Nariman Point,
Girgaum Chowpatti,
Juhu Beach, and
Marine Drive. Essel World is an international-style theme park and amusement centre situated close to Gorai Beach. Asia's largest theme water park, Water Kingdom, is also located in Mumbai.
Mumbai residents celebrate
Western and
Indian festivals with great fanfare. Festivals and celebrations are observed by residents of all communities and religions.
Diwali,
Holi,
Christmas,
Navratri,
Good Friday,
Eid,
Dussera,
Moharram,
Ganesh Chaturthi,
Durga Puja and
Maha Shivratri are some of the most popular festivals in the city. The
Kala Ghoda Festival is an exhibition of a world of arts that encapsulates works of artistes in the fields of music, dance, theater, film and all the genres of art that make for the vibrantly rich culture of Mumbai. A week long fair known as the
Bandra Fair or the
Mount Mary Festival is celebrated by people of all faiths. The
Banganga Festival is a two-day music festival, held annually in the month of January which is organised by the
Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) at the historic
Banganga Tank in Mumbai. The
Elephanta Festival which is celebrated every February on the
Elephanta Islands, is dedicated to the classical Indian Dance and Music with artists from across the country converging on the occasion conjuring a mesmerizing atmosphere on this picturesque island.
Mumbai has several
sister cities:
Media
Mumbai has numerous
newspaper publications and television and radio stations. Popular English language newspapers published and sold in Mumbai include the
Times of India,
Mid-day,
DNA,
Hindustan Times,
Mumbai Mirror,
Asian Age and
Indian Express.
Marathi newspapers include
Loksatta,
Sakal,
Lokmat and
Maharashtra Times. Newspapers are also printed in other Indian languages with
Navbharat Times in
Hindi and The
Urdu Times Daily in
Urdu being the popular ones. Mumbai is home to Asia's oldest newspaper,
Bombay Samachar, which has been published in Gujarati since 1822.
Bombay Durpan - the first Marathi newspaper - was started by Balshastri Jambhekar in Mumbai in 1832. Popular magazines are
Saaptahik Sakaal,
Lokprabha in
Marathi and
India Today,
Outlook in
English.
Numerous
Indian and foreign channels can be watched in Mumbai. Mumbai households receive over a hundred television channels via cable, and a majority of them are produced to cater to the city's
polyglot populace. The metropolis is also the hub of many international media corporations, with many news channels and print publications having a major presence. The national television broadcaster,
Doordarshan, provides two free terrestrial channels, while three main cable networks serve most households.
Zee Marathi,
ETV Marathi, DD Sahyadri,
Zee TV,
STAR Plus and news channels are popular. Popular news channels entirely dedicated to the city include
Sahara Samay Mumbai.
Satellite television (DTH) has yet to gain mass acceptance, due to high installation costs. Popular
DTH entertainment services in Mumbai include
Dish TV and
Tata Sky. There are twelve radio stations in Mumbai, with nine broadcasting on the
FM band, and three
All India Radio stations broadcasting on the
AM band. Mumbai also has access to popular
Commercial radio providers like
WorldSpace,
Sirius and
XM. The
Conditional Access System (CAS) started by the
Union Government in 2006 has met a very poor response in Mumbai due to the arduous competition from its sister technology
Direct-to-Home (DTH) transmission service.
Bollywood, the Hindi film industry that's the largest
film producer in the world, is based in Mumbai.
Bollywood produces more than 800 films a year, twice as many as
Hollywood. It has an audience of 3.6 billion people. Film studios in Goregaon, including Film City, are the location for many movie sets. The
Marathi Film Industry is also based in Mumbai.
,
List of Poets from Mumbai
Education
Schools in Mumbai are either "municipal schools" (run by the
BMC) or private schools (run by trusts or individuals), which in some cases receive financial aid from the government. The schools are affiliated either with the
Maharashtra State Board (MSBSHSE), the all-India
Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and the
Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) boards.
Marathi or
English is the usual language of instruction. The government run public schools lack many facilities, but are the only option for poorer residents who can't afford the more expensive private schools. A majority of residents prefer private schools because of better infrastructure and the use of
English as a medium of instruction.
Under the
10+2+3/4 plan, students complete ten years of schooling, and then enroll for two years in
Junior College, where they select one of three streams:
arts, commerce or science. This is followed by either a general degree course in a chosen field of study, or a professional degree course, such as law, engineering, medicine etc. Most colleges in the city are affiliated with the
University of Mumbai, one of the largest
universities in the world in terms of the number of graduates. The
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai which is India's premier engineering schools,
VJTI (Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute),
SNDT Women's University, and
Tata Institute of Social Sciences are the other universities in Mumbai.
Mumbai is home to two of India's important research institutions – The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (
TIFR),Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (
BARC).
Sports
Cricket is the most popular sport in the city, and is usually played in the
maidans (grounds) around the city.
Gully cricket, a modified form of cricket, is played in the narrow by-lanes of the city. Mumbai is home to the
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). International cricket is widely watched, and the city comes to a virtual standstill on days when the
Indian cricket team plays important matches. The local
Mumbai cricket team is among the strongest competitors and the most successful team in the
Ranji Trophy, the nation's top domestic cricketing circuit. The city is represented by
Mumbai Indians in the
Indian Premier League, and by
Mumbai Champs in the
Indian Cricket League. The city has two international cricket stadiums, the
Wankhede Stadium and the
Brabourne Stadium. The Wankhede stadium is set to host the final of
2011 Cricket World Cup. Eminent cricketers from Mumbai include
Sachin Tendulkar,
Sunil Gavaskar and
Vijay Hazare.
Football is the second most popular sport with the city. The
Football World Cup is one of the most widely watched television events in Mumbai. The
Mumbai FC (Mumbai Football Club) is one of the renowned Indian football clubs based in Mumbai. India's national sport,
field hockey, has gone into decline in the recent years, losing out in terms of popularity to cricket. Mumbai is home to the
Maratha Warriors, one of the few teams competing for the
Premier Hockey League (PHL) from
Maharashtra.
Chess is also a very popular indoor sport played in Mumbai. Other sports are mostly played in the numerous clubs and
gymkhanas, and include
tennis,
squash,
billiards,
badminton,
table tennis and
golf. Mumbai also plays
Rugby union, one of the few Indian cities to do so. Every February, Mumbai holds the
Derby races in the
Mahalaxmi Racecourse. In recent times
Formula 1 racing has also caught on. The
Force India team of
Formula One has also unveiled its 2008 car in Mumbai. In March 2004, Mumbai Grand Prix was held as part of the
F1 powerboat world championship. Other sports such as
volleyball and
basketball are mostly popular in schools and colleges.
In 2004, the
Mumbai Marathon, an annual marathon event, was established in a bid to bring the sport to the Indian public. Since 2006, Mumbai has also played host to the
Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open, an
International Series tournament of the
ATP Tour.
Mcdowell's Derby is held in February at the
Turf club in Mumbai.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Bombay India'.
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