Understand

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Mumbai is different from the rest of India in pretty much the same way that New York is different from the United States. But then, Mumbai is also a microcosm of India. For more than a hundred years, Mumbai, or Bombay or Bambai, has been the city that young men and women from all over India came to seek out their dreams. The pace of life is more hurried; time is money and money is important. The idea that in this city one can always make a living one way or the other is pervasive.

Name
The official name of the city Mumbai is an eponym derived from Mumba, the name of the local Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, and Aai, meaning "mother" in Marathi. Portuguese explorers named the area "Bom Bahia" in the 16th century, translating as "Good Bay" and obviously referring to the deep water harbour. This designation was gradually corrupted to "Bomaím" and, after the British gained possession, the name was anglicised to Bombay. The name was officially changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, but the former name is still popularly used in the West to refer to the city, and is still used as an alternative by many of the city's inhabitants and famous institutions.

History

Though the seven islands that now make up the city have a long recorded history like any other place in India, their journey to form the city of Bombay really started in 1498, when the Portuguese took them over from the Sultan of Gujarat. They built a settlement, some forts and some churches, (including the strange looking Portuguese Church that stands to this day.) They however, could not make much of their possession and the seven islands were handed over to England in 1661 as part of the dowry of Catherine de Braganza when she married Charles II of England. He wasn't very interested in the islands either, and he leased them to the British East India Company for £10 a year in 1668. The East India Company built the docks, the trading posts and the fort that would form the nerve centre of the city. They also started off the long process of reclaiming land and joining the islands, an activity which went on till the 1960s.

The port attracted industries and the entrepreneurial communities like the Parsis, Gujaratis and Marwaris (from Rajasthan) migrated and set up trading companies and factories in the late 19th century. Industries attracted migrant labour from different parts of the country. The successive waves of migration shaped the character of the city and its neighbourhoods.

The city that owes its existence to the efforts of the British was also the birthplace of the Indian National Congress, which played an overwhelmingly important role in the independence movement. The city whose mills were built by industrialists from across the country is the capital of Maharashtra state, which was carved on linguistic lines for Marathi speakers.

In the 80s, high labour costs and unrest forced the closure of many textile...