Mumbai

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mumbai (known as Bombay until 1995) is a natural harbor on the west coast of India, and is the capital city of Maharashtra state. It is India's largest city, and one of the world's most populous cities. It is called the commercial capital of India. It has the Bombay Stock Exchange and all major financial trading is done here.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Contents

[edit] Location and History

Located on the West Coast of India, the groups of islands which have grown into the city of Mumbai, was probably first recorded as the home of fisherfolk where a group of Buddhist monks established an outpost late during the Magadhan empire. The islands were tossed from one king to another emperor for two millennia, until the maritime trade empire of the British decided to develop the natural harbour into a city. In the four hundred years since then, the city has grown by a series of land reclamations which now link the original islands into one mass.

[edit] By Any Other Name

The city was called for much of the last four hundred years. The origin of the name is obscure, but is often said to come from the Portuguese phrase bom bahia meaning "good bay". The name Mumbai has been used in the main local languages for as long, and is ascribed to the local goddess, Mumba (ai means mother in Marathi, a native dialect of the state of Maharashtra). The name of the city was changed to Mumbai by an act of the parliament in 1997.

[edit] It's a Big City

Estimated to hold about 15 million people (a census is on in the years 2000-2001), the city has grown dramatically in the last fifty years. The core area called the "Island City" has the most expensive real estate in all of India. As a result, the city has grown far into the mainland both to the north and the east. It is not unusual for people to commute more than an hour to work each day. Getting water, power and food into the city is a major task, which is handled reasonably by civic agencies planning bodies and people going about their business.


[edit] Other websites