Mumbai Travel Guide
Mumbai General Information:
Area : 600 sq. km.
Altitude : Sea Level.
Temperature
Summer : Max 33.3ºC, Min 22.7ºC.
Winter : Max 29.5ºC, Min 19.4ºC.
Rainfall : 254 cms annual.
Languages : Marathi, Hindi, and English.
Mumbai Introduction 
The city of Bombay was officially renamed Mumbai in January 1996. The mumbaites
believe that this name came from the goddess 'Mumba', worshipped by the original
Koli inhabitants. When the Portuguese arrived they called the harbour Bombaim,
which may have stemmed from 'buan bahia', meaning 'good bay' in Portuguese,
or was a corruption of the original Koli name. Despite poverty and eye-watering
pollution, it is so dynamic that paupers still flock there in hopes of becoming
successful entrepreneurs. Mumbai is the stronghold of the Indian film industry.
Throughout the year Western and Indian music concerts and festivals and Indian
dance shows are performed in Bombay. , Mumbai is the industrial hub of everything
from textiles to petrochemicals, and responsible for half of India's foreign
trade.
Mumbai History 
The city of Bombay originally consisted of seven islands called Colaba, Mazagaon,
Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion. This group of islands
has been joined together by a series of reclamations, formed part of the kingdom
of Ashoka, the famous Emperor of India. Bombay's colonial legacy is the Gateway
of India built to commemorate the Royal visit of George V and Queen Mary in
1911. The Taj Mahal hotel opposite the Gateway was built in 1903 by Jamashedji
N. Tata, founder of a prestigious industrial house, to counter a ban on Indian
entering the then famous Watson's hostelry. Sir Robert Grant (1779-1838) governed
Bombay from 1835 to 1838 and was responsible for the construction of a number
of roads between Bombay and the hinterland. In January 1899, the Brokers' Hall
was inaugurated by James M. MaClean, M.P. After the First World War the Bombay
Stock Exchange (BSE) was housed in an old building near the Town Hall. In 1928,
the present plot of land was acquired surrounded by Dalal Street, Bombay Samachar
Marg, and Hammam Street. A building was constructed in 1930 and occupied in
December of that year. On Saturday 16th of April, 1853 a 21-mile long railway
line, the first in India, between Bombay's Victoria Terminus and Thana was opened.
The later half of the 19th century was also to see a feverish construction of
buildings in Bombay, many of which such as, the Victoria Terminus, the General
Post Office, Municipal Corporation, the Prince of Wales Museum, Rajabai Tower
and Bombay University, Elphinstone College and the Cawasji Jehangir Hall, the
Crawford Market, the Old Secretariat (Old Customs House) and the Public Works
Department (PWD) Building, still stand today as major landmarks. The Gateway
of India was built to commemorate the visit of king George V and Queen Mary
for the Darbar at Delhi in 1911. The historic session of the All India Congress
Committee began on the 7th of August 1942. Its venue was the Gowalia Tank Maidan,
where the congress was born in 1885. It was at this session that the "Quit
India" call was given by Mahatma Gandhi and other Indian National Congress
leaders. After independence the Congress party led by Jawaharlal Nehru at the
Center was swept to power in most of the Indian States, which were constituted
on the basis of language spoken by the majority of its people. The Bombay State
included the city as its seat of government. In 1960 the state of Bombay was
split into Maharashtra and Gujarat states again on linguistic basis, the former
retaining Bombay city as its capital.
Mumbai Fair & Festivals 
The Ganesh Chaturthi : Ganesha is the god of wisdom and prosperity
and is invoked before the beginning of any auspicious work by the Hindus. According
to mythology he is the son of Shiva and Parvati, brother of Kartikeya. Ganesha
is the munificent god of wisdom and Ganesh Chaturthi is celebrated in his honour
and in the states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and
many other parts of India. In Bombay alone, more than 6000 Ganesha statues are
commissioned collectively by factories. Upto 10 metres in height these statues
are carried on decorated floats. Little Ganeshas are placed in nukkads or street
corners and in homes, and poojas are performed daily. The festival is so popular
that in Mumbai the preparations begin months in advance. Images of Ganesha are
installed and elaborate arrangements are made for lighting and decoration, and
celebrations are on for 7-10 Days. The Chaturthi is the last day dedicated to
the elephant-headed god, and thousands of processions converge on the beaches
of Mumbai to immerse the holy idols in the sea. This immersion is accompanied
by drum- beats, devotional songs and dancing.
Gudi Padava : It is a day of great festivity and rejoicing.
People get up early and clean their houses, decorating them with intricate rangoli
designs. A silk cloth is tied to a pole with a brass goblet or kalash atop it,
which is supposed to drive away evil from the house. This is raised aloft and
worshipped. The Maharashtran New Year's Day is celebrated in March/April, on
the first day of Chaitra.
Mumbai Best Season
The climate of Bombay, according to the traders, was so unhealthy. The weather
is extremely hot from March to May. The rainy season, brought mostly from monsoon
winds from the southwest, last from June to September and is followed by the
post-monsoon season, which last from october to November, hen the weather is
hot again. Best time to visit November until March; April until mid June hot
followed by monsoon until end of September.
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