The mega-city of Mumbai,
formerly known as Bombay,
is home to 21 million
people. It is one of the most
densely populated urban
areas on the planet. Life is
hot and there isn’t much
wriggle room on the school
bus, but Mumbai is also
India’s richest metropolis –
a financial powerhouse
that teems with workers
and businesses.
LIFE’S SWEET
Mumbai is one of the best
places to sample mithai
(traditional sweets) from
around the country and
region. Delicious Barfi
tastes like very sweet
fudge, while buttery
Mysore pak
has the subtle
taste of cardamom.
Fast Food
Mumbai has an army
of 5,000 dabbawalas
– food couriers who
whizz around with
carts delivering home-
cooked lunches. Over
200,000 are dropped
off at offices every
single day. Although
many dabbawalas
can’t read or write, it’s
estimated that they
only make a mistake
once per every eight
million meals delivered.
TRAIN SPOTTING
Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) is Mumbai’s UNESCO World Heritage-
listed train station. The building features dog-faced gargoyles on the
outside, and there’s usually some grimacing going on inside too, because
this is the world’s busiest railway station. Its 18 platforms allow
around 1,500 trains to depart and arrive each day.
During rush hour, up to 14 people squish into
each square metre of the train, and it’s
common to see many hanging from the
sides of the carriages.
Beach rituals
The famous sands of Chowpatty beach stretch down to the Arabian
Sea. It’s a crowded jumble of families, fortune-tellers, food
vendors, snake charmers and dancing monkeys all jostling for
space. In September the beach hosts massive Ganesh Chaturthi
celebrations. Thousands of people flock from around the city
to dunk icons of the elephant-head god into the sea.
THREE-Faced GOD
Elephanta is a short boat ride from the Gateway of India
at Mumbai Harbour. The island boasts an amazing cave
temple, hand-carved into the rock over 1,300 years ago.
The main temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, a Hindu
god. Shiva is a complicated god with three faces who
can be both kindly and fierce. He is shown in all forms in
the cave – as creator, preserver and destroyer.
The island’s monkeys are similarly hard to read.
One minute they look cute, the next they’re trying to
steal your snacks!
Welcome to
Bollywood!
Mumbai is the epicentre of
India’s famous Hindi film industry,
producing over 1,000 movies per year –
more than twice as many as Hollywood.
The brilliantly over-the-top films are
typically colourful three-hour long
extravaganzas. They feature an
entertaining mix of comedy,
drama, romance and –
most importantly –
music and
dancing. In
Mumbai you can
take Bollywood
tours and even try and
get an on-screen role
as an extra!