Mumbai: Commercial Capital of India.

Mumbai: Commercial Capital of India

As you fly into Mumbai you pass over some of the most horrendous slums you will ever experience, a shantytown of enormous proportions. The story goes that the local government moved all the inhabitants out to purpose-built housing only for many of them to sell the new properties and quickly retreat back to the site and rebuild their squalid dwellings. India is another world! To locals you are arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, still holding its three-letter code BOM from earlier times.

The recent opening up of the bilateral agreement between the UK and India has seen a host of new routes, improved frequencies and more airlines offering services between the two countries. The market is under served with only 53% of the passengers flying between the UK routing direct. With five airlines now operating between London and Mumbai many say that the legislators have got it correct and time will prove that this is the capacity that is required. The airlines serving the city via such places as Bahrain and Doha are taking note. Local carrier Jet Airways, now a London operator too, serves 29 destinations from BOM but its chances of picking up connecting traffic must be limited. Mumbai domestic airport is being updated from its 1950's image, rebuilding rather than a new airport but it is 4k away from the local terminal and even the OAG Flight Guide Supplement says a 20-minute transfer time via the local roads. In truth whoever supplied the information was being very optimistic. Allow for an hour at least. The infrastructure around the airport cannot cope. Limousines, electric rickshaws and beggars on the same single-track road do not mix. In truth the international terminal functions OK but it cannot be a gateway that India is proud of. There is even a scanner for scrutinizing arriving luggage. The problem is nobody looks at the screens.

Situated on the Arabian Sea in the west of India, Mumbai has one of the world's greatest natural harbors. In 1534 the Portuguese named it Bom Bahai (beautiful bay) - the derivation of the name Bombay - but in 1995 the decision was taken to rename the city in a more traditional Indian manner. It is India's largest city and commercial center. The population, thought to be 18m plus, is not that much less that the whole of Australia. There are said to be 77,000 Tata taxis on the streets. Don't go to Mumbai during the monsoon season. June, July and even August. It gets very wet. As for the heat it does not get much colder than 25C and can get up to 40C+ before (the very hot) rains come.

Mumbai is one of the most important centers in India for the production of cotton textiles. Other leading industries include printing and publishing, shipbuilding and repairing, and the manufacture of chemicals, machinery, metals, metal products, and fertilizers. Mumbai is also the center of India's large film industry, colloquially termed "Bollywood" (after Bombay, the previous name, and Hollywood), which greatly exceeds Hollywood in the number of films produced annually. Film City is north of the airport, a good hour from the business center. Tourism is gaining economic importance. The fine and clean sandy beaches at Juhu, on the Arabian Sea coast, and Chowpatty, on the northern shore of Back Bay, are popular destinations for both domestic and overseas visitors.

Mumbai may be one of the most squalid cities on earth but it is also the proud possessor of a hotel that can hold its head high with any around the world. All right labor is very plentiful and cheap, but staff training and presentation are down to the property and its management. The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower exceeds on all fronts. Undoubtedly one of the finest hotels in the world and now just over 100 years old. The Taj opened in 1903 with 30 private apartments, 350 double and single rooms, electric lights, fans, bells and clocks and four electric passengers lifts - true luxury at the turn of the 20th century. In 1973 a tower wing was added. Extensively refurbished in time for its centenary today the hotel is fully air conditioned boosts 546 rooms, a massive open air swimming pool with a deep end of 15 feet and plays host to heads of state, celebrities and industry leaders.

Just in front of the hotel is the archway called The Gateway of India, the principal landmark of Bombay. It was built in yellow basalt to commemorate the royal visit of George V and Queen Mary in 1911 and completed in 1924. The Delhi Durbar was captured in film and is one of the great events in the period of peace leading up to the First World War. Boat trips are very popular from the area in front of the Gateway and just like the railways you can hire someone to queue and purchase your ticket. In India begging is a profession! Besides the Gateway of India, the Prince of Wales Museum was also built to venerate King George's visit. The construction of the museum is based on the Indo Saracenic style of architecture and was successfully completed in 1923. The Prince of Wales Museum boasts of exhibits in various areas land includes paintings, archaeology and natural history.

Mumbai is a city full of gothic designs none of which would be out of place in London. Now called the Central Railway Station, the Victoria Terminus or VT is a magnificent building and unlike some of its contemporaries likely to be around for a long time.

However very much worth a mention is the home of Mahatma Gandhi from 1917 to 1934. Currently under well thought out restoration this quiet three-story home now preserves the spirit of the man who preached peace and died at the hand of an assassin with his life's work complete, the foundation of the Indian state. There's a library of Gandhi-related works, as well as displays of photographs, posters, slogans, and other items that document and explain Gandhi's fascinating life and his fight for a nation's freedom. A moving experience.

Mumbai even after nearly 60 years of Indian independence is still somehow a colonial city. The beggars on the streets are difficult to comprehend. Yes there is poverty and hands are outstretched the whole time. Litter seems to be everywhere. Yet somehow the city thrives and one can dine and spend money with the best. Not far from the center is a golf course and the horse race track is surrounded both by slums and high-rise buildings. You send your clothes to be washed and beaten in the open air by a railway track and they come back perfect (providing you put your marker on them). Sophisticated locals use that system plus the very latest in washing machines. They somehow go hand in hand. Mumbai is a true enigma. The airlines serving the city are in for a boom. And then there is cricket! Perhaps another story.

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