The document provides a summary of the origins and history of Mumbai, India. It discusses how Mumbai was originally made up of seven islands inhabited by Koli fishermen and Aagri salt makers. It describes how the name Mumbai came from the goddess Mumbadevi and the building of the Mumbadevi temple. It then summarizes the city's history under successive ruling dynasties and periods of Portuguese and British rule. It also outlines the merging of the seven islands into today's Mumbai and provides the origins of some local place names derived from geographical features and earlier inhabitants. The summary is provided in 3 sentences.

1. AAMCHI MUMBAI
a Mumbaikar’s heart-throb

2. Disclaimer
This presentation is simply a compilation of information gathered from
various sources (books, internet). We are not the authors of any piece
of information & due credit goes to all those who did research & made
this information available for mankind.
The images used in this presentation are also downloaded from various
sites on the internet & due credit goes to the respective creators of
these images.

3. The Origin of Mumbai A Kolin
selling fish
 Made up of seven isles: Kolbhat
(Colaba), Palva Bunder (renamed by
British as Apollo Bunder), Mazgaon
(derived from Sanskrit word Matsya
Gram – fishing village, Parel, Mahim,
Worli, Chhota Kolbhat (little Colaba).
The bigger island in the North of
Mumbai islands was Sashti (renamed
by Portuguese as Salsette), also
constituted of seven other smaller
islands. And the other island to the
East was Turbhe (called as Trombay
by Portuguese)
 Deep-sea fishermen called the Kolis
and salt makers called the Aagris
were the chief inhabitants
 The name Mumbai was derived from
the form of Maha Amba (Great
Mother) Mumbadevi, worshipped by Mumbadevi Mandir
the Kolis
 The Mumbadevi temple was built
originally by a Koli in 14th century
atop Dongri hill. The temple
miraculously escaped destruction
during the Muslim & Portuguese
rules. But British demolished it in
18th century. It was rebuilt at
Pydhonie by a goldsmith, Pandurang
Shivaji Sonar

4. Ancient Period
 Artifacts found near Kandivali shows
evidence of human civilisation since 250
BC
 300 BC: Maurya Empire (Kanheri caves,
Mahakali Caves, Mandapeshwar caves).
Kanheri is derived from the word
Krishnagiri (means black mountain in
Sanskrit). The present Sanjay Gandhi
National Park also existing in this era &
was earlier called Krishnagiri National
Park
 185 BC: Satvahanas of Telgu region
ruled the islands along with Konkan coast Gharapuri Caves (called as
Elephanta by Portuguese) (900 AD)
 1st century : Satvahana, then Shaka era
 AD 415, Traikutaka, Kalachuri dynasty
(coins of the Kalachuri king Krishnaraja
were found in the village Kavel present
day Kalbadevi road) build the Jogeshwari
caves dedicated to Lord Shiva
 6th – 7th century: Chalukya dynasty (king
Pulakeshin) established their capital on
Gharapuri island
 9th - 12th century : Shilahara era
(Elephanta caves, Walkeshwar temple,
Banganga Tank, Ambarnath temple). The
Walkeshwar temple was destroyed by the
Portuguese & rebuilt by Rama Kamath in
1715
Mahakali Caves (300 BC), Andheri
Jogeshwari Caves

5. Medieval Period
 13th century: When Devgiri was besieged by the
invader Allaudin-Khilji, Raja Bhimdev the son of
Ramdev (the Yadav king of Devgiri), established his
capital Mahikawati on isle of Mahim. Raja Bhimdev
& his son Pratap Bimb transformed the island into a
city of temples & settlements flourishing with
plantations, fishing hamlets & vegetal cover, groves
& woods, during the 13th century.
 15th century: Mohemmedan invader Mubarak Shah
destroyed many temples & cities after defeating
Raja Nagardev in a battle at Byculla and thus
conquered Mumbai. The Haji Ali tomb & the Mahim
mosque were built around this time
 16th century : Portuguese defeated the
Muhameddans in a battle near the Bandra creek.
They imposed their feudal system on the natives,
demolished temples & built churches in their place.
The temple of Walkeshwar & Mahalakshmi were View of the ghat, Banganga tank & ancient temple of Walkeshwar
cast down.
 In 1661, during the marriage treaty of Infanta
Catherine of Portugal with Charles II of Britain,
Portugal handed over the islands of Mumbai to
Britain as dowry, but retained Sashti islands
 In the year 1668, the English East India Company
took over the command of these money-minting
islands under a lease agreement of 10 Pounds per
annum
 In 1737 Sashti was captured from the Portuguese
by the native Marathas, but finally lost it to the
British in 1774, and was formally ceded to the East
India Company in the 1782 Treaty of Salbai

6. Major Settlements of Mumbai
 During the Shilahar era (800-1000AD) GharaPuri (present day Elephanta) was the capital and flourishing
trade center was established in sashti island
 During Raja Bhimdev’s reign the main inhabitants were various Maharashtrian castes viz. Palshis,
Pachkalshis, Kunbis, Bhandaris, Vadvals, Bhois, Agris, Pathare Prabhus and Brahmins. The Bhandaris were
originally toddy trappers; the Vadvals were gardeners
 The Portuguese had the primary goal of proselytizing rather than development of mumbai. They carried
conversion in the area of Caval, Chaul, Bassein & Thane, thus introducing Christianity in this region.
 The Hindus (primarily konkanis) who did not succumb to the oppressions for conversions, migrated to other
parts of Mumbai & thus Konkanis became a part of the oldest inhabitants of Mumbai.
 During the 17th century, Parsis were one of the earliest immigrants to move to Mumbai. The Parsi
community has contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Famous Parsis are Dadabhai
Naoroji, Jemshetji Tata, Ratan Tata. The printing press was introducted to Mumbai by Bhimji Parikh, a
Parsi trader in 1670
 In 1757, Kamathis, construction workers from Andhra Pradesh arrived here and set up base. The region
was the low-lying area near present day Mahalaxmi. The region became known as Kamathipura.
 Around the same time, many Gujrathis, Kathiawaris, Kutchis & marwaris arrived to mumbai to oversome
droughts & famine in their homeland. These communities spearheaded the development of commerce &
trade in the city
 Almost all settlements were largely along the religious lines. For e.g. locality of pydhonie physically
sperated Hindu & Muslim settlements
 The Sindhis who were a resident of the state of Sindh, lost their homes during the partition since and
took shelter in Mumbai & settled in Sindhunagar (Ulhasnagar) & contributed to the progress of trade &
commerce.

7. Greater Mumbai Reclaimed from the Sea
 In 1782 William Hornby, then Governor of
Bombay Presidency, initiated the Hornby
Vellard project of connecting the isles,
despite resistance from East India Company.
By 1845 the seven southern islands had been
connected to form Old Mumbai, with an area
of 435 sq.km. Railway viaducts and road
bridges were built in the 19th century to
connect Mumbai island to Sashti, and Sashti
to the mainland. The old railway bridges over
the Bhayandar & Naigaon creeks can still be
seen from the Virar locals. The channels
separating Mumbai and Turbhe islands from
Sashti Island were filled in the early 20th
century.
 The present day area from Bandra to Dahisar
are a part of Sashti island. The ancient
Kanheri caves, Jogeshwari caves, Mahakali
caves fall in this region
(right): Mumbai after reclamation Fact: It took 60 yrs
(left): Fort area after reclamation (1784-1845) to merge the 7
islands of Mumbai into one

8. British Raj (1700–1947 AD)
As per the legend, 1784, when the Hornby Project kept failing to fill the
breach at worli, the chief engineer, a Pathare Prabhu, dreamt of Goddess
Lakshmi in the sea near Worli. He searched the waters & actually found an
idol of the Goddess & built the Mahalakshmi temple in the sea. Only then did
the Hornby Project work resumed without failures
Right: Mahalakshmi mandir
Marine Drive, 1930 Below: Rajabai Towre under
construction:
Mumbai University Building &
Rajabhai tower, standing 260 ft
tall and endowed with amazing
sculptures, it was financed by
Cotton entrepreneur and banker
Premchand Roychand in the late
19th century

9. Some Old Memories
Carnac Road, now renamed as Tilak Marg – notice the
Kalbadevi Road Crawford market in the back ground
Oval Maiden, check the Rajabai Tower in the backgrond

10. Some Old Memories
Queens Road Church gate station with Marine drive in the
background
View from Malabar hill
Bullock cart on Mumbai streets

11. Mumbai and Indian Independence
• Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 in a hall
overlooking the Gowalia Tank Maidan
• In the historical trial of Bal Gangadhar Tilak under the
Bombay High Court (for charges of sedition put forth by
british), Tilak spoke out to the world as to what was in
the minds of the Indian people - “Swaraj (independence)
is my birthright and I shall have it”. This statement
aroused a sleeping nation to action making them aware
of their political plight under foreign rule
• Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, arrived in Bombay in
1915 after giving a spirited fight against inhuman
apartheid in South Africa and thus the concept of
“Swadeshi”, “Ahimsa” & “Satyagraha” were introduced
in India First Indian National Congress, 1885
• In 1921 (after the death of Tilak) Mumbai’s citizens
contributed over Rs. 1 crore to “Tilak Swaraj Fund”
which gave a immense boost to entire freedom struggle
• The Quit India Movement took off from Mumbai on
August 7, 1942 by the Congress Party in a public
meeting at Gowalia Tank Maidan (now renamed August
Kranti maidan).
• The Mumbai Mutiny of 18th Feb 1946 marked the first
and most serious revolt by the Indian military personnel
of the Western naval fleet against the British rule. From
the initial flashpoint in Mumbai, the mutiny spread and
found support through India, from Karachi to Calcutta
and ultimately came to involve 78 ships, 20 shore
establishments and 20,000 sailors. This is was the last
straw that broke the camel’s back and forced the
mighty British empire to finally announce India’s Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Gowalia Tank (The tank has
independence Freedom Fighter, Editor, Social been buried and a ground created
Reformer over it)

12. Interesting Nomenclature (origins) …
Some of the earlier most inhabitants were Kolis (whose major occupation was fishing), Agris (salt-makers), Bhandaris (who
were toddy trappers), Vadvals or Malis (were gardeners). Thus there were a variety plantations on the islands which gave
name to quite a few places in mumbai.
 Elephanta island – original name was Gharapuri (or Puri, place of caves), which
was called by Portuguese as Elephanta after seeing a monolithic basalt sculpture
of an elephant at the entrance. The britishers made a failed attempt to move
take the elephant to British museum (fortunately their crane broke down and
the elephant today sits just outside the buyculla zoo)
 Dhobi Talao – washerman’s pond until 17th century, its been buried since then
 Parel – derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple of the 13th century
dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguuese demolished this & built a Jesuit church &
convent in its place
 Elphinstone circle – original name Amliagal (meaning - in front of tamarind tree,
even today a Tamarind land exists)
 Chinch Bunder (south of Dongri near the shore) – chinch means tamarind in
Marathi
 Bhendi Bazar – derived from a bhendi plantation
 Umerkhadi – derived from a couple of umbar (Ficus Glomerata) trees which
existed along the shore of the khadi (creek in Marathi)
 On the shores of Umerkhadi was a hamlet Pydhonie (which means foot-wash inThe entrance to the Gharapuri Caves (Elephanta) in ancient
Marathi) days
A comparatively narrow belt of land to the hills were thickly grown with plantations:
 Phanaswadi – phanas (jackfruit in Marathi) plantations
 Kelewadi – plantain (banana) groves in Marathi
 Khetwadi – khet means farm in Marathi
 Khotachiwadi – meaning Khot’s place. It was founded by a local named Khot who
leased plots to east indians
 Girgaum – gir (mountain in Sanskrit), gaum (village) – village at the foot of
mountain (Malabar hill). Nearby was the shrine of Gav-devi (the deity of the
village).
 Adjoining Phanaswadi is Cavel (derived from Koli name Kolwar) is located to the
north-east of Dhobitalao near the Chira Bazaar area. from the Koli name Kolwar.
The Kolis of this village were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese in the
16th century. Cavel thus became a Christian enclave
 Bori Bunder – bori means sacks in Marathi, bunder is port. Port where sacks are
offloaded & stored
Old Mumbai

13. Interesting Nomenclature (origins)
 Up the Malabr hill was a plantation of babul trees which lend the name to famous Babulnath temple.
 The Worli creek to the north of this island was called Kshirsagar & the khind in the hills got denigrated to Breach
Candy. There were tad (brab) palms below the hills which gave the name to Taddeo (Tardeo)
 Byculla – derived from Bhaya (Cassia fistula) & khala means at ground level
 At extreme south of Parel island was a tamarind covered valley, hence the name Chinchpokli
 Parel – pronounced as Paral, derived from the Parali Vaijanath Mahadev temple built by the Brahmins of the 13th century
dedicated to Shiva. The Portuguese demolished this & built a Jesuit church & convent in its place
 North of Parel was the boat hamlet Naigaon derived from Nyaya-gaon (nyay means justice), which was the court of
justice in the days of Raja Bhimdev.
 Further north were rows of banyan trees, which gave the name Vadala (vad means banyan in marathi
 Bamnoli (between Vadala & Parel) derived from Baman-aali (baman is Brahman & aali means row) which was a Brahmin
settlement
 The name of the 7th island was also derived from the rows of banyan (vad) as Vad-ali (aali means row) or Varali (Worli)
 The northern most main island (present day Bandra-to-Bhayandar) was called Sashti (which means 66), since it
comprised of group of 66 villages. It was called as Salsette by Portuguese
 Thane – derived from Sthan or Sthanaka, capital of Shilaharas. Slabs & copper plates of this era were discovered in
Thane
 Mazgaon – derived from Machchagram (machcha – fish, gram-village)
 Bhuleshwar – named after the temple of Shiva (Bholenath)
 Trombay – original name Turbhe. Trombay given by Portuguese
 Pydhonie – feet-wash in Marathi – indicating that this was once a creek. This was one of the first piece of land to be
reclaimed from the sea
 Khar – (salty in Marathi) for its vicinity to the sea near Khar Danda
 Dharavi derived from daar (which means the door of the island)
 Khumbarwada – kumbhar means potter. Potters from Saurashtra lived here
 Sewri derived from Sivawadi
 Versova – original name Vesaave which was a koli hamlet
 Bandra – original name Vandre (which means Bunder or port)
 Santa-cruz – named by Portuguese. Local name Shantinagar
 Goregaon is named after the Gore family who lived there since ages

14. Geography & Topology of Greater Mumbai
 Mumbai peninsula is 2 meters above sea-
level
 the area of Greater Mumbai is 603 km2,
comprising Bombay City 157 km2 and
Suburbs 446 km2. Greater Mumbai
district (smallest in Maharashtra) &
covers an area of 437.71 sq. km. that
constitutes 0.14 per cent of total area
of Maharashtra
 Greater Mumbai comprises the Mumbai,
South Sashti and Turbhe Islands,
 The entire Greater Mumbai is made of
Deccan basalt flows & their acid & basic
variants and also some fossiliferous
sediments mainly of tufaceous & partly
of fresh water origins rich in fauna
 Almost 50% of the city area and 23% of
the suburban area has been reclaimed
from below sea-level by infilling, & Greater Mumbai (satellite image)
pushing the sea outward through dyke- Mumbai lies over more than 10 seismic fault lines. The
coastal plain to the east of Mumbai is prone to earthquakes
walls like those of the Back Bay of even higher intensity, upto 7.5 on the Richter scale.
reclamation

15. Mumbai’s Harbours Apollo Bunder (area before
Gateway of India was erected)
The Harbour Bay is studded from south to north with many
islands:
 Kansa or Gull islet (easter side)
 Karanja islan,
 Cross or Gibbet island, (situated opposite the Victoria Dock)
 Butcher island
 Elephanta island
 Oyster Rock
 Hog island (1km east of Elephanta),
 Henery and Kenery.
Ferry Wharf is a wharf along the Thane Creek, along the coast Kanheri Caves (300 BC), Borivali
of Dockyard Road on the Eastern seafront of Mumbai. The
wharf serves as the port for numerous fishermen who bring in
their daily catch. Ferry services link up JNPT, Uran to the
west, and Rewas and Mandwa to the south
Right centre: Mumbai’s Harbours in present days
Right below: Oyester rock in the background

16. Creeks, Marshes, Tidal Swaps, Lakes, Hills
The central horse shoe valley in the hills used to be drained
south by the Mahim river in the past. This river has been
dammed in its upper reaches, so mruch so this valley today
accommodates three small fresh water lakes, the Tulsi, the
Vihar and the Powai, one below the other, that supply the city Tulsi lake
with 3 per cent of its domestic and other needs of water supply.
Below Powai, the river today is mostly a storm drain and a gutter
of sewerage, blocked off by the construction of the Santacruz
airpoit at its Kurla end. The lower reaches is a shallow, fastly
silting up drain of industrial wastes emptying into the Mahim Bay.
The Kanheri hill complex has a radial drainage system, with Powai lake
numerous rain torrents washing down its slopes in all directions.
The largest of them is the Dahisar river that rises on the
southern flanks of the Kanheri hills, and drains west to join the Harbour in monsoon
Marve creek; this river, however, has been blocked to form the
Dahisar project, to augment the water supply to the city to a
small extent.
Juhu, Varsova, and Marve, are sand bars pushed inland by the
sea, and resting on knolls, Dharavi and
Rai Murdhe. Today they form together a single land mass, off
the Ulhas mouth.
Surrounding the central hilly region, are extensive lowlying plains,
.
that are reclaimed tidal marshes and flats just above tidal levels.
They are widest to the west and south of the central hilly region, and
narrowest to the north. In the east, along the Thane creek, sizable
stretches of tidal swaps and salt pan areas, especially around
Bhandup, still survive

17. Old Mumbai’s Transport System
The Bombay Tramway Company Limited was set up in 1873. The tram-
cars were of two kinds—those drawn by one horse and those drawn
by two. In 1905, The Bombay Electric Supply & Tramways Company
Limited started the first electrically operated tram-car appeared on
Mumbai’s roads in 1907. The passing years aggravated the problem of
rush-hour traffic and to ease the situation, double decker trams
were introduced in September, 1920.
Dadar TT is Dadar Tram Terminus
Early Trams
Top: BEST’ first bus
Left: a gas street lamp.
Mumbai saw its first bus run on 15 July 1926 between Afgan
Church and Crawford Market. Double deck buses were introduced
in 1937 in order to cope better with the growing traffic. BEST is
now The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply & Transport Undertaking.
Mumbai Suburban Railway is the oldest in Asia established in 1847,
then known as The Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company (G.I.P.,
for short) was established in 1849.
Old Churchgate Rlwy Station Its first train, the first in the
country, ran from Mumbai to Thane on
16th April 1853. In 1865, the railway
went over the Borghat. By 1870
Calcutta and Madras had been linked
with Mumbai by rail. The Bombay
Baroda and Central India Railway
(BBCI) was started in 1855.
The first motor car appeared on
Mumbai roads in 1901.

18. Mumbai and Civil Aviation
It all began on October 15, 1932. It was on this
day that J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviation
in India and founder of Air India, took off from
Drigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light
single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth on his
flight to Bombay via Ahmedabad.
He landed with his precious load of mail on a
grass strip at Juhu.

19. Pioneers of Mumbai …
Raja Bhimdev became the earliest pioneer of Mumbai in the 13th
century who established his capital Mahikawati on one of the isles
called Newale or Barad-bet (deserted island, “bet” in Marathi Dadasaheb
means island), present day Mahim. He built his palace & temple of Phalke, the father
goddess Prabhadevi in Naigaon (between Wadala & Parel). Even
of Indian Cinema
today, the same place is called Bhima Raja’s wadi. He built a court
of justice in Prabhadevi, as well as the first Babulnath temple,
dedicated to Lord Shiva named after the Babul trees which were
the main components of a forest covering the low-lying areas of
this island. He introduced many fruit-bearing trees, including
coconut palms to the island
Jamshetji Tata – the first pioneer
entrepreneur who strived for
economic independence of India
during the British rule. He started
an industrial revolution for
swadeshi manufacturing of iron,
steel, textile, electrical power
generation. The Tata brand is his
tribute to the nation
Madame Bhikaji Cama
She raised the First Flag of Indian Dr. Homi Bhabha, pioneer of nuclear science,
Independence at a Socialist Confernce founder of the Indian Atomic Energy
in Germany & was very active in the programme. While India was striving for
Indian freedom struggle independence, he spearheaded the country in
an advanced field of science & technology.
He founded TIFR, which is one of the best
Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade,
school of physics in the world
Social Reformer
Founder member of Prarthana Samaj Bhau Daji Lad, Educationist, Social Reformer,
in Mumbai which engaged in a Sheriff of Mumbai. He was instrumental in
Dadabhai Naoroji, Freedom
campaign of reformation without the some of the major reconstruction efforts
Fighter & Founder of the Indian
alienating the more orthodox of the city, since 1857.
Nation Congress in Mumbai
elements of the society

20. Acharya Pralhad Keshav Atre
(Literaturist, Social worker). An active
Nana Jagannath Shankarshet, member of the Unified Maharastra
Senapati Pandurang Mahadev Bapat, Freedom
businessman & entrepreneur Movement. Though he was a Brahmin, he
Fighter, Social Reformer
He was an Indian philanthropist and educationalist. worked for removing the curse of
Major figure in the Indian Independence
An active leader in many arenas in Mumbai life. He untouchability
struggle, which earned him the title “Senapati”
founded many schools, Sanskrit library in Mumbai,
member of Mumbai Education Board
Dr. C. D. Deshmukh
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Scholar, Social first Governor of RBI , Finance
Bharat Ratna Maharshi Keshav Karve, Reformer, Jurist. Minister of India
He was the Pioneer of Women’s Education & He spent his whole life fighting against social He was member of Board of
Upliftment & the right for widows to remarry in discrimination. He was the chief architect of Governers of IMF & IBRD. An
India. He established the first university for Indian Constitution active supporter of Unified
women in India in 1916, which is currently known as Maharashtra Movement
SNDT Women’ University
These are just a few representational pioneers of Mumbai. There are many more who had a
hand in the making of Mumbai as one of the leading cities of Free India

21. Mumbai’s Life-line
Mumbai Suburban
Railways’s operate
on 2 zones: CR &
WR carry a total
of 6.3 million BEST runs a total of
passengers every 3,408 buses, ferrying
day 4.5 million passengers
daily over 340 routes

22. Mumbai Today … Juhu Beach
Siddhivinayak Hutatma Chowk
mandir,
Prabhadevi
Shivaji Park, Dadar
Shoe-
polish
Mumbai’s faithful “night-watchmen” boys
Rajabai
Tower

23. Mumbai Today …
Wankhede Stadium
Taj Hotel, Gateway
Fact: Jamshetji Tata was denied access to
Watson Hotel since he was an Indian. In
retaliation, he set up the Taj Hotel
Marine Drive
Fact: Nariman Point was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a
Parsi visionary

24. India’s Business Capital …
Stock Exchange,
Dalal Street
Hanging Garden, Malabar Hill
Dadar Flower Market
Vidhan Bhavan
Nehru Science Center, Worli
Mantralaya
High Court
Haji Ali tomb
BMC
Dhobi Ghat, Mahalakshmi
Central Library

25. Mumbai Invincible … Clockwise from
right:
1) Dahi handi
2) Women riding
bikes during Gudi
Padva parade
3) Ganesh Chaturthi
festival

26. Aamhi Mumbaikar … Little
Master
Sunil
Master Blaster- Sachin Tendulkar Gavaskar
A Dabbawala
The dutiful
BEST bus
conductor
Dr. Nitu Mandke, Lata Mangeshkar with Amitabh Bacchan,
Surgeon Balasaheb Thackeray, Sachin Tendulkar
Shubha Raul,
Mayor
Harish Kapadia
Himalayan
Explorer

27. The Mumbaikar Spirit …
 Like a mother whose heart always has space for any number of children, Mumbai has crossed all limits &
adjusted herself to accommodate all those who beseeched her
 A confluence of many varied cultures of the country – a mini India in the true sense
 Where two natives (Maharashtrians) tend to speak Mumbaiyya with each other, instead of Marathi
 Which does not rest for a moment even after being hit by worst disasters – riots, bomb-blasts, floods,
strikes, accidents, terror-attacks
 Where there is always scope for adjusting one more commuter continuously even in a jam-packed local,
defying the laws of Mass & Volume
 Where distance is measured in minutes/hours .. For eg. the distance b/w work-place & home is usually 2hrs
 Where your driving skill ought to achieve a precision of 0.5mm (bumper-to-bumper) with 0% tolerance, even
while manouvering around a pothole
 Where you need to be skilled in jumping off/on a bus/train few secs before it stops, if you happen to be in
the first row near the door while alighting/boarding a bus/train
 Where 8 people can share a 6ftx6ft kholi & can still make space for more
 Where you don’t need a reason to play/talk cricket
 Where you don’t need your own vehicle to commute from one end of the city to another at any time (thanks
to the nearly 24hr coverage of BEST buses, Locals, black-n-yellow metered rides)
 Where the cheapest, quickest & most exciting shopping of varied items can be done in the train itself
… this is Aamchi Mumbai
Language Spoken: Mumbaiyya
Staple Food: Vada-pav
Staple Drink: Cutting
Fact: Vada-paav was born 35yrs back when Ashok Vaidya a snack
seller outside Dadar station decided to experiment