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Ancient yet modern, fabulously rich
yet achingly poor, Mumbai is India in microcosm. Once a sultry
tropical archipelago of seven islands, and the Raj's brightest
jewel, Mumbai was the dowry of Portuguese Princess Infanta Catherine
de Braganza who married Charles II of England in 1661. Today
it's a teeming metropolis, commercial hub of an old civilization
seeking to find its place in the New World Order.
Forty percent of India's taxes come
from this city alone, and half of India's international trade
passes through its splendid natural harbour. In fact Mumbai
is the very soul of human enterprise. At the city's Stock Exchange,
millionaires and paupers are made overnight, and the sidewalks
are crowded with vendors hawking everything from ballpoint pens
to second hand mixies. Everyday, half of Mumbai's population
commutes from far-flung suburbs to downtown offices, banks,
factories and mills for a living.
Nearly thirteen million people live
here - wealthy industrialists, flashy film stars, internationally
acclaimed artists, workers, teachers and clerks - all existing
cheek by jowl in soaring skyscrapers and sprawling slums. They
come from diverse ethnic backgrounds and speak over a dozen
tongues adding colour, flavour and texture to the Great Mumbai
Melting Pot.
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