Discover Mumbai's Magic: Top 14 Fun Facts That'll Make You Fall in Love With the City

1. Divine GPS: Mumbai's Name Origin

Who needs a GPS when you've got a divine motherly figure guiding you through the bustling streets of Mumbai? Brace yourself for the sacred reveal: Mumbai got its name from the patron Hindu goddess Mumbadevi, worshipped by the Koli people, who combined "Mumbā" and "ā'ī," meaning "mother" in Marathi, after bringing her from Kathiawar, Gujarat where she is still revered.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Antilia: India's Most Expensive Home

When it comes to real estate, Mukesh Ambani knows how to "Keep up with the Antilias": Antilia, his extravagant Mumbai residence, boasts an eye-watering price tag of around 15,000 crores rupees (approximately $2 billion USD), making it the most expensive property in India, but not quite clinching the global top spot.
Source => magicbricks.com

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3. Sardine-Packed Mumbai Suburban Railway

All aboard the Mumbai Express – just beware of the sardine-packed experience! Choo-Choo-choose to tighten your seatbelt (or good luck finding one) as you embark on this historic journey: Mumbai Suburban Railway, Asia's oldest railway system, stretches 427.5 km across 150 stations and 7 lines, carrying over 7.5 million daily commuters. That's 40% of Indian Railways' total traffic and 2.2264 billion rides annually – talk about a moving city!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

4. Mumbai: Wall Street Meets Bollywood

Mumbai, where Wall Street meets Hollywood with a dash of curry: This vibrant Indian city not only hosts the financial powerhouses like Bombay Stock Exchange, Reserve Bank of India, and National Stock Exchange, but also serves as the heart of India's booming entertainment industry, including Bollywood and major television networks.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. The Incredible Dabbawalas: Lunch Superheroes

Forget food delivery apps and drones, Mumbai's got a secret recipe for the ultimate lunch delivery: Enter the incredible dabbawalas! These superheroes of sustenance swoop in to save the day, armed with one mission – delivering lunch boxes: With unbeatable accuracy, roughly 5,000 dabbawalas transport over 130,000 lunch boxes daily from homes to offices, all without the help of technology or cellphones. They rely on an efficient, decentralized system of over 100 years in the making and are managed by semi-literate workers, achieving extraordinary results by focusing on the perfect system rather than fancy gadgets or prodigious employees.
Source => hbr.org

6. Historic First Indian Railways Journey

Choo-choo choose to be impressed: Mumbai was the birthplace of the Indian Railways, with the first-ever train chugging away from Bori Bunder to Thane on April 16, 1853; this historic 34 km journey had 14 carriages and 400 guests who were treated to a grand salute of 21 guns, setting the wheels in motion for modern India's massive railway network.
Source => inshorts.com

7. Juhu Aerodrome: India's First Civil Airport

Before there were "frequent fliers" and in-flight meals that left us stumped, Mumbai was home to an aerodrome that humbly kick-started India's rendezvous with the skies: Juhu Aerodrome, India's first civil aviation airport from 1928, was the birthplace of Air India in 1932 and boasted bitumen runways for monsoon take-offs in 1936 – a far cry from the glitzy Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport we know today. The airport, which started as an unpaved airfield for flights of fancy, now serves helicopter operations, private charters, and Pawan Hans personnel en route to Bombay High's offshore oil rigs.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Gateway of India: Iconic Royal Tribute

Move over, Buckingham Palace: the Gateway of India was built to "arch" an eyebrow in honor of King-Emperor George V and Queen Mary's first royal visit to India in 1911. This 26-meter-high basalt beauty, designed by Scottish architect George Wittet, combines triumphal arch vibes with Gujarati architecture, and still stands tall as a popular tourist magnet, peering at the Arabian Sea alongside the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Street Food Superhero: Vada Pav's Origin

Before Peter Parker took a love-filled bite of Gwen Stacy's corn dog, Mumbai already had a hero sans webs and tights, romancing the streets with the spicy-iconic taste of vada pav: Meet Ashok Vaidya, the street food superhero who invented Mumbai's lifeline, vada pav, back in 1966 - setting up the first stall opposite Dadar train station, and making Mumbaikars fall head over heels for this delicious delight ever since.
Source => bbc.com

10. Mumbai's Biodiversity Blockbuster

Who needs Jurassic Park when you have Mumbai's very own biodiversity blockbuster: Sanjay Gandhi National Park is home to over 1,000 plant species, 38 types of reptiles, 9 kinds of amphibians, a jaw-dropping 251 kinds of birds, 5,000 types of insects, and 40 species of mammals, including, wait for it – actual leopards! There's even a 2400-year-old historical plot twist with the Kanheri caves, once a hub for Buddhist learning where monks chiseled away with primitive tools. And don't worry – there are plenty of attractions to keep the kids entertained while you contemplate Mumbai's best-kept secret.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

11. Mumbai's Seven-Island Evolution

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, seven island siblings decided to break the "island code" and engage in a massive group hug – giving birth to the cosmopolitan giant we now call Mumbai: This bustling cityscape was originally a collection of seven islands – Isle of Bombay, Parel, Mazagaon, Mahim, Colaba, Worli, and Old Woman's Island – which were gradually united over five centuries through ambitious land reclamation projects. As a result, Mumbai has become the second-most populous city in India and the seventh-most populous in the world, boasting a whopping 20 million residents!
Source => earth.com

12. Mumbai's Powerful Parsi Dynasties

Move aside Kardashians, Mumbai's got its own unstoppable dynasties: The Parsi community, including the Tata, Godrej, and Wadia families, have significantly shaped the city's business and cultural spheres, boasting establishments like the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Jehangir Art Gallery.
Source => allthingsmumbai.com

13. Bandra-Worli Sea Link: Stunning Bridge

If Spaghetti Monster and steel had a love child, it would be Mumbai's Bandra-Worli Sea Link: This 5.6-kilometre cable-stayed marvel connects Bandra to Worli, with eight lanes and pylons towering 128 metres high, designed to withstand 7.0 Richter scale earthquakes, and has reduced peak-hour travel time from 30 to just 10 minutes!
Source => en.wikipedia.org

14. Millionaires, Billionaires, & Bollywood

In the land of glitz, glamour, and eye-popping wealth, where rags-to-riches stories come to life like a Bollywood blockbuster: Mumbai reigns supreme as the Indian city with the highest number of millionaires and billionaires, and also houses the largest film industry on the planet, churning out more movies per year than any other place in the world.
Source => refinitiv.com