Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra , is the fastest moving, most affluent and industrialized city in India . Mumbai is part of India 's beautiful west coast that runs down from Gujarat , through Mumbai to Goa , Karnataka and Kerala. The city has a natural harbour, which was developed by the British. It is one of the busiest ports of India , handling approximately 40 percent of India 's maritime trade.

Mumbai (till recently known as ' Bombay ') derives its name from the local deity Mumba Devi, whose temple is still there. The Portuguese predecessors of the British preferred to think of the name as Bom Baim , the Good Bay . Mumbai is a group of seven islands, which are today known as Colaba, Mahim, Mazgaon, Parel, Worli, Girgaun and Dongri. Large expanses of open sea have been filled in, and tidal swamps have been reclaimed for furthering the land area. These reclaimed areas include Churchgate and Nariman Point.

Once a Portuguese princess' dowry and later an adornment of neo-gothic British architecture, Mumbai today, is more than just a metropolis. It is infact an enigma of mud huts & sky- scrapers, age-old traditions & high fashions, the industrialists' heaven & moviemakers' Hollywood . A lovely natural harbour and winding creek set off the city of Mumbai from the long, narrow coast of Western India .

It is a city that is disciplined by no time frame-neither by day nor night. Mumbai is also the country's financial powerhouse, the nation's industrial heartland, and its economic nerve center. Dazzling shopping arcades, exciting sport activity, nightclubs and discotheques, theatre and music, gourmet restaurants and interesting sightseeing - Mumbai offers the visitor a heady mix of all this and more.