The state and its capital city Mumbai, which is also the financial capital of the county, is famous for all the right reasons.
Across the globe, May 1 is celebrated as International Labour Day. But in India too, May 1 holds immense significance because the day is celebrated as Maharashtra Day and Gujarat Day in India. It was on May 1, 1960 that Maharashtra and Gujarat were recognised as two different states. Hence, every year, May 1 is celebrated each year in the Shivaji Park in Dadar and several parades and ceremonies are conducted.
The state and its capital city Mumbai, which is also the financial capital of the county, is famous for all the right reasons. In fact, Mumbai is the birthplace of 'many firsts' in India, and almost the center of everything, every major event that takes place in the nation. However, most of us might not know the city's longstanding history. So here are 9 interesting and unknown facts about Mumbai:
Do you know where Mumbai's old name 'Bombay' comes from? Well, it was after Portuguese writer, Gaspar Correia, who authored Legends of India, referred to Mumbai as 'Bom Baim' (meaning 'good bay') in his book. Clearly, the Britishers anglicized it to 'Bombay' in the 17th century.
The Indian Railways kicked off its journey in Mumbai when India’s first ever train ran between Bori Bunder station of Bombay to Thane. On April 16, 1853, the train undertook the journey and covered a distance of 34 kilometers, while carrying 400 passengers.
After Buckingham Palace, Mukesh Ambani's residence in Mumbai, named Antilia, is the world's second most expensive house. The 27-story house has dance studios, a hanging garden, apart from a health spa and a special snow room. The mega-house belongs to India’s richest man, and is nothing short of a museum.
The rich-poor dichotomy in Mumbai is clearly visible. The city is not only home to the world's second most expensive house, but also is home to Asia's largest slum, Dharavi. Spanning across 535 acres, Dharavi boasts of a massive population density of 869,565 people/square mile.
Are you aware of Mumbai's unique lunch box delivery system, and how the city’s Dabbawalas have been a subject of a Harvard Business School study. Dabbawalas have an accuracy of 99.67%. The supply chain is Six Sigma Certified, which means, their error ratio is 1 in 16 million, i.e., 1 mistake in 1,60,00,000 tiffin. It is certainly the world's best supply chain" and started as early as 1890.
Mumbai is the birthplace of several influential bigwigs, including Rudyard Kipling, who is one of the world's most renowned writers. He was born in Mumbai (then Bombay) in the year 1865. Kipling also wrote for Anglo-Indian newspapers, when he returned to India in 1882.
The Gilbert Hill in Mumbai's Andheri stands at the height of 61 meters, and is 66 million years old, reportedly. This monolithic basalt hill has been declared a national park.
