People

The population of Mumbai is around 18 millions and has a density of around 45,662 persons per square kilometer. There are 811 females to every 1,000 males. The smaller ratio of female-male population is owing to the fact that many working males in the city leave their families in rural areas where they hail from. The total literacy rate is 77%, which is higher than the national average. Male literacy rate is 82% and female literacy rate is71.6% literate. Hindus constitute 68% of the population, Muslim 17%, Christian 4% and Buddhist 4% and rest of the population comprise Parsis, Jains, Sikhs and Jews.

More than 50% of Mumbai's population is of non-Maharashtrian identity. There are many ethnic groups such as Gujaratis ( in Ghatkopar, Vile Parle, Juhu, Khar, Mulund, Borivali, Kandivali and many in South Bombay), South Indians (in Chembur and Marol), Parsis & Sindhis in South Mumbai, and large number of people from U.P. and Bihar scattered all over the city. Approximately half of Mumbai's population lives in slums.

Culture

Mumbai is famous for its Bindaas (carefree) attitude. It is the most cosmopolitan city of India. Bombay is a melting pot of various cultures and is in fact a microcosm of India. Average resident of Mumbai, known as Mumbaikar or Bombayite, leads a fast-paced life and has very little time for other activities owing to a significant amount of time spent on daily commuting. Local railway network-established by the Britishers-is the lifeline of Mumbai and the preferred mode of transportation of most of the Mumbaikars. Local bus service run by BEST is also very popular. Taxis and autos are also quite efficient and run at reasonable rates.

Food: Mumbai is famous for its fast food consisting of vada pavs, batata vadas and bhel puri. Apart from its famous fast food, Mumbai offers lot of culinary variety such as South Indian, Chinese, Punjabi, Mughlai, Thai, Mexican and Lebanese. Amongst drinks the ubiquitously available coconut water is the most popular. Tea and coffee are the other popular beverages.

Festival: Since Mumbai is a cosmopolitan metropolis all religious festivals such as Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Id, Moharram, and Ganesha Chaturthi are celebrated with great fanfare. But amongst these festivals Ganesha Chaturthi is most popular. It is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesha (elephant-headed god). The festival lasts for the 10 days and culminates with the immersion of idols of Lord Ganesha in the sea.

Architecture: Mumbai is a mix of various architectural styles. During the British era, The Indo-Saracenic architecture was the official architecture of the city. Many Indo-Gothic monuments also line South Mumbai. Victoria Terminus; BMC building, Gateway of India are some examples of this style. In 2004 Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus) was nominated a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. The Marine Drive,is home to some of the finest buildings of the art deco style, which flourished in the 1920s and 1930s.

Cinema: Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian film industry. Popularly known as Bollywood, it is the biggest film industry in the world. A large number of theatres, including an IMAX dome theatre, catering to mainstream Bollywood and Hollywood films dot the city. Besides cinemas, the city also hosts various plays and cultural performances. Prithvi Theatres is a well-known theatre company, which produces plays. There are also two art galleries, The Jehangir Art Gallery and The National Gallery of Modern Art and a museum, The Prince of Wales Museum in South Mumbai. The Asiatic Society of Bombay is the oldest public library in the city built in 1833.