Mumbai fun facts

Seven islands and a dowry

People have lived on Mumbai’s seven islands since the Stone Age. The Portuguese took the islands in 1534 and called them “Bombaim”, and in 1661 handed them to the British as part of the dowry when Catherine of Braganza married King Charles II of England. In 1668 the Crown leased Mumbai to the East India Company (Mumbai City district administration).

The city’s name was officially changed from Bombay to Mumbai on 4 March 1995, honouring Mumbadevi, the patron goddess of the Koli community, the city’s original inhabitants (Mumbai City district administration).

Three World Heritage Sites

Mumbai has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Elephanta Caves (1987), Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (2004) and the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai (2018). CSMT, designed by F. W. Stevens, took ten years to build from 1878 (UNESCO).

The dabbawalas

Since 1890, Mumbai’s dabbawalas, dressed in white with traditional caps, have carried home-cooked lunches between homes and offices. Today about 5,000 of them serve almost 200,000 people a day (Mumbai Dabbawala).

Across the water

Atal Setu, opened in January 2024, is about 21.8 km long, with about 16.5 km over the sea: India’s longest bridge and longest sea bridge (PIB). The Bandra–Worli Sea Link, opened in 2009, has a 500-metre cable-stayed main span (MSRDC).

Stages and studios

The NCPA, inaugurated in 1969, was the first multi-venue, multi-genre cultural centre in South Asia (NCPA). Film City in Goregaon opened in 1977 and has 16 studios and 78 outdoor locations (Film City). The Taj’s Harbour Bar has been serving since 1933 (Taj).

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