Mumbai, or Bombay to call it by the name its better known by, was a swampy, mosquito infested, marshy island off the west coast of India with little or no potential, or so thought the Portuguese when they gave it to Charles II of England as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza. How very stupid of them! The British East India Company leased it from the Crown, and developed the small fishing villages and natural harbours into Bombay, the subcontinent’s busiest port and the region’s centre for trade, finance and industry.

Maharashtra’s capital, Mumbai, wears several hats or should we say crowns? Mumbai is not just India’s largest city, it is also its commercial capital, industrial powerhouse, busiest port, fashion capital, home to ‘Bollywood’ (India’s Hollywood), world’s biggest textile market – the list goes on and on. Mumbai thrives on contrasts- the city is home to the richest and the poorest of Indians, sleek limousines jostle rusty cycles, red double-decker buses rumble past three-wheeler auto-rickshaws; impressive high rises soar above crowded ugly slums and shanty towns; glitzy shop fronts amid pavement stalls; glamorous film stars and homeless beggars demand attention at traffic lights and amidst all this are people, people, people everywhere, for Mumbai is home to some 13 million Indians.