Mumbai’s spectacularly diverse neighbourhoods are home to everything from
glitzy Bollywood studios to grand architecture and a national park that’s
famed for its leopards. Words: Jamie LaffertyMUMBAI
Not for nothing is Mumbai called Maximum City. There are two Londons’ worth
of people living here in an area less than half the size of the British capital and five
million people a day use the creaking train network. It’s hard to imagine this city
has ever been entirely quiet, or that the scents of incense and fried food have
failed to comingle on a hot afternoon. Another of its nicknames is the City of
Dreams, a place where Bollywood stars are revered as demigods. A first-time
visitor won’t fail to notice that the spectre of poverty seems to lurk around every
corner, too, but with a booming construction sector, and the Mumbai Metro
project slowly transforming an ailing transport infrastructure, Mumbai is moving
steadily, noisily, vibrantly into a hopeful new era.NEIGHBOURHOODIMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY50 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel