I was born in what was then known as Bombay. “Bombay” is an Anglicization of the Portuguese name “Bombaim,” which is believed to derive from the phrase “Bom Bahia,” or “Good Bay.” (Portugal held territories in western India until 1961). It was what the city was called, internationally and by the local residents alike. It is now Mumbai. That is Marathi named after the famous local deity, Mumbadevi.
I have been living just 180 kms away from Mumbai for the past 26 years. I used to visit Mumbai often till the traffic in Mumbai became too much for me to cope with. I now go near it but do not cross the creek to enter the island. Mumbai is the city where I have spent maximum number of years of my working life after Pune where I currently live.
It is said that you can take a Mumbaikar out of Mumbai but you cannot take Mumbai away from a Mumbaikar. I am nostalgic for the city. I still have a great many friends there with whom I am in regular touch and in fact will be participating in a reunion on the 28th.
Please spend three minutes watching this youtube clip on the city that never sleeps to understand why I still have affectionate memories about it.