Certain cities have an aura that cannot be specifically described or identified. Bombay is one of them. The city can make or break you, but luckily it often does. Unless you are a jerk of the first order, Bombay will transform your life for the better.

-Namdeo Dhasaal, famous Marathi Dalit poet who wrote an award-winning book ‘Golpeetha’; translated from Marathi by the writer

Very sure. People from remote places come to Bombay to try their luck (qismat aazmaane). It’s not just the lure of the tinsel city that sweeps over aspiring actors and they are drawn to the metropolis like moths to a flame, people from all walks of life come to Bombay (sorry Mumbai!) in search for sustenance and the city. he also accepts and embraces them wholeheartedly. The famous poet and lyricist Sampooran Singh Gulzar once said: There is something very special about Bombay/ When this city stretches out its hand, it seems like its mother’s hand.

Some people may call Mumbai a heartless city, but the same can be said for all very large cities. Go to any big city for the first time and if you don’t meet anyone, you will surely feel alienated or think for a while that you don’t belong in this (new) place. You feel everything in the sea. This is but natural. But one quickly gets over this temporary feeling of alienation in Mumbai because of its high level of acceptance.

It instantly becomes part (and parcel) of the financial capital of India. There are so many ways to earn bread and butter that once you come, you don’t come back. In other words, Mumbai does not let you go.

The city grows on you. Fighters earn a living and prove their worth and profession in this dream city that offers ample opportunities to realize their cherished aspirations.

Mumbai’s generosity is proverbial. Feel it yourself during natural calamities. People help each other without reservation, unlike in Delhi, where a young man is stabbed to death on a busy street in broad daylight and nonchalant passers-by nonchalantly take selfies.

Mumbai is the melting pot or cauldron of different communities and cultures. It is a salad bowl of communities and a mixture of diversities. However, the people of Mumbai live without problems.

A sociologist, Dr. Meera Kosambi, observed that due to the very hectic life in Mumbai and the vast expanse of the city, most of its inhabitants do not have time to indulge in useless and unnecessary activities and that is a positive aspect. It makes Mumbai a trouble free place as long as it takes hold here. And you get it sooner or later.

Mumbai also has a cultural background. The famous Asiatic Society is here and the best art galleries in India (Jehangir Art Gallery for example) are in Mumbai. JJ School of the Arts is here. The city has everything one needs to survive and also thrive creatively. From the sublime to the sublime, Mumbai offers interesting slices of life and is a mosaic of diversities.

One must visit Mumbai at least once to experience life in all its ins and outs and nuances.

Lastly, the PIN code 400001 is the Mumbai postal code and it is quite fascinating.