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Mumbai is believed to be named after Mumba Devi, a goddess worshipped by the local Koli community of fisher people. It consisted of seven islands - Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion, which were connected by land reclaimed from the sea. This area on India's west coast was ruled by a number of Hindu rulers and was taken over by Muslim invaders in the 14th century. The Sultan of Gujarat ceded this territory to the Portuguese Governor in 1534. The Portuguese named the area "Bom Bahia" which means Good Bay, after the natural harbour, which they used for trade. Bombay as it came to be called by the English, came into their possession as part of the dowry of the Portuguese Princess, Catherine of Braganza, when she married Charles II of England in 1662. In 1668 Bombay became the possession of the East India Company and became a center of shipbuilding and a major port.
In the early 20th century, as India sought Independence from British rule, Mumbai was a venue for many significant events, including the first session of the Indian National Congress and the beginning of the Quit India Movement, in 1942. Bombay then became the capital of Bombay Presidency, which was divided into Gujarat and Maharashtra in 1966. The city was renamed Mumbai in 196, by the ruling Shiv Sena government.
Mumbai is home to many communities including a sizeable Parsee community, who are originally from Iran and the architecture of the city reflects both its varied past and cosmopolitan present. Today Mumbai is India's financial capital, home to India's commercial film industry - commonly referred to as Bollywood - and it is India's most cosmopolitan city. Above all, it is a city characterized by its go-getter attitude, which you're sure to feel the pulse of, when you make a tour to Mumbai.
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