Culture

Mumbai Culture & Tradition.

Mumbai's culture is a blend of traditional festivals, food, music, and theatres. The city offers a cosmopolitan and diverse lifestyle with a variety of food, entertainment, and night life, available in a form and abundance comparable to that in other world capitals. Mumbai's history as a major trading centre has led to a diverse range of cultures, religions, and cuisines coexisting in the city. This unique blend of cultures is due to the migration of people from all over India since the British period.

Diversity comes naturally in this third largest state by area and second most populated state in India. Maharashtra can also be called the land of scholars, saints and actors as many of the people from Maharashtra have succeeded in the fields mentioned above. Maharashtra is known for its purogami culture (forward culture). 'Maha' means big and 'Rashtra' means nation. Maharashtra is indeed 'Maha' in its size, population and culture.

A resident of Mumbai is called a Mumbaikar. People prefer to stay close to a railway station for easy access to the metropolis. Many city-dwellers lead a fast-paced life with very little time for other activities owing to a significant amount of time spent on daily commuting.

The culture of Mumbai is incomplete without the traditional delicacies of Mumbai. The traditional food of Mumbai includes Potato bhaji, Batatya rassa, Batatya rassa Chinch- gulacha, Okra bhaji and many more. During Diwali, delicacies like Chakli, Chivda, Besan laddu, Shankar pale, Karanji are prepared in the houses. Modak, Puran Poli, Sheera and Basundi are the special types of sweets prepared in auspicious occasion in Mumbai. 

Attire

Traditional Nav-vaari Saree.

The traditional attire of Maharashtra required the men to wear a dhoti (a long garment wrapped around the waist and legs), kurta or a cotton shirt, pheta (head wear or topi) and waistcoat or bandi which was optional. 

Women wear choli or blouse on the top and a 9-yard long saree called 'lugade' or 'nauwari saadi'. They usually wore open sandals or chappals as their footwear. In the 21st century, most of the people have started wearing western clothes or a fusion of Indian and western wear. The traditional attire is worn by very few but is worn by many during any religious event or Marathi festival.

Languages

The official language of Maharashtra is Marathi. While the majority do speak Marathi, others speak Hindi, Gujarati, English and other languages. Cities in Maharashtra are Metropolitan and are a blend of many cultures and use English as their official language. Most of the people in Maharashtra are multi lingual and usually speak both Marathi and Hindi.

Although The city has been known for its cosmopolitan nature, vibrancy and a lively spirit, Which is a result of people from different backgrounds, religions and regions contributing towards its development.Marathi is the Official language, is the most commonly spoken language.Marathi is the official language of the people of Mumbai. The bambaiya Hindi is also very popular among the Mumbai people. 

Religions.

Mumbai is a city of many faiths. Since the cultural diversity is immense, religious conviction and secularism go hand in hand. There is a mix of religions in Mumbai due to the widespread growth of various communities and migrants. Mostly, people of Mumbai are a concentrated mix of Hindus, Muslims, Zoroastrians, Christians, Jains and Buddhists. Although Mumbaikars tend to get busy.

The religious groups represented in Mumbai as of 2011 include Hindus (65.99%), Muslims (20.65%), Buddhists (4.85%), Jains (4.10%), Christians (3.27%), Sikhs (0.58%), with Parsis and Jews making up the rest of the population. The linguistic/ethnic demographics are: Maharashtrians (42%), Gujaratis (19%), with the rest hailing from other parts of India.

Food

Marathi Thali.

The metropolis has a roadside fast food consisting of Maharashtrian Pav Bhaji, Vada pavs, Dabeli, Panipuri, Bhelpuri, etc. South Indian and Chinese food is also popular in the city. Other cuisines in the city are Lebanese, Korean, Thai, Italian and Mexican. Other than Chinese and South Indian cuisines, Mughalai, Punjabi, Mālvani and Continental are also popular in Mumbai

Mumbai has some of the oldest restaurants in India. Delhi Darbar, Sindhudurg, Highway Gomantak, Samrat, Vitthal Bhelwala, Mahesh Lunch Home, Kailas Parbat, Adarsh are some of the oldest restaurants in the city. Mumbai is popular for its roadside food stalls. But it also has a large number of swanky and high-end restaurants and pubs like Wasabi, Indigo, The Zodiac Grill, Aer, etc. It is possible to find cuisine from several countries although the most popular ones to be found here are Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian and American.

Mumbai being the financial capital has a large number of migrant population. Members of the migrating families are working with no other family support, hence ordering food from close by restaurants or calling for pre-packaged meal (dabba as called locally) is an accepted thing. Owing to these recent trends there have been some online food ordering services that have cropped.

Tea is the most popular beverage followed by coffee. There are tea stalls in almost all roads and corners. Other drinks include fruit juices and coconut water. Irani cafés are a part of Mumbai's cosmopolitan heritage.

The staple diet of Maharashtra includes wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, vegetables, lentils and fruit. Meat was not eaten much in Maharashtra until recent times. Their diet is rich in carbohydrates as initially they were occupied in labour intensive jobs like farming. The Food of Maharashtra is from sweet to mildly spicy to spicy. Some of the dishes like vada pav, pav bhaji, missal pav and pooran pori have become famous throughout the world. Shrikhand, yet another popular dish has have said to be originated in Maharashtra.

Folk Dance and Music

Lavani Folk Dance.

Powada Folk Dance.

Koli Folk Dance.

The folk music and dances of Maharashtra are Koli, Powada, Banjara Holi dance and Lavani dance. Powada dance form shows achievements of Shivaji Maharaja, the Maratha ruler. Koli music and dance originated from the fishermen community for entertainment. Lavani dance form showcases many topics like romance, politics, tragedy, society, etc. Lavani comes from the Lavanya meaning beautiful or beauty.

The Marathi koli songs, which was the original music of the city, are still heard in many coastal areas in its original form and even in repacked pop/party remix forms. The large number of migrants have also brought their own tastes in cuisine, music, films and literature, both Indian and international. Bollywood music is the most popular type heard in the city played by the city's shops, taxis and establishments. Indi-pop, Marathi, and Hindi music, Indian classical music, rock and international pop music have their fans in the city. Western Classical Music too has a following in Mumbai. The Bombay Chamber Orchestra (BCO) was founded in 1962. It is the only Indian symphony orchestra that functions and performs on a regular basis with a concert standard of performance. The Symphony Orchestra of India, originated in 2006, and is based in Mumbai. It often performs at the National Centre for the Performing Arts. Mumbai has also produced renowned classical musicians, like Zubin Mehta, who considers Mumbai his hometown.

English music has a following and the city's local English rock base has grown considerably having their own bands. International music from Beyoncé Knowles, Bryan Adams, Iron Maiden, Eminem and Enrique Iglesias are popular here and sometimes outsell the Bollywood albums. The rock/metal industry is active and is based in Mumbai and Pune. Independence Rock, popularly known as I-Rock in Mumbai and Pune Woodstock of Pune are two of the major rock festivals of the Mumbai-Poona rock circuit.

Festivals

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival.

Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration in Mumbai.

Gudi Padwa Celebration.

Mumbai residents celebrate Western and Indian celebrations and festivals. Festivals and celebrations are observed by residents of all communities and religions. Diwali, Holi, Christmas, Navratri, Good Friday, Id, Dussera, Moharram, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Maha Shivratri are some of the festivals in the city.

Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the major festivals, celebrated in the city with great fervor. This festival involves the placing of an idol of Lord Ganesha in the house for either 1½, 3,5,7 or 11 days after which it is immersed in the ocean, after a colourful and noisy parade. This festival was started by Bal Gangadhar Tilak as a means of unifying all the people and emphasize the need for India's independence from the British. This is primarily celebrated by Maharashtrians, but almost all Mumbaikars participate in one way or another. Here, all the festivals are celebrated with great joy and happiness.

Some festivals like Nag Panchami, Ganesh Chathurthi, Gokul Ashtami, Makar Sankranti, Gudi Padwa, Bhau Beej, Ellora Festival Narali Pournima and Shivaji Jayanti have originated in Maharashtra. Nag Panchami is devoted to the Snake God. The Snake God is prayed to get rid of the Nag Dosh. Ganesh Chathurthi is an eleven-day long festival of Lord Ganesh. The people of Maharashtra celebrate other festivals also like Diwali, Christmas, Eid, and New years. In most places, people celebrate all major festivals irrespective of their religion and honestly, that just shows the unity and brotherhood among them.

Architecture

CST-Mumbai.

In 2004, Mumbai received two heritage conservation awards from the UNESCO. The Marine Drive is home to some of the finest buildings of the art deco style, which flourished in the 1920s and 1930s. During the British era, the Indo-Saracenic architecture was the official architecture of the city. Many Indo-Gothic monuments also line South Mumbai — Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus; BMC building, Gateway of India are some of this style.

Mumbai has housing structures known as Chawl ('chaali' in Marathi). These are the remnants of the once booming cotton mills which provided job opportunities and led to migration of people to Mumbai. Chawls still occupy a large portion of the Mumbai residential area.

There are many significant monuments in Maharashtra like Bibi ka Maqbara, Ajanta Ellora caves, Gateway of India which is influenced by different architectural styles. Bibi Ka Maqbara can be seen to have incorporated Mughal architecture, whereas, in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, the majority of the architecture is influenced by British style of architecture (Indo-Saracenic revival architecture) and can be seen in Gateway of India and Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Maharashtra is famous for its caves, and rock-cut architecture as in Ajanta Ellora Caves that is also one of the UNESCO as World Heritage Site.  Some of the temples in Maharashtra are over 1000 years old.

Cinema & Films.

Mumbai is the birthplace of Indian cinema with the oldest film shot in the country in 1896 in the Kala Ghoda area. A large number of cinemas, including an IMAX dome theatre, catering to mainstream Marathi, Bollywood and Hollywood films dot the city. The city contains some old movie theatres like the Plaza, New Empire Cinema (Mumbai) and New Excelsior. Due to taxation policies of the State Government, it has become more profitable to operate Multiplexes and so many movie theatres are making way for other developments or interior overhauls. An example of this is Sterling Theatre at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

The city is also home to film studios. These include Film City in Goregaon, and Raj Kapoor's R.K. Studios in Chembur, Filmistan, Shashadhar Mukherjee's Filmalaya and V Shantaram's Rajkamal Studio.

Maharashtra has very well adapted to the Bollywood industry. Many famous actors and actresses like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone, reside in this state. Hindi (Bollywood), English and Marathi films are a great hit among the viewers.

The people of Maharashtra are said to be very sincere and hard working. In recent times, many people from other states have flocked to Maharashtra especially to Mumbai due to the wide array of career opportunities. Some parts of Maharashtra are developed while others are still developing, but the thoughts of all the people are united. It is no secret that people of Maharashtra take pride in their diverse culture.

Theatres and art galleries

National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point.

Mumbai hosts plays and cultural performances. Some of the theatres are Prithvi Theatre at Juhu, Dinanath Natyagruha at Vile Parle, Shanmukhananda Hall at Matunga, Prabhodankar Thackeray Theatre at Rang Sharda at Bandra and the theatres at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point.

There are two public art galleries, The Jehangir Art Gallery and The National Gallery of Modern Art and a museum in South Mumbai. The Asiatic Society of Bombay is the oldest public library in the city, built in 1833.

The commercial art galleries are mostly located in the Colaba and Fort area of downtown Mumbai. They include Chemould Prescott Road, Pundole, Guild, Sakshi, Mirchandani+Steinrucke, Chatterjee & Lal, and Project 88.

Occupation

Traditionally, the occupation of the majority of Maharashtra was agriculture. Folks near the coastal region were involved in fishing activities. But over the years, many places have been developed and industrialised, giving rise to various business and job opportunities to the people.

Tourism

With Gateway of India, Sea link, Siddhivinayak, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Marine drive in Mumbai, Sai Baba Temple in Shirdi, Mahalaxmi Temple in Kolhapur, Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple in Nashik, Mahabaleshwar (hill station), historical monuments in Aurangabad and many more places to visit, Maharashtra has indeed become a tourist destination. The hotel industry in Maharashtra is vast and booming.