Where at one corner of the city you can find the costliest and most sophisticated brands in south Mumbai for the upper crust of the population, just a few kms away, you will find a huge market which takes care of the price conscious housewives. It covers a huge area with 3 major markets – Crawford Market, Jhaveri Bazar and Manish Market.

The specialty of this market is the huge difference in the prices as compared to other posh places. But it is not just the price which separates them from other markets, once you enter the zone, the fresh colors, huge varieties, and the charm of sellers compelling you to buy products from them will also attract you.

The Crawford market is the biggest market of Mumbai which was built by a British architect and the design is a blend of Norman and Gothic styles. The entrance of the market is full of colorful home use items at very attractive rates and once you start going inside, various shopkeepers will sell you the cheap imported stuffs. While at one corner sits the pets waiting to be brought, the other side of the market is full of fresh fruits with almost all the varieties.

From the regular buyers, now we move to young generation which is not bothered about the snowballing prices or the swelling crowd. They just want to enjoy their life. For them, the city offers a variety of gaming arenas, food joints from various brands and huge Multiplexes. A city full of malls at all major locations, offers them a place to sit, chat and relish the spirit of Mumbai.

Not just the malls but the city also sponsors various concerts from International Pop singers like Michael Jackson, Bryan Adams – celebrated by a huge crowd of youngsters gathered at places like MMRDA, St Andrews Auditorium etc.

This city not only gives charm to youngsters, but also offers huge opportunities to those who are trying to or have climbed their career ladder. There are various business events organized in Mumbai almost daily. With Bombay Exhibition Center accommodating most of the big events, other exhibition centers like Nehru Exhibition Center, MMRDA Exhibition center, World Trade Center, also cover a large variety of business expos.

Enter anytime into these areas, they will welcome you as a visitor without a penny going out of your pocket and see the latest developments happening all over the world , in your own city.

The latest developments in technology have been a key to the togetherness of people of Mumbai, who stay at a huge distance from each other. While on one side, youngsters are most active web surfers and social networkers, the serious generation also makes full use of the World Wide Web.

No wonder an unlimited number of communities exists on the web making people sharing same interests come together. One example of such community is seen on a website called Meetups.com , which offers you to not only make or join groups to share views and discuss issues but also has special features to make the members decide on a place for actual meeting, with common consensus so that they can meet and share ideas.

There is a huge group of people whose interest is to start up on their own. These entrepreneurs can also come together, meet and promote themselves through various organizations like TIE, Head Start, Siliconindia – which encourages these self-made men and women to reach a new height. They not only offer them a meeting ground but also act as a mentoring organization where the experienced guides the enthusiasts.

Theseself-starters can also present themselves before a huge number of business minded people who listen to them and judge them. The panels give them awards for the hard work that they have put in to develop their organization and also for their creativity.

This city encourages creativity and the proof of that is a huge event called Kala Ghoda Festival, which happens once in every year in South Mumbai, usually in the end of the month Jan or beginning of Feb, conducted for around 9days. In this event also, there is no entry fee and costs are met through corporate sponsorships. There are various venues in the city like Jahangir Art Gallery, National Gallery of Modern Art, Max Muller Bhavan etc. which become active and offers various features for the Fest like visual art, dance, literature, lectures, seminars & workshops, heritage walks, special events for children and some vibrant street festivals giving glimpse of the Indian Culture.

Not only does Mumbai celebrate the Music, art and business but also a lot is there in the kit for the religious people. All the Indian festivals are celebrated here and in a big way. One such festival is Ganesh Chaturthi which is celebrated for the day Lord Ganesha was bornand it is believed that he bestows his presence on earth for all his devotees during this festive season.

An organization called ‘Lal Bag Cha Raja Sarvajanik Ganesh UtsavMandal’ celebrates this festival in full spirits and attracts a large population. The Mandal was founded in 1934, an era when the freedom struggle was at its peak, on suggestion from LokmanyaTilak who believed in the idea of starting a Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav for the wakening of people for freedom struggle against British Rule.

The celebration starts with the biggest idol of Lord Ganesha made which blesses us in the whole season and visited by lakhs of people, making a huge queue for MukhDarshan, starting from ChattrapatiShivaji ground, taking a route passing through BA Road, Dattaram Lad Marg, TBKadamMarg to Byculla Station. The route is not the traditional one and is modified every year. When the festive season is coming to its end, a ritual called Visarjan is carried out, in which people from all over Mumbai come to immerse the statue of God into water. It is believed that God leaves the placeand they pray to him asking God to come back next year. The visarjan ceremony represents the concept of Samasara, or the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Once the presiding deity departs from the murti, its physical manifestation is then returned to nature (water – one of 5 elements of nature), only to be reanimated the following year. The statue of Lalbaug covers a traditional route starting from Lalbaug to GirgaunChoupatty covering several places including Sane GurujiMarg, Byculla, Nagpada, Don Taki, Kumbharwada, CP Tank and Opera House.

Other than these rituals, there are places in Mumbai, rarely known, which gives you another way to meet God. There is one place called Shahad near Panvel where the holy spirit of God is celebrated through the sages who give ‘pravachan’, while lot of people come here to listen and refresh their soul. The ‘pravachan’ is carried out in different languages on different days of the week. One, who truly believes in God and prays with full devotion, can feel the presence of God here. It is believed that the spirit of God touches their soul and takes away all their pains.

If not yourself, but you want to give relief to your dear ones who are in trouble but cannot visit the place, there is another organization which gives you a solution in a holy manner. When thousands of people join hands and pray for your dear ones, even God cannot deny his benediction and solves all your problems.

There is another group of people in Mumbai would not want to go to a place so far, nor they like the boisterous celebrations with lots of people around them. For them, a small corner of a room where they can sit silently and just read something, is the best way of self-enlightenment. Mumbai gives them a place called Asiatic Library , also known as Town Hall, which has a huge variety of books on different subjects which are available free of cost to everyone  and one can use this library, biggest in Mumbai, on 5 days of the week.

If I have missed someone, I would like to mention about those people who are away from all this and instead of the city itself, they would like to enjoy the whole world. I am talking about the tourists, from all over India who would not only like to visit India but also aspires to enjoy the beauty of the world outside. For them Mumbai connects the country to all major cities of the world through an International Airport which is busy 24hrs in taking care of people coming or going out of India.

Not only through air, but Mumbai also connects to other places via Arabian Sea where gargantuan ships takes you to an unforgettable journey. There are small colorful ferries open for public to enjoy the fresh breeze blowing over the sea, sitting in the middle of the sea. These small ferries take you to nearby places like Alibaug, Elephanta Caves and Kashid.

Well, if you prefer to take a joyful journey via road, there are various spots in and around Mumbai where one can go and enjoy adventure sports like rock climbing, water rafting, bungee jumping, trekking etc. People, who do not even know each other, get together to enjoy the walk of nature organized by various clubs. These clubs offer you a chance to tone your body through jumping on rocks or walking on treks with full guidance and safety given by experts. Some of the places which makes this possible are Borivali National Park, Goregaon and Panvel, while other places near Mumbai which offer you all kinds of adventures are Vikramgarh, Karla Mountains, Shivneri – Hudsor Fort, Bhandardara and Ratnagiri.

With Mumbai sprinkling all kinds of colors onits citizens, it makes a very interesting place to live for more than 22 million people already living here and attracts more and more of them every year.