Major Metropolitan cities in India
Cityscapes
Mumbai
The origin of the name of Mumbai lies in the name of the Hindu goddess Mumbai Devi and Aai which means mother in Marathi.
Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra, was earlier, was earlier known as Bombay. It is situated on the west coast and faces the Arabian Sea. Mumbai has warm, humid summers and pleasant winters. The city and surrounding areas receive heavy rainfall in the monsoon season.
It has the Chatrapati Shivaji international Airport, which is one of India’s busiest airports.
The city has may many important industries-textiles, chemicals, electronic goods and medicines. Many important scientific research and educational institutes are based in Mumbai, like the Bhabha Atomic Research center (BARC), the Tata institute of fundamental research and the Indian institute of technology. Crude oil is found in Bombay high in the seabed along the coast o the Arabian Sea. Mumbai is also famous for Hindi films industry.
Ganesh Chaturthi is the most important and widely celebrated festival in Mumbai.
Important places to visit
a) The elephant caves: these caves are famous for ancient rock cut cave temples.
b) The gateway of India.
c) The prince of Wales Museum
d) The Nehru planetarium
e) The Jehangir art Gallery
Chennai
Chennai (formerly Madras), the capital city o Tail Nadu, is the fourth largest city in India.
It is on the eastern coast. Chennai is popularly known as the `Gateway to the south’’. Chennai has warm, humid climate with short pleasant winters. The city receives rainfall in the winter months.
Key industries are automobile, textiles and information technology. There is also a nuclear power station at Kalpakam. The Tamil film industry in Chennai is also well known.
Pongal a harvest festival is celebrated by Tamils living in Chennai and all over the world.
Important places to visit
a) Fort St. George: built in AD 1640 by the east India Company, it is the tallest flag post in the country.
b) Gundy Nation Park: only national park in country within city limits.
c) Conneinara library: one of the three national libraries.
d) Marina beach: the second longest beach in the world.
e) Mahabalipuram: famous for its ancient rock cut temples.
f) Sri Kapaliswar temple: built in eighth century.
g) St Thomas mounts: where St Thomas, one of Christ’s disciples, stayed. A place of pilgrimage for the Christians.
Kolkata city
Located on the river Hoogli, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) is the capital of west Bengal. Though the city is not on the coast, it is connected to the sea by the Hoogli River. It was the centre of the east India Company and the capital of the British Empire in ndia for some time.
Kolkata enjoys a moderate climate-warm humid summers, cool winters and heavy rainfall during the monsoon.
Kolkata is famous for jute, textiles, silk, chemicals and paper industries. It is the world’s largest processor of jute. Kolkata has two unique modes of transport-the train tram, which is almost like a bus on rail and the hand-pulled rickshaw. Kolkata also has the distinction of heaving the first underground metro rail system in the country.
Durga puja Kali Puja are the important festivals of the city.
Important places to visit
a) fort William
b) Victoria memorial
c) The botanical garden
d) Belur Math (Ramakrishna math)
e) The national library, the largest in India.
Delhi city
The national capital territory of Delhi, as it is now called, Is the capital of India. Delhi experiences very hot summers and equally cold winters.
Most of the offices of the Indian government are located in Delhi. The president and the prime minister of India live in Delhi. The official residence of the president, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, is famous for its beautiful Mughal gardens. Red fort and Jama Masjid, made of red sandstone, were built by Shahs Jahan. Jantar Mantar astronomical observatory and Qutub Minar monuments are there.
One o the special features of the Dussehra festival seasons in Delhi is Ram Lila.
Important places to visit
a) Humayun’s Tomb. b) The dolls Museum. c) Raj Ghat. d) Lodhi gardens, e) The Bahai Lotus temple. f) Purana Qila. g) India gate
Bangalore
The capital of Karnataka state, Bengaluru was earlier known as Bangalore. It is also called the garden city. The city enjoys an ideal climate –mild summers and pleasant winter.
Bangalore’s industries include machine tools, aircrafts, electronic goods, telephones, silk, textiles and watches. The city is one o the most important information technology centers in the country.
Important places to visit
a) The Bangalore palace and fort: the palace was built by a Wodeyar king in 1887. The fort was built by Kempe Gowda and expanded by Tippu Sultan.
b) Industrial and technology museum is named after famous engineer Sir M. Visveswaraya.
c) Lal Bagh: a famous botanical garden built by Hyder Ali.
d) Tippu sultan’s palace and the Vidhan Soudha, the seat of the government in Karnataka.
Hyderabad
Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, is famous for its rich history, culture and a rich and varied heritage in arts, crafts and dance. Hyderabad is famous for its monuments, mosques and temples. It was also the seat of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Industries in Hyderabad include silk, cotton textiles and tobacco. It is also famous for pearls jewelry.
Important places to visit
a) The Charminar: the ceremonial gateway in Hyderabad at the centre of the city.
b) Falak Numa palace: the most famous palace in Hyderabad.
c) Golconda fort: the Golconda fort provides a majestic backdrop to Hyderabad.
d) The Salar Jung museum.
e) Husain Sagar and in Buddha statue.
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