Quotes About Mumbai

“For the first time his senses began to register the exotic, heady atmosphere of Mumbai ... the odors most insistently demanded his attention. There were layers upon layers of them, all present at once but individually distinct. They shifted in strength and character with the ocean breeze that blew soft, irregular gusts across his face. First came the sharp tang of engine fuel mingled with an even more acrid burning smell, as though something unnatural had been set alight to blanket the city with a smoldering stench. A shift in the air's direction brought a fresher aroma of salt and brine floating in from the sea. It gave way to the hot smell of spices frying in oil, which in turn incongruously merged with the subtle reek of garbage.”

— Kathryn Guare

“What was unfolding in Mumbai was unfolding elsewhere, too. In the age of global market capitalism, hopes and grievances were narrowly conceived, which blunted a sense of common predicament. Poor people didn't unite; they competed ferociously amongst themselves for gains as slender as they were provisional. And this undercity strife created only the faintest ripple in the fabric of the society at large. The gates of the rich, occasionally rattled, remained unbreached. The politicians held forth on the middle class. The poor took down one another, and the world's great, unequal cities soldiered on in relative peace.”

— Katherine Boo

“You thought I didn't notice the way you two looked at each other? I may be old but I'm not blind. I remember that
feeling. The spark, the electricity ...
I had to interject before I got the unabridged version of Anjali Does Mumbai.”

— Nicola Marsh

“Somer reclines in her airplane seat, watching through the window as the glimmering lights of Mumbai recede into the darkness of night. In the seat next to her, Asha is already asleep, her head and pillow resting on Somer's lap, her feet in Krishnan's. They should both try to sleep as well, but she knows Krishnan, like her, is reluctant to disturb Asha. He extends his hand to Somer, and she takes it. They rest their interlocking hands on Asha's sleeping body between them, just as they did the first time they made this journey.”

— Shilpi Somaya Gowda

“Life isn't about having, it's about being. You could surround yourself with all that money can buy, and you'd still be as miserable as a human can be. I know people with perfect bodies who don't have half the happiness I've found. On my journeys I've seen more joy in the slums of Mumbai and the orphanages of Africa than in wealthy gated communities and on sprawling estates worth millions. Why is that? You'll find contentment when your talents and passion are completely engaged, in full force. Recognise instant self-gratification for what it is. Resist the temptation to grab for material objects like the perfect house, the coolest clothes or the hottest car. The if I just had X, I would be happy syndrome is a mass delusion. When you look for happiness in mere objects, they are never enough. Look around. Look within.”

— Nick Vujicic

“I love India. I love the people, food and the environment. Yes, I am from London, but right from when I was a toddler, I've always lived between Mumbai and London.”

— Jiah Khan

“Yes, the United States is still the great meritocracy it's always been; but now, if you aren't brilliant or beautiful or both, there isn't much to do, because they can do it cheaper in Shanghai or Mumbai.”

— Elizabeth Wurtzel

“If there is one city apart from Mumbai where I would love to settle down, it has to be Chennai.”

— Ashwin Sanghi

“I turned atheist in the '90s when India went through troubled times - communal riots, bomb blasts ... Mumbai, where I live, was badly affected. I blamed religion; also, extremists on both sides - right and left.”

— Amish Tripathi

“In the early '90s, I was disillusioned after the blasts and riots in Mumbai. I was in college and started thinking that religion was the root cause of all these evils. While my father told me not to blame religion because of a few bad people, I wasn't convinced. The faith was restored after I started writing my first book.”

— Amish Tripathi

“What is most amusing and can happen only in India is that the most posh and big households that I've seen in Mumbai, the 'big city', will have their balconies and windows festooned with rows of baniyans and tauliyas hanging on them.”

— Kailash Kher

“We are seeing a changed Mumbai, but having showcased Dharavi in 'Slum Dog Millionaire' brought shame and disgrace to our city. Whenever the firangs visit Mumbai, they must visit Dharavi; it has become a sightseeing spot. However, I feel saddened about it.”

— Rohit Shetty

“People talk about places like Mumbai as a tale of two cities, as if the rich and poor don't have anything to do with each other.”

— Katherine Boo

“Millions of dreams were born there, around us, every day. Millions of dreams died there, and were born again. The humid air was thick with dreams, everywhere, in my Mumbai.”

— Gregory David Roberts

“I have lived in Mumbai for more than 20 years, have my domicile here, my home and family here.”

— Shah Rukh Khan

“As Abdul and his family had already learned, the police station was not a place where victimhood was redressed and public safety held dear. It was a hectic bazaar, like many other public institutions in Mumbai, and investigating Kalu's death was not a profit-generating enterprise.”

— Katherine Boo

“She had seen behind the obvious truth
that Mumbai was a hive of hope and ambition
to a profitable corollary. Mumbai was a place of festering grievance and ambient envy. Was there a soul in this enriching, unequal city who didn't blame his dissatisfaction on someone else?”

— Katherine Boo

“I was born in Faridabad and I spent a major part of my growing up years in Delhi before shifting to Mumbai. Delhi-NCR is still very special to me.”

— Sonu Nigam

“Of course, no one has enough time to see every shop that Mumbai has: That would take more lifetimes than even the gods could offer.”

— Hanya Yanagihara

“Since 2005, I have not spent much time with my family. In fact I have spent more time at the Taj Landsend in Mumbai. It was my 100th visit recently, which means I have spent more than 400 days in that hotel, and that is a lot more than I have spent with my family.”

— Mahendra Singh Dhoni

“After 'Chandni Bar' there was a shutdown of such bars in Mumbai. After 'Page 3' people started avoiding such events. 'Traffic Signal' exposed the money flow through the mafia. I'm not apologetic about the brutal truth in my films. Almost 70% of my films are based on reality, and 30% I fictionalize or change to suit my film.”

— Madhur Bhandarkar

“Filming in India was one big adventure. For 'The Cheetah Girls', we were in Mumbai for two weeks, then Rajasthan for six weeks. Every day after shooting, I would hop into a rickshaw and start exploring the city. I even learned a bit of Hindi. It's such an amazing place to visit.”

— Michael Steger

“I grew up in Delhi, where there are no Parsis. But once I came to Mumbai, I realised how quirky Parsis are.”

— Cyrus Broacha

“The most beautiful destination I've been to was the Seychelles Islands, and the most culturally inspiring place was Mumbai, India.”

— Martha Hunt

“I have a lot of friends, but my biggest fear is loneliness. I miss my family in Mumbai, and my biggest nightmare every day is to go back home alone.”

— Deepika Padukone

“Mumbai may not be my city. But it is my kind of city.”

— Vikas Swarup

“It's not so much what you learn about Mumbai, it's what you learn about yourself, really. It's a funny old hippie thing, but it's true as well. You find out a lot about yourself and your tolerance, and about your inclusiveness.”

— Danny Boyle

“Sachin is the soul of Mumbai Indians, and I am sure he will guide Bhajji as he takes on the responsibility of captaining Mumbai Indians.”

— Nita Ambani

“Sachin has been an integral part of Mumbai Indians and a source of inspiration for the team ever since the inception.”

— Nita Ambani

“While Mumbai is a melting pot of cultures, Delhi is made of community, and we can see these lines quite clearly. An aunty from Punjabi Bagh will be different from a Faridabad aunty or an aunty from Vasant Kunj.”

— Vir Das

“I love trying out different cuisines. In Delhi, I love Megu at the Leela, and TK's at the Hyatt. I also enjoy Khan Chacha's rolls. In Mumbai, it's Royal China and Shiro. And in Bangalore, I like the food at Bricklane.”

— Virat Kohli

“The fact is I like Mumbai less and less. My son says, 'Baba, let's go for a drive', and I tell him, 'Where's the fun of a drive in this place?' You get caught in a million traffic jams, and you spend time cooped in your car with all that mad cacophony around you.”

— Om Puri

“The thing about Mumbai is you go five yards and all of human existence is revealed. It's an incredible cavalcade of life, and I love that.”

— Julian Sands

“I have grown up in Delhi in a way, and I keep coming here often. But, and I am sorry to say, I'll always be nervous when in Delhi. In my college days, I have had my bum pinched around so many times. So yes, in Mumbai, I can just walk around and do what I want to do, but in Delhi I'll always be scared.”

— Preity Zinta

“My father is conservative but has always supported my decisions. He lets me take my own decisions. His only condition while allowing me to come to Mumbai was that my mother must accompany me.”

— Priyanka Chopra

“Mumbai's infectious. Once you start living in Mumbai, working in Mumbai, I don't think you can live anywhere else.”

— Yash Chopra

“I feel growing up in Mumbai is an advantage, as we grow up speaking so many languages that when we go abroad, it becomes easier to learn new languages.”

— Zubin Mehta

“On the way back from Mumbai to go meet with President Xi in China, I stopped in Singapore to meet with a guy named Lee Kuan Yew, who most foreign policy experts around the world say is the wisest man in the Orient.”

— Joe Biden

“Rohinton Mistry's celebrated novel 'Such a Long Journey' was pulled off the syllabus of Mumbai University because local extremists objected to its content.”

— Salman Rushdie

“In every conversation I've had - with housewives in Mumbai, with middle-class people, upper-class, in the slums - everyone says there is an underlying consciousness of karma. That people believe in karma - that what you're putting out is going to come back. If I do something to you, the energy of it is going to come back to me in the future.”

— Deepak Chopra

“Above all, Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire' is the work of an artist at the peak of his powers. India is his palette, and Mumbai - that teeming 'maximum city', with 19 million strivers on the make, jostling, scheming, struggling and killing for success - is his brush.”

— Shashi Tharoor

“I've had fans do some pretty awesome things ... I once had a fan do a mock proposal for me in Mumbai, inside a McDonalds ... and I've had fans give me some precious things. I had one fan give me her mother's ring; I've gotten some pretty intense stuff. And I always get drawings and scrapbooks from fans, which is also pretty cool.”

— Lilly Singh

“Even in music concerts in Mumbai and different parts of the world, seats are reserved for sponsors.”

— Zubin Mehta

“Terror attacks in Mumbai have grown due to increase in the population of the north Indians in the city.”

— Raj Thackeray

“And at the moment of contact, they do not know if the hand that is reaching for theirs belongs to a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Brahmin or untouchable or whether you were born in this city or arrived only this morning or whether you live in Malabar Hill or New York or Jogeshwari; whether you're from Bombay or Mumbai or New York. All they know is that you're trying to get to the city of gold, and that's enough. Come on board, they say. We'll adjust.”

— Suketu Mehta

“There was an agitation against Mumbai Express: because part of it is an English word. There is no Tamil word for Mumbai Express. I am sure all those who were against it, even they wouldn't say 'I love you' to their lovers in Tamil. Many don't even thank in Tamil,”

— Kamal Haasan

“I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that. But I am an Indian first. And Mumbai belongs to all Indians.”

— Sachin Tendulkar

“I Came To Mumbai With Just Rs. 1,500 ... My Mother Gave Me Before She Died”

— Shahrukh Khan

“Many state governments have launched innovative steps such as Ladli Laxmi scheme of Madhya Pradesh, PDS reform scheme of Chattisgarh, computerization of land records in Karnataka, free computers to students passing 10th standard exams, pollution control efforts in Himachal, power sector reforms in Rajasthan and Mumbai - Pune Expressway in Maharashta. These excellent innovative schemes are examples of good governance.”

— Narendra Modi

“Delhi is excellent. Everything looks so beautiful. In Bombay, we don't have such beautiful roads, spacious places, and you cannot have the luxury of having houses and bungalows. You have to live in little pokey flats and cost of living is extremely high in Mumbai. Delhi has a lot that people keep preserving ... a lot of which is what Delhi is about.”

— Bipasha Basu