Vile Parle, Mumbai
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Hyundai In Mumbai
Mumbai is big. It’s full of dreamers and hard-labourers, actors and gangsters, stray dogs and exotic birds, artists and servants and fisherfolk and crorepatis (millionaires). It has the most prolific of film industries, one of Asia’s biggest slums and the largest tropical forest in an urban zone. It’s India’s financial powerhouse, fashion capital and a pulse point of religious tension. It’s evolved its own language, Bambaiyya Hindi, which is a mix of…everything. It has some of the world’s most expensive real estate and a knack for creating land from water using only determination and garbage. But wait. Mumbai is not frantic, it’s not overwhelming. Or at least, it doesn’t have to be.
Contrary to what you might think, you may not have almost just died in that taxi or been rushed by that station crowd or run over by that guy with the funny outfit and the monkey. The city has its own rhythm, which takes a little while to hear: it’s a complex but playful raga, a gliding, light-footed dance that all of Mumbai seems to know.
The one time of year Mumbai could be coined intense is during Divali (Festival of the Lights). Whether you follow Rama or one of the other 330 million Hindu deities, the Festival of Lights is a time for positivity and joy. Coming at the end of the harvest season, it’s a period of relative prosperity for the poor country and feels like the subcontinent’s version of Christmas. Watch out for the firecrackers thrown by children in the street; one safer display takes place on Mumbai’s Chowpatty Beach.
If you’re bonkers for Bollywood, you’ve come to the right place to experience your 15 minutes of fame. Mumbai is the glittering epicentre of India’s gargantuan Hindi-language film industry, and they’re often looking for Western extras. The industry churns out more than 900 films a year – more than any other industry (yes, Hollywood included). Not surprising considering they have one-sixth of the world’s population as a captive audience, as well as a sizable Non-Resident Indian (NRI) following.
The city’s vehicular population is bursting at the seams. Over the past five years alone, the number of vehicles has grown from two million to three million, an increase of 50%, said sources. However, the road length in Mumbai, at around 2,000km, has not changed significantly during the period. Vehicle density has thus increased to approximately 1,500 vehicles per km, from 935 between 2011-12 and 2015-16.
The number of private cars and SUVs on the road has also crossed the 9 lakh mark—a 45% increase over five years, sources added. As for two-wheelers, the population now stands at over 17 lakh—with the bike density up to 855 two-wheelers per km from 565.
Led by a strong demand for the newly launched Verna, a midsize sedan, 2017 was a year of excellence for Hyundai, wherein the company focused on delivering quality and optimum production capacity utilisation which paved a way for strong demand and supply in Mumbai region. With aim to sustain growth momentum in 2018, led by an all-new product entering a new segment, will bring Hyundai incremental buyers and Mumbai can be expected to pie up a big chunk. Hyundai has been the only brand which has been growing volumes every year. Today, three of its products figure in the top 10 cars sold in India, and three of its cars — Grand, Elite and Creta — have large presence in Mumbai. Having aggressively addressed a segment of buyers between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 25 lakh over the past few years, Hyundai has a large percentage of buyers coming out from the financial capital of India. With a network of whooping 12 dealers pan Mumbai, Hyundai boasts a good presence and ease.
A quality contribution to The Dainik Jagran family by Raj Vinaika, NMIMS Mumbai.
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