Mumbai, Bombay

Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay is the capital of the state of Maharashtra. Mumbai lies at the mouth of the Ulhas river off the western coast of India. It is located on the Salsette island partially shared with the district of Thane. Much of the city lies just above sea level and is spread across an area of 603 square kilometres. Mumbai has two main seasons: the humid and the dry season. The humid season lasts between March and October and the monsoon season hits the city between June and September. The dry season lasts between November and February and is characterised by warm to cool weather. The name Mumbai is derived from the Hindu Goddess Mumbadevi and is combined with 'aai' in Marathi that means mother. With an estimated population of thirteen million people, it is the second most populated city in the world and India's largest city. When combined with the neighbouring suburbs of Navi Mumbai and Thane, it has an estimated population of nineteen million, making it the fifth most populous metropolis in the world.

India

India, officially known as the Republic of India is the seventh biggest country in the world and is located in South Asia. The name India is derived from the word, 'Indus' which is derived from the ancient Persian word 'Hindu', from Sanskrit 'Sindhu' and is associated with the historic name for the River Indus. Other names that India is known by include Hindustan which is the Persian word for 'Land of the Hindus' and Bharat. It is the world's second most populous country and its largest democracy. India shares its borders with Pakistan, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Burma and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the South, Arabian Sea in the north and Bay of Bengal in the East. India is a multilingual and multiethnic society. Four of the world's major religions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here. It is also home to Muslims, Christians and Zorastrians.

India boasts of diverse natural terrain. From the Himalayas in the north to the Deccan plateau in the south, the country is home to mountains, plateaus, coastal ranges, desert, rivers and lakes. India's coast is 7,517 kilometers (4,671 mi) long. The major rivers include the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapti. India has two archipelagos, the Lakshadweep Islands in India's south western coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a volcanic chain of islands in the Andaman Sea. The four major climatic conditions that the country experiences are tropical wet, tropical dry, sub-tropical humid and montane.