Imagine As a part to commence the release of the Press’s latest book, Bombay in the Age of Disco by Tinaz Pavri, here’s a little background information on the city of Bombay. Imagine walking the crowded streets of Bombay, India. To your left a street vendor is selling something delicious, and to your right in the distance large skyscrapers tower over part of the city. The mere appearance has you in awe of the heart and history that flow within its limits.
Today, Bombay is commonly known as Mumbai, and is one of India’s most populated cities. Before India’s independence from British rule, Bombay was the hub of commercial trade and industrialization. Textile and cotton mills filled the city to provide cotton to the West while America suffered instability during the Civil War.
In 1947 India became free of British subjugation, and their economy began to expand rapidly. The textile industry was still prominent in the city, but Bollywood and film quickly stole the scene with popularity. This shift pushed for innovative technological development, and nationwide distribution of media and advertisements.
Flourishing in all aspects, the lively city of Bombay quickly became overcrowded. Working together to solve this problem, officials and architects constructed a “twin city” on Bombay’s mainland in 1979 expanding the city. Pushing for a permanent name change, Hindu Nationalist party leader Shiv Sena advocated for a name truer to Indian culture. To him and many of his supporters, the British corrupted the name of Bombay, and aimed to rid India of its past as an English Colony.
Reflecting prominent Indian culture, Sena wanted to rename Bombay after the Hindu deity Mumbadevi. She was the protector of the city, and in her legend she protected island from a giant named Mumbarak. In 1995 as head of the state, Sena officially changed renamed Bombay to Mumbai. Today Mumbai is a beautiful thriving city that has expanded into a modern day hub of business and technology.
Author of Bombay in the Age of Disco, Tinaz Pavri tells her story as a young girl growing up in a city at the height of the city’s development and her wishful longing to experience American culture. Bombay in the Age of Disco will soon be released in spring of 2015.