Gateway of India. Mumbai (Marathi: मुंबई Mumbaī, Hindi: मुम्बई Mumbaī), earlier known as Bombay, is the largest city in India and the capital of the state Maharashtra.A cosmopolitan metropolis, Mumbai was built on seven islands on the Konkan coastline which over time were joined to form the island city of Bombay. The island was in turn joined with the neighbouring ...