Maharashtra महाराष्ट्र) is a state on the west coast of India. Covering 307,713 sq km (118,808.7 sq mi), Maharashtra has a population of 113 million people (2011 estimate). It is the third biggest state by area in India, and the second most populous. But in terms of industrial output, Maharashtra is the richest state, contributing 13.2% of the country's GDP.
Maharashtra observes the India Standard Time, which is 5:30 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+5:30). It is bordered by Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the southwest. In addition, the state of Gujarat is on the northwest, separated from Maharashtra by the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Maharashtra faces the Arabian Sea to the west.
With a population of 113 million people, Maharashtra would be the 12th biggest state in the world if it were an independent country. Some 42% of the population live in urban areas. The majority of the people in Maharashtra speak Marathi (62.5 million), the official state language. English and Hindi are also understood by many. 83% of the population are Hindus.
The Maharashtra area has been inhabited since ancient times. The Marathas became a powerful empire in the 18th century, when they rose against the Mughals to rule over one-third of the Indian subcontinent. The empire eventually collapsed when it lost the third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-1818), after which the territory was made part of Bombay State under a British Raj.
The state of Maharashtra was created on 1 May, 1960, now known as Maharashtra Day, uniting all the places where the Marathi language predominates, including Bombay state, Deccan states and Vidarba.
Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Mumbai
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_Mumbai_Bridge_.jpg Author: Amit Kulkarni
How to go to Maharashtra
The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM), 28 km from Mumbai, is the biggest and second busiest airport in South Asia. Together with the Indira Gandhi International Airport, it handles over half of all air traffic in South Asia.
Arriving at Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport, you can take a prepaid taxi to downtown Mumbai. The fare is around र450-600. While it is also possible to take a metered taxi from the airport, in this case a prepaid taxi is a better idea if you are not familiar with the route. Otherwise, you may be literally taken for a long joy ride.
Mumbai International Airport
Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mumbai_Airport.jpg Author: Alex Graves
Let me take you to explore and discover Penang through my series of walking tours on YouTube. You may use these videos as your virtual tour guide. At the beginning of each video, I provide the starting point coordinates which you may key into your GPS, Google Maps or Waze, to be navigated to where I start the walk, and use the video as your virtual tour guide.
Disclaimer
Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.
Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.