To the eyes of Londoners a first glimpse of central Bombay can be startling. The towering Gothic and sleek Art Deco buildings, the red double-decker buses (until recently) plying down parades, drives and circles bearing English names, and the heterogeneous mix of people negotiating the zebra crossings, stimulate a strange familiarity. The persistent humidity and a whiff of sea breeze are reminders that one is far from home, but one might be forgiven if one's first impression is of something transplanted. Bombay at first appears as the quintessential colonial city.
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