Mega City Mumbai

There is a frequently asked question that in spite of having an earthquake prone area, there are many metro cities built in the Japan then why not in Guwahati? To meet the query, firstly geographically and geologically it is not similar to Northeast Region. It is true that Japan is very experiencing country to face with an earthquake that had occurred frequently due to position of trench zone in the Pacific Oceanic region and received moderate to large magnitude of earthquakes. Secondly, they are the top as concern to the earthquake resistance technology in the world and they have strong seismic observation facilities. 

It is very strange, that they have all total 5904 numbers of seismographs including high sensitive seismographs, broadband seismographs and strong motion seismograph apart from 1500 of GPS, SLR monitoring the crustal deformations. The seismographs have been placed in surface, subsurface and also under the oceanic water. Recently they have developed the technology related with earthquake warning bulletins within two minutes of source of earthquakes. But it could not be successful in the Kawasakimachi prefecture due to arrival of S waves within 22 seconds. 

Yet, this bulletin will help in near future for forecasting of earthquakes. Thirdly, Government is very strict in promotion of earthquake resistance design along with standard quality of construction materials apart from availability of skilled lab ours and peoples are also well preparedness to mitigate the earthquake hazards. Fourthly, all the parts of Disaster management (Pre, post and during) plan are very advanced in the world. The 64000 elevators in Tokyo stopped running as soon as earthquake begins and equipments of control operation works automatically.

Forecasting of earthquake in terms of size, location and real time has not been fulfilled till now. But long term probability of earthquake prediction has been given on the basis of crustal deformation, interval occurrence etc. But there is a maximum probability for true prediction of earthquakes keeping view with worldwide advance researches. Till the true prediction we must have a pre-disaster plan in this city as well as to the region. 

The assessment of damages and destruction of buildings along with estimated danger of life respective to the size, depth, source of probable earthquake in different seismic belt of location will be fruitful measures with the help of integration of different thematic mappings in the field of seismic hazards. The identification of primary and secondary risk zone has come more prioritized to evaluate the assessment of damages in seismic hazard mapping. The vulnerable and risk zones are to be identified in the Guwahati city where there is a maximum possibility of damages at the earthquake disasters. 

To find out the vulnerable and risk zones it will have to consider different thematic options seismic, geology, socio-economic conditions, physical & social infrastructure, technology etc apart from mainly of seismic microzonation of city. The secondary risk and vulnerable zone is also a major criterion because earthquake proof buildings may collapse in the vulnerable zones due to liquefaction or submergence. This has occurred in the recent earthquakes in the Japan and China. 

Even the safe Assam Type house may come under high risk zone below the high rise apartment having necked short column in the ground floor situated on earth filling deposits. The secondary risks hazards may be broke out from the sources of  fire, landslides, road blocks by probable debris, electrical networking, telephone networking etc. The different themetic action plans may have been  prepared in the digital database format to mitigate the probable risk hazards in the city. These   preparedness plans are required urgently as concern to the  mitigation of the  probable seismic hazards in the Guwahati City .                                

Conclusion: Till the Pre disaster management plan is completed the citizens must have follow the suggestions during and after an earthquake:
 

One of the natural phenomenon, the earthquake give rise to seismic hazard to the part of the globe is very specific from the identification of seismic belt located in the earth crust. It is known by everybody that the Northeast India is seismically one of the six most active earthquake prone zones in the world the other five being are the Mexico, Taiwan, California, Japan and Turkey.   

As concern to the possibility of tremor in the Northeast India, it is always responsible for the surrounding seismic belt located between the Indian and Eurasian Plate which are known as Himalayan colliding zone in the north and Burmese arc’s sliding zone in the east. Besides it, many intra_plate seismic boundaries (away from edge of the main plate margin) are also very active due to behavior of neo-tectonic activities in the Meghalaya, Mikkir Hills, foothills of Assam _ Bhutan region and its adjacent Region. From the USGS earthquake’s catalogue, all total 25 numbers of significant earthquakes occurred in this part during the last hundred and thirty nine years. 

It has also been found that the seismic frequencies are very irregular with the low gap which ranges approximately from 0 to 28 years. There are no major earthquake has been occurred in this region since the last 20 years. At the same time, diving margin in the Sumatra trench and colliding zone in Sichuan Province have been struck by innumerable numbers of tremors in the recent past. Out of 25 numbers of past earthquakes there were seven great tremors originated in intra-plate margins in Meghalaya and its adjacent region. 

The some great earthquakes occurred in this part in the year of 1869,1897,1930,1947,1949,1950,1988 which had caused of seismic hazard and flash floods in the past. The intraplate’s originated earthquakes in the Meghalaya Plateau are generally big in size and ground shaking duration is also longer along with medium focus depth of 60 to 80 kms. On the other hand, most of the earthquakes originated in the Arunachal Pradesh are the type of very shallow focus which ranges from 0 to 20 kms. 

These causes reveal that the whole Northeast part is a highly vulnerable and prone to earthquakes of intensity in Magnitude 8 or more. In general earthquakes at the Himalayan Colliding zones are very shallow focus and recent earthquake of Siuchuan Province of China was originated at a depth of 29 kms with the 7.9 magnitudes for which about 80,000 people had been killed. This epicenter was located around 200 kms away from east of international border of Arunachal Pradesh .The 1950 earthquake occurred in border of Assam –Arunachal Pradesh was also a shallow focused which caused disastrous in upper Assam.

Moreover, the longer the seismic gap has the possibility for occurrence of greater earthquake size which may caused more seismic intensity in terms of risk buffered hazards. There is a seismic gap in the Meghalaya plateau after the 1897 tremor in the Chidrang of Meghalaya where Dhudhnoi fault and many fault had crated in this area. It has known that the impact of earthquakes in the year of 1897,1930,1950,1988 were very significant as concern to the ground acceleration and its velocity. 

There is no doubt, that Guwahati is not a major concern to the possibility of significant earthquake in this part. The seismic hazard at mega city is controlled by active fault and other lineaments located within a distance of around 40 to 130 kilometers. The recent light size of earthquake having magnitude of 4.2 in the Richter scale had not a significant one but it’s a real concern for the short epicentral distance of around  38 kms from the heart of the city. The city is controlled basically by Shillong plateau, eastern foot hills of Himalayas,   some tectonic lineaments and faults in and around the city.

The country’s 12% of area falls in the zone V where NE India is itself 8% of the country’s spatial dimension. The other city falls in the zone –V is Srinagar and Bhuj. The cities such as Delhi, Dehradun, Jamnagar, Patna, Meerut, Amritsar, Jammu, Jalandhar are accrued in the Zone-IV. But theses cities are different from the Guwahati city from the point of surface, subsurface geology, position of subduction zone and occurrence of earthquake types.  The earthquake is always posing threat to the Dehradun city where it had occurred in the year of 1905 and 1991. 

From the views of tectonic earthquake and socio-economic position the Dehradun city is similar to the Guwahati city but some are not. These are population (around 5.5 lakhs), area of city (only 65 sq km), lithological uniform formation i.e large Doon Valley, topographic conditions (moderate slope and flat), safe physical infrastructures and its mass awareness etc. The Guwahati city is on the valley fill deposits having irregular thicknesses overlies the hard rock terrains along with the remnant isolated Precambrian Hills whenever the Dehradun city is on river terraces deposits mostly. 

The centre of Doon Valley, the Dehradun City has not been fabricated with abrupt high rise apartment. But, it is not necessary that in an earthquake prone area would not be fabricated by mega infrastructures in this millennium era if there are strong management plan and  preparedness s to mitigate the earthquake vulnerability.

In India, earthquake disaster management plan has geared up after the seismic hazards at Latur and Bhuj-Ahmadebad. In earlier, India’s disaster management plan was concentrated in the field of rescue operation and distribution of relief and rehabilitation. But, recent trend of thematic disaster management plan has been changed and it has given more importance in the technical evaluation of   quantitative pre disasters scenario in details. These assessments of scenario would definitely help to make favorable preparedness and response plan to mitigate the risk seismic hazards in any part .But this preparedness and response plan is different respective to the places or like cities. The awareness and capacity buildings are another two components in the seismic vulnerability reduction and its disaster management.

Under the GOI-UNDP risk management programmed, the seismic hazard microzonation of  38 numbers of cities over half a million population in seismic zone III, IV and V have mapped .The Guwahati city was included in this earthquake vulnerability reduction project and thereafter, seismic hazard microzonation of Guwahati city had also been completed at the 1:25,000 with the help of various relevant Government Organization. 

It is a tremendous milestone for the Government of Assam to achieve such type of seismic hazard mapping at Guwahati city because of first step and right direction to reach the goal of favorable preparedness and response plan in the probable seismic hazard at Guwahati city. The second milestones for Government of Assam to have a Finalized Guwahati Master Plan 2025 which will help not only to planning of Guwahti city but it will help also to develop a  Municipal GIS   in the forthcoming years. As a result it will be more positive action in carrying out the preparedness plan for mitigating earthquake disasters in the Guwahati city. 

The third achievement made by the GOA is to go for adoption of methodology for Rapid Visual Screening of the Buildings in Guwahati city which will help to carry out the type of buildings which may susceptible different grade of damages. The state capacity buildings at all levels are going on through the different project and schemes. The Incident Command Systems, a USAID-INDIA collaborative project running under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India , which   is one of the methodology for growing capacity buildings through the training by the Assam Administrative Staff College to   grow professionalism and skilled human resources to give excellent response in the strategic time. 

Preparedness and responses through the practices of mock drills at different institutions is also an important component in the disaster management. It will help to create awareness amongst the peoples as well as to think favorable options to give better response in the probable disaster. These above components are the part of to harness the success of preparedness and response plan under the disaster management system. There is a need to do more work to harness the goal of success in this field of management of seismic vulnerability.

Preparedness and response plan is different subject to the different geographical location of the cities. A preparedness and response plans of Guwahati city is not suited to the plan of Shillong city. Even also response plan of hilly stations between Shillong city and Mussoorie city will not be fitted. Because a preparedness and response plan to the probable seismic hazard is depend upon various factors such as geographical location, geomorphologic pattern, geological setup, probable size and intensity of earthquakes, soil conditions, population distributions, Municipal GIS including road networking system , availability of subsurface information, grade of social & Physical infrastructures, network communication including earthquake warnings, proportionate resources and equipments , efficient management and peoples participation etc. etc.  

The probabilistic analysis of seismic hazard in the database management system is a valuable tool in the recent trend of earthquake disaster management. The database format has emerged as a powerful simulation for the efficient disaster management due to its quick reliable decision and its accuracy assessment with the help of proper software including other technological facilities. The latest development in Remote Sensing, GIS and GPS are the only tools that it can help in application to carry out the disaster’s mapping and management with the help of integration of different thematic mappings. 

Development of a techno-legal regime is one of the components of vulnerability reduction project of GOI_UN; therefore, there is a need to strengthen infrastructure and updated facilities in the relevant Government departments in the field of Geology, Hydro_geology, Environmetal Engineering, Structural Engineering etc. As concern to the preparedness plan for seismic hazard  in the Guwahati city , it also need for detail Seismic hazards mapping after considering different thematic options such as  present seismic microzonation of city , land used , present population, physical infrastructures, more subsurface data including geo-hydrology etc. etc.. 

It may also require more strong seismographs network for monitoring and analysis of the seismic behaviors to provide availability of regular earthquake bulletin systems. Rapid Visual Screening of Buildings is also a methodology adopted by the Government of Assam to find out the building types and possibility of grade of damages in any earthquakes. These together will act as a seismic database of the city for effective mitigation in probable seismic hazard. The evaluation of quantitative seismic hazard is possible with the help of these thematic integrations. 

Once assessment has been made out it will help to find out the plan of calculative seismic disaster preparedness. Disaster preparedness involves many branches of Scientific Departments, Civil Defense, Police & Fires, Administration, Indian Metrological Departments, NGO,s , Medical etc. A disaster preparedness and techno legal component needs many thematic parameters of demographic, geomorphic, social and physical infrastructure including road networking, and infrastructures & facilities.

While property values in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore urge corporate to look for alternative destinations to support their expansion plans, without escalating operating costs to prohibitive levels, Jaipur makes a sound proposition. Definitely, Jaipur real estate has attracted IT companies with its list of advantages.

Proximity to Delhi, and Mumbai

Owing to its proximity, 258 kilometers, to national capital city of Delhi, Jaipur is deemed as a potential alternative for setting up corporate offices. Nevertheless, the city is predicted as one of the ten ‘Mega Cities of future’ in India.

Jaipur real estate, nevertheless, is steaming with a suit of mega projects. The largest of them include Mahindra’s 3000 acre SEZ (Special Economic Zone), Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s (ADAG) Mega City Development Plans, and Hero Honda’s Rs 700 crore manufacturing plant.

International finance major GE capital has already started its operations in Jaipur while technology major viz. Infosys, Cisco, Wipro, HCL, IBM, are exploring opportunities in real estate markets of Jaipur.

Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) giant Genpact, after setting up a huge facility in the city, is also planning to invest around Rs 150 crore in the upcoming IT SEZ in Jaipur. Such kind of commercial activities have been generating further employment opportunities, and a large number of people are expected to come to settle in the city. Corporate demand would entail class housing and infrastructure to sustain future growth. And it ultimately points out to the major overhaul for the residential properties in Jaipur.

At present, national realty majors like DLF, Sahara and Ansal have their projects underway in the city. Parsvnath Group, which has its presence in many cities of Rajasthan, is developing residential projects in Jaipur. Vatika Group is also coming up with Vatika InfoTech city that would carry a mix of commercial and residential properties.

Property values in Jaipur

According to MagicBricks.com reports, the current capital value of apartments in prime residential locations of Civil is floating around the levels of Rs 2,500-3,500 per sq. ft and the rentals are around Rs 9,000-15,000 per month.

In C-Scheme, another prime residential location of Jaipur, the apartment capital value is Rs 3,000-4,000 per sq ft for a 2BHK apartment and the rentals are approximately Rs 8,000- 20,000 per month. Rental values, at one of the most sought after residential locations of Jaipur—Malviya Nagar, however are moderate at Rs 5,000-Rs 15,000 per month. Good quality independent houses are also available at the rent of Rs 7,000-Rs 10,000 per month, in the area, brokers informed.

There are several World Cities that are classified as being of supreme importance to the entire planet. Washington, New York, and Los Angeles are good examples. Another world city is Chicago, often referred to as the Windy City. It is a place where people love their sports, outdoors, and cars. It is a unique place with some of the tallest buildings in the world, a thriving arts community, some of the most beautiful beaches, and other areas in the entire city.

It is only natural then that when people want to talk Chicago, they group with others who have an interest in discussing the Windy City, its sports, cars and politics. However, finding those people can be difficult, unless you just want to stand around the streets and talk to people about this particular city.

Some people have attempted to find groups through churches or organizations that will advertise at either coffee shops or the local library. The ones that have been able to know where to look on the Internet have been able to really dig deep into the events that are part of the deep Chicago culture. This has been even more profound with the Windy City being considered as both a transitional city from the Eastern and the Western United States, and also as a global hub to all over the United States and also the European Union. The global hub is one thing that only two cities in the Central United States can truly claim, Atlanta and Chicago.

With the many cultural groups and ethnic oriented organizations, Chicago has developed a lasting need for those that are willing to build a city infrastructure that can provide not just information on the city, but also on the many options that a person can have in this metropolis and the respective Chicago community.

Despite not being one of the mega-cities of the world, Chicago has a strong base in sports, industry, and also in various world consumer bases. Unlike many larger cities, Chicago has proven that a large city can develop a personality and not sell itself to the corporate domination. The one irony in this though is the depth of topics that can arise in the individual aspects of the Chicago community. It is truly one of the few cities that have shown a unity and also a type of tension that can about only in well-formulated words.

In the sports world alone, there are many that are discussing the Windy City and its magnitude of teams. As one of the few cities to have had sports dynasties and also hard luck cases, it is one that has brought forth a huge level of attention in the national and global media.

With the importance that the virtual world has taken in the world, it is no surprise that many of these topics have surfaced in many forms. Whether it is the professional sports that have made a blockbuster trade or a scandal of a political leader, few cities have been able to compete with Chicago in the media limelight.

To truly know any location a person really needs to speak to the individuals of the place. This is where many of the social gatherings on the Internet have developed a number of focal points for the many members of the Chicago community and also those that have traveled through this majestic city.

Since inception man's aim has always been to improve one's standard of life and to attain happiness. Further man is a need as well as desire driven being. However, life is a continuous activity surrounded with problems. If these problems left unsolved gradually it leads to chaos. Therefore, the purpose of knowledge as well as man's activities has always been to solve the problems.

As our knowledge about the beginning of human race is very limited, therefore it is impossible to precisely know the way of life of primitive humans. As human race emerges from a pair of a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, over a very long period of time humans multiplied exponentially. For varied reasons they split into sub groups and start moving away from the herd. There emerges the concept of migration. As they were forced to move they have to find a habitat that fulfills their basic needs of food, clothing, shelter and comparative security. Water is the very basic human need. 

Therefore, there is historical trend that human habitation has always been in proximity to resources of potable water, like rivers and wells. After fertile land and water resources are secured that provide the fundamental sources for basic needs, man strives for luxuries. Trading is the means of securing the rare, precious, value added and better goods. Traditionally, sea was the most advanced way of transferring goods and people with comparatively greater ease and speed to far away places. For this reason, we also find the emergence of large cities bordering coasts.

Problems and Growth of cities:

The desire for improving one's standard of life is innate. Trade and favorable geographical location of cities results in bringing prosperity to the cities. Mainly construction and trade activities increase because of prosperity that increases the demand for artisans and workers. Higher compensation attracts the artisans and workers from far off areas, with the passage of long time these migrants also settle in cities and grows exponentially. This kind of increase generally leads to haphazard growth of cities that creates multifarious problems like sanitation, housing, traffic, water, pollution, crime, disease etc. From the study of archaeological sites like Mohnjedaro we found a highly developed city with a web of roads and sanitation system.

Administration of cities:

Whenever some people start living together there emerges the need for some organization as well as laws for the running of the day-to-day affairs for business transactions, as well as resolving conflicts arising due to social interaction and for maintenance of law and order. Large cities with citizens from different races and religions require greater need for administration. This need results in analyzing and formulating plans and polices according to the prevalent technology, knowledge and social thought of the populace.

Mega cities, as we know today, are similarly established on these grounds. However, there is a significant difference in their organization, which is also result of technological factors, is that they is much more planning and similarity in their organization than their ancient simulacrum.

Urban Studies and Urban Economics:

The emergence of big as well as mega cities calls for specialized field of study. Therefore, academia has extensively worked on the problems faced by cities under the fields of Urban Studies and Urban Economics. Under Studies is a more comprehensive, holistic and objective oriented approach for catering the theoretical as well as practical requirements of the cities. It encompasses all the technical, social, political, economic and legal areas pertaining to cities. On the other hand, Urban Economics focuses on the monetary and financial aspects of all the areas studied under urban studies.

Urban economics is mainly focused on the study of urban domains focusing on the context of geographical location, transportation cost, and placement in production and consumption decisions. Besides it also tries to find the raison d'être of cities viz. the reasons for their emergence, how urban area is used with in cities, and the relative location of one city with other city and their suburbs, and density of its population. Furthermore it also studies the problems and their economic impact, costs and their solutions like: housing, pollution, crime, health issues, education, sewage and sanitation, urban sprawl, economic agglomeration, infrastructure development, public recreation facilities, economic planning, inflation, wage rate, mobilization & transit costs, and public finance.

The modern issues, as a result of unprecedented economic and technological growth, that urban economists faced and to find their solution along with other urban study specialists are:

 1. Environmentalism/Eco-cities/Externalities: They are costs or benefits resulting from any economic activity that the unrelated parties incur. There are both negative and positive externalities. Pollution is an example of negative externality while planting trees around the boundary of any business establishment is an example of positive externality. Ecological sanitation is also a method used for attainting goal of healthy sustainable environment. It can be viewed as a three-step process dealing with human excreta: (1) Containment, (2) Sanitization, (3) Recycling and finding the best way of managing them. Establishment of an eco-industrial park is of special focus in it where  businesses cooperate with each other and with the local community in an attempt to reduce waste, efficiently share resources (such as information, materials, water, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources), and produce sustainable development, with the intention of increasing economic gains and improving environmental quality.

2. Infra structure development & Transportation:  Because of the impact of transportation, it is studies as an independent subject as Transportation economics associated with civil and mechanical engineering. Commuting and transportation are integral parts of any economic activity; therefore transportation is of main concern in urban economics. It has both positive and negative externalities. Further congestion, colloquially known as traffic jams, are a big problem as they result in slower speeds and longer lead times. The effects of congestion are:

 Stress and frustration of commuters that may boost road rage and affect their health. It causes fuel waste and air pollution.

A special demand and supply study is undertaken in it. Where demand is measured as total distance traveled during all trips and supply is the available capacity of transportation options. Moreover financial implications to build and to support a transportation network are also special area of study.

Moreover transit-oriented development, traffic calming and sustainable urban infrastructure are also areas of special interest in this category.

3. Public Finance/ Municipal Finance/Government. Finance: Revenue and expenditures are the essential features of any organizational activity. There financing methods and budgeting are the area of study under the topic of public finance.

4. Population studies:  In it the characteristics of the urban citizens are studied. Another phenomenon is that of Urban Migration is also of key importance.

5. Housing: Burgeoning population causes a problem among other things of housing. Affordable and environmentally sustainable housing are the tasks concerning Specialists of Urban studies and as well as economists. Landscape urbanism as well as public housing projects are some of the measures to resolve this issue.

6. Urban planning: Urban planning is a branch of land use planning and deals with the efficient placement of land use activities, infrastructure and settlement growth across an individual city or town The problems arising out of urban sprawl (unplanned, rapid and expansive urbanization) are a special area of interest for city planners. However, in it we also study various other issues. Another task of urban planning became urban renewal, and re-invigorating inner cities by adapting urban planning methods to existing cities, some with much long-term infrastructural decay. Some extreme measures like urban secession is a city's secession from its surrounding region; to form a new political unit are suggested for this purpose
 

7. Problem of Poverty, crime & Unemployment: Poverty is the main cause of crime and unemployment is another feature promoting crime. These features are important part of urban economics for the aim of economics is towards better standard of living and prosperity.

8. Urban Economic policy: It refers to the actions that local governments take in the economic field. It covers the systems for setting government deficit as well as the labor market, national ownership, and many other areas of government.

9. Economic geography: It is the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the cities and its suburbs. It focuses on the Location theory, like industrial zones & economies of agglomeration and retail and wholesale businesses, on transportation and trade, and on the changing value of real estate. Urban economic geography is closely connected with topics as transportation, agriculture, industrial location, world trade the Geographic Information System, and the Spatial planning and function of business activity.

Officially opened in April 1994, Times Square is one of the largest shopping malls in Hong Kong. Owned by Wharf Properties Limited, Times Square is leased by Harriman Leasing Limited and managed by Times Square Limited. A significant landmark in Hong Kong, the twin towers of Times Square rise 46 and 39 storeys high above the hustle and bustle of the vibrant Causeway Bay.

Renowned as one of the 10 most popular tourist destinations in Hong Kong, this popular tourist destination was constructed upon the site of the original Hong Kong Tramways tram depot.

However, the executive council permitted Tramway’s plan to reposition its depots to Sai Ying Pun and Sai Wan Ho. Plans were declared to create an office and retail complex with a cost that was estimated in the region of 2 billion HK$.

This part of Causeway Bay was then considered not so attractive, but today it offers primer property that is located at the very core of Causeway Bay.

The most convenient way to get to Times Square is by MTR which is Hong Kong’s Subway and Train System. Visitors can come through the underground passage which directly links the complex, and the exit coined "A1" opens into the ground floor podium level. Visitors can also take the century-old tram in order to get to this striking masterpiece.

The current location of Times Square boasts a massive 900,000 square feet of retail space, over one million square feet of grade A office space, and 700 car parking spaces on four basement levels, making it the largest car park in Causeway Bay.

Times Square is recognized as the first vertical mall in Hongkong. All its facilities are spread over 16 floors and are carefully divided into retail, entertainment, recreational and dining areas. The property houses over 230 exciting shops, a multi-cinema compound along with the most up to date technology. Times Square also takes pride in being one of the first buildings in Hongkong to feature comprehensive fiber optic telecommunications systems and dual telephone exchanges.

Visitors can easily explore and feel the excitement of this mega mall by staying at any of the all inclusive and well appointed Hotels in Hongkong. Travelers can plan their stay at a Hongkong Island Hotel such as Hotel Jen which is renowned for offering a blend of traditional hospitality and contemporary facilities that suits the needs of both corporate and leisure traveler.

Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually,speaking or singing the written text or play. Most early sources in the West that examine the art of acting (Ancient Greek: hypokrisis) discuss it as part of rhetoric. 

The first actor is believed to be an ancient Greek   of Icaria. An apocryphal story says that Thespis stepped out of the dithyrambic chorus and spoke to them as a separate character. Before Thespis, the chorus narrated (for example, "Dionysus did this, Dionysus said that"). When Thespis stepped out from the chorus, he spoke as if he was the character (for example, "I am Dionysus. I did this"). From Thespis' name derives the word thespian.

Acting requires a wide-range of skills, including  , clarity of speech, physical expressivity, an emotional facility, a well-developed imagination, and the ability to interpret drama. Acting also often demands an ability to employ dialects, accents and body language, improvisation, observation and emulation, mime, and stage combat. Many actors train at length in special programs or colleges to develop these skills.

Mumbai: Bollywood.

Mumbai (previously Bombay) is the commercial hub of India. If India is a body, Mumbai (previously Bombay) can very well be termed as the face of India. It is here that dreams are dreamt, achieved, shattered and lived past. Mumbai (previously Bombay) is also the entertainment hub of India, with almost the entire film industry being based in Mumbai, (again,previously Bombay). Bollywood, as the film industry is coined, lives and breathes in Mumbai .

Bollywood and its Stalwarts

Mumbai is sometimes called ‘Mayanagri', which in Sanskrit means ‘the land of magic and illusions'. And Bollywood is all about weaving magic on the big screen. There are some magicians of the film industry who claim that they can infuse their magical touch into the aspirants. These veteran actors have their own acting schools in Mumbai that cater to anybody who comes to Mumbai with a dream in their eyes and, of course, ample money in their pockets.

Film Acting School in Mumbai

There are more than a few film acting schools in Mumbai . A quick look through Mumbai's (previously Bombay) yellow pages or even the evening daily will have many ads screaming in your face about how they can make you the next big star – provided you pay them a fee. And the names behind these film acting schools are not small. Big names in the film industry have understood that there is big money in small town people chasing big dreams in Big Bad Bombay (now Mumbai). There are various reasons why these film school work

The biggest reason that film acting schools work in Mumbai is the city itself. Mumbai has this virus in its air that makes one believe that anything is possible and everything is achievable. You just have to run a bit faster, jump a bit higher, and survive a little more. One major reason is that almost everyone in this world has a secret and a not so secret fantasy. That is to either become a writer or a rock star. Of course, there are more than a few aspiring writers and   in Mumbai, India and all over the world who have turned out to be better accountants, programmers and housewives (now homemakers).

Another reason that Mumbai is swarming with film schools is that anyone can act. Or sing, or dance or paint, or weave. But that does not mean that everyone should act, dance, paint or weave. Taking my example, I can sell good enough, I can explain (some call it teaching) tolerably, and I can manage satisfactorily. But my best talent is writing. So I write. In a nutshell, this paragraph is telling you to do what you do best, and not do it because there is more money or fame in it, but because you have a love for it.

Probably the best bet of joining a film acting school in Mumbai is to check who owns the acting school. And while some may take it as a joke, but please heed this suggestion, if you are getting all starry-eyed about the name of the school – ensure that the person after whose name the acting school has been named is alive and teaches at the school. Now, there is this Ashok Kumar's Acting School in Mumbai, which is named after Ashok Kumar, one of the most sparkling gems of the film industry. Of course there is every chance that Ashok Kumar's acting capabilities may have rubbed off on a talented aspirant, but the operative words in the previous sentence are ‘may have'. Simply because Ashok Kumar has been dead for a couple of years now.

Who Makes A Film Acting School?

Also, there have been cases where past actors, failed wannabes and other assorted people ‘related to the film industry' have started their film acting schools for Bollywood. Another breed of individuals who create film acting schools are nameless personalities who are best known as the ‘second extra in the thirteenth action scene in the debut movie of that producer's blue eyed girl', or better still, ‘that child artiste in that movie which won that prize in that film festival in that country in 1963'. Other people are the crème de le crème of fly-by-night film acting schools. These people are just related (related, as in sons, daughters, cousins, friends) of some veteran and well known actor.

There is Hope, after all

Before we lose hope and shun the ideas of entering the indian film industry entirely, let me confess that there is hope. Though there are schools not worth the papers on which they give you a receipt of your fee, there are some good film acting schools in Mumbai. These are the schools that have a better chance of having their students in Mumbai film productions. These film acting schools in Mumbai have a definite structure, syllabi and a teaching method. While most other film schools would propound about things like ‘everybody is creative' and ‘anyone can achieve whatever they want', professional film schools will give a definite roadmap to your dream destination.

These schools are a bit on the expensive side. Expensive is good, because one thing that an expensive school fee does is make a person self analyze and decide whether they actually want to pursue their dreams. But then, one can safely say that the fee of these expensive schools is worth it, what with their way of teaching. Many schools like these do have veteran and experienced personalities of the film industry as their teaching or guest teaching staff.

So, here's a quick checklist to go through before opting for a film acting school in Mumbai:

Research: Take as much time as you wish before signing any document at a film acting school. Spend time on the premises. Look around and see whether there is actually some teaching going on.

Learn: Take a look at the past of the film acting school. Find out what the pass outs from the school have been up to. Better still, try to communicate with the current students. You are certain to find some inside information on the way the school runs.

Acknowledge: Acknowledge the fact that even though it's a film acting school, it is a school. A film acting school is never ambiguous and has various courses and a set duration for the same. Finally, going to a film acting school is just like going back to school. Just ensure that the school is as serious as you are in your pursuit of celluloid dreams, and no doubt, you will be on the big screen soon enough.

AIESEC is the largest student-run organization in the world. AIESEC has, each year since 1948, worked to fulfill their mission of developing young people to be individuals who will be able to meet the challenges of our world, our countries and local communities.

International internships are the most intense learning experience AIESEC offers. Each year, globally, AIESEC, provides over 38,000 members the life-changing opportunity to live and work in a foreign country in the areas of management, technology, education and development.

AIESEC Mumbai has just launched it's Campaign for international summer internships. It is looking for young people (from the age group of 16-28 years) who want to live and work abroad and who are willing to challenge themselves in a foreign country. These internships can last from a minimum period of 6 weeks to a maximum period of 1 and a half years.

From teaching international students about Indian culture and working in an NGO abroad to impact various social issues, to working in big corporate houses for management or technical internships, AIESEC Mumbai is providing a platform for all this and more!

Calling all Mumbaikars who want to venture out of their city this summer, to have an experience of a lifetime! If you want to explore different cultures, meet new people, impact social issues and gain international work experience, get in touch with AIESEC Mumbai today!