10.1 Bombay

• There is a Lord Krishna Bank.
  
• A city block of buildings was today sold in Bombay. The Times of India reports: "In a price unheard of so far in the city, each shop owner in the society is expected to be paid at the rate of Rs 95,000 per square foot, while those owning flats will get Rs 38,000 a square foot to move out permanently.” Rs 95,000 is about $2150 By way of contrast, New York’s Prudential Douglas Elliman Real Estates Manhatten Market Report for 2005 notes a bumper year in the Big Apple with “average price per square foot set a record at $965.”
• India’s GDP per capita is $705. The same figure for the US is $42,000.

• Bombay’s rush hour is 8 hours long. It goes from 7am to 11am, and 5.30pm until 9.30pm. [Conversation with a friend’s driver.]
• The commute between Bandra (North Bombay) and Colaba (South Bombay) normally takes 2 hours. Estimates now suggest that has increased by 15 minutes in around the last 8 months. This implies congestion growth of 25% roughly every year and half.
• India is 134th on the World Bank’s list of countries by “ease of doing business.”
• Sometimes translations in Indian papers don't quite hit the mark. An amusing case in point:
  
  "The “mysterious” girl who was molested and harassed by a group of hooligans at Gateway of India on the New Year’s eve has finally been identified. She is an American national, who has returned home since then….. “So far, we were groping in dark. Now at least our investigation has got definite direction,” said an official of the Colaba police station where the matter is being probed." [From the Mumbai Mirror, apparently in all seriousness.]