Hype city: How many books does Mumbai merit?

In his book review for the Sunday Times of India, Vikram Doctor makes an interesting point. While comparing the last two books about the city to be published he stops to wonder, like we sometimes do, at this "incessant output" of books and diaries on or about Bombay/Mumbai over the years.

"Why does this city, of all cities in India, feel the endless need to market and mythologise itself?" he asks.

Especially when, "anyone familiar with Mumbai knows how almost any city issue -- entertainment options, school facilities, sports prowess -- comes down to real estate problems in the end. This book shows how such disputes stretch back to its founding, right from the gift that the Portuguese made of it to the British. The local Portuguese, who were not consulted, were appalled and did their best to stymie matters by insisting the gift was restricted to the main island called Bombay, and not the full seven islands."

"Perhaps it is the secret feeling," Doctor proffers, "that far from being naturally ordained...[Mumbai's projection as a superior city] has always been something of a confidence trick, a realtor’s prospectus, and hence the hype must never stop."

The two books reviewed were "Theatre of Conflict, City of Hope: Mumbai 1660 to Present Times" by Mariam Dossal (Oxford University Press; Rs 2,450) and "Bombay Then and Mumbai Now" Text: Jim Masselos and Naresh Fernandes; Pictures: Pramod Kapoor and Chirodeep Chaudhuri (Roli Books, Rs 2,975).