Capitalism in Mumbai

A portion of the map capturing southern Mumbai. There exists many features of this area, but the icons marking the locations of HP Gas dealers stand out as being significantly larger, less we forget the true intent of this map’s distribution.

The map legend is rather thorough for a promotional advertisement and thus imbues the map with distinct cultural and practical value.

The most powerful fragment of insight that this map carries lies in the reason for its creation: To promote a capitalistic good among residents of Mumbai. HP Gas is a private company seeking to grow profits, and this map provides a means of advertisement to achieve that end by demonstrating the locations of petroleum distributors. With even just a simple glance at the map, these points are difficult to miss due to the sheer size of the associated icons, which are significantly larger than any other. All the same, there is plenty of content included that does not serve the company’s purposes, such as the religious sites and business centers mentioned previously. This situation lends an interesting truth to the prominence of capitalism in Mumbai as a means of life, itself. In this map, promotional objectives combine with public practicality; HP Gas has manufactured a good that furthers its agenda but is of use to any traverser of Mumbai, regardless of his decision to purchase petroleum. Such a casual and inglorious occurrence only substantiates how natural a component capitalism is in many a modern society, and Mumbai is no exception.