9 Life in Powai and beyond
IIT Bombay Powai campus life, IITB housing, campus facilities, Powai amenities
The city of Mumbai offers a wealth of cultural and entertainment resources to its residents, befitting a global metropolis. This includes famous places of worship, ancient historical caves, several art and science museums, many theatres for plays and musical performances, restaurants/cafes featuring cuisines from around the world, amusement parks for children and adults and one of the few national parks inside a big city anywhere in the world (from where we get periodic Campus visits by leopards!).
One caveat is that traffic outside of campus may be a nightmare, especially during office commuting hours (and even more so during the very long monsoon season), so one may be well-advised to venture out on weekends. In many situations, the well-developed train network may get you to your destination on time with more certainty. A lot of hope rests on the upcoming metro network. Its construction, however, has added to traffic woes right now, but upon completion, it will benefit commuters from IIT Bombay and the nearby areas.
Powai and neighbouring areas beyond the campus, particularly Hiranandani Gardens, have evolved into a bustling part of Mumbai with regard to restaurants, cafes etc. It is also generally well-provisioned, in terms of everything from doctors and chemists to yoga and arts classes - however, one does not need to leave campus for most of these!
If you live on campus and keep a pet, it must be registered and vaccinated under municipal rules, and you must give copies of these documents to the Public Health Office. Dogs are registered on the MCGM portal. Licensed pets must wear their registration tag. Pets are not allowed in hostels, and non-residents cannot bring pets onto campus. See the full policy for pet animals.
To keep track of what is happening on campus, you can use InstiApp, built by DevCom, IIT Bombay, a student group. It is available on the web at insti.app and as an Android app. It has a feed of campus updates, the Institute calendar of events, the placement blog and Insti news collated from major bodies, a directory of clubs and communities, the mess menu, a campus map (InstiMap), quick links to important Institute resources, and emergency contacts.
To find your way around campus, use the IIT Bombay campus map. It locates buildings, hostels, classrooms and lab rooms, shows canteen and mess hours, gives walking and driving directions, and works offline.