The word ‘Powai’ comes from Padmavati a Hindu Goddess , whose temple is situated on the banks of Lake Powai. Its etymology is drawn from the deity’s name Padma Aai, which means Mother Padma, in the local language Marathi.
The suburb has grownup in recent past into a modern township with its grand Hiranandani Garden and other state-of-art structures and Residential complexes.
Its a truly cosmopolitan area with people of different ethnicity and nationalities making it their home.
Besides the Powai Lake, Powai is host to some important landmarks of Mumbai, such as:
- The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT Bombay),
- The Construction, engineering and manufacturing conglomerate Larsen & Toubro group of companies
- The National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), and
- The Five star Hotels : The Rodas and The Residency
- The Government colonies of Income Tax Dept,Customs, Coast guard &c.
- IBS,Mumbai
- Gopal Sharma Group of Schools
- Prathamesh galaxy.
- Hotel Pramod Vihar
- Bombay Scottish School Powai
- International Business School (IBS)
- LH Hiranandani Hospital
- Galleria Shopping Arcade
- Hakone Go Karts and Video Games
- Powai Plaza
Powai has Ayappa Temple, Swami Narayan Temple, Panch-Kutir Temple, a Gurudwara, two churches and a Mosque.
The Powai area has grown tremendously in the past decade and it is presently a residential, commercial and retail hub for the eastern suburbs of Bombay – in news more for traffic snarls than anything else.
A local weekly newspaper Planet Powai regularly reports on the latest news and development of this area.
Stretch of Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link (JVL) Road called ‘Adi Shankaracharya Marg’ (AS Marg) is passing through this suburb.