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The Mafia Queens Of Mumbai by Hussain Zaidi is pulp reading to savour - guts, grime and retribution at its engaging best.
The mafia queens of mumbai by Hussain Zaidi
The Mafia Queens Of Mumbai by Hussain Zaidi is pulp reading to savour – guts, grime and retribution at its engaging best.
For aficionados of the crime genre, reading stories based on reality can be addictive in a way that watching horror movies based on real life incidents can be for those who plight their troth with the horror genre. What could mar the experience, however, is if the narrative becomes a mere dry recounting of events without the drama necessary to hook the reader. Thankfully, Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands does not fall in that category.
Crisp and smooth enough to keep the pages turning, this account of women in the Mumbai mafia is written in a style that is dramatised and keeps the interest unflagging. Written by veteran crime reporter S Hussain Zaidi (this is his second book, the first being Black Friday) along with Jane Borges, the stories are all based on fact, and the research that has gone into the writing is evident in the amount of detail that passes casually in the course of the narrative. The book has been pieced together painstakingly through anecdotes, documentary evidence, official case papers and conversations with family and acquaintances of the Mafia Queens. The result is a pacy thriller, a compendium of many stories, each replete with drama, action and intrigue.
Of all the stories, the most inspiring and intriguing perhaps, is the first one, that of Jenabai Gandhi alias Daruwali. From a freedom fighter under the British Rule, to a bootlegger and a woman of such clout that mafia dons like Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Mastan turned to her for advice and protection, Jenabai was an intriguing character. It was thanks to her efforts that Dawood, Haji Mastan and the Pathan gang brigade came together as one force. The first among the 13 stories of the Mafia queens of Mumbai is the stuff gangster films are made of. Another story talks about a burkha clad woman, who learns to shoot and spends her life trying to avenge the murder of her husband.
Another interesting story is that of Gangubai Kathewali, who ruled Kamathipura, a far call from the young woman who was lured and betrayed into prostitution herself. Among the stories is that of Neeta Naik, the wife of Ashwin Naik, the noted underworld gangster who was paralysed after a shooting, and then compelled to move out of the country to escape imprisonment and being exterminated by his enemies. Almost a film script in its twists and turns, the life of Neeta Naik is the stuff that makes one believe that life is stranger than fiction. Educated at Sophia College, Naik was a Shiv Sena corporator by day and a gang leader by night, on first name terms with all the gangland sharp shooters and a controller of the finances of the Dadar vegetable market. She was shot dead, apparently under orders from her husband, because of an extramarital affair.
Monica Bedi also figures in the book, though she seems to have no role to play in crime apart from being the apocryphal gangster’s moll. We see the grime of a life where cash is stashed in shrines, loyalties are constantly tested and informants lead double lives with impunity. This is noir, pulp reading to savour – guts, grime and retribution at its engaging best.
Publisher: Westland Books/Tranquebar Press
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Kiran Manral is an Indian author, columnist and mentor. She has published books across genres in both fiction and non-fiction. She lives in Mumbai. read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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