Maffia, the world of bloodshed and terrifying ‘Dons’ and ‘Nanis’— is a pulsating piece of work which unravels the untold stories of the underworld. It is written by a veteran journalist S. Hussian Zaidi with Jane Borges, a Senior Sub-Editor at Deccan Chronicle, Mumbai.
We read about how a life of a simple girl (Ganga) who belonged to an elite family in Khatiawadi falls into the prey of a young man. Ganga who was fascinated with Bollywood realized that this young man who was appointed as an accountant by her father had good contacts in Bollywood. She fell in love and eloped away with him to Mumbai to become a big star. Her dreams were shattered; the man whom she had trusted had sold her to a brothel for Rs 2000.
Her life became regretful, as she was ill-treated, beaten for not behaving like a sex worker. She then took the decision of continuing her life in that brothel, and after few years went on to become one of the most sought-after and well-paid commercial sex workers in Kamathipura. She was the head of Gharwalis (usually, has an entire floor to herself with forty pinjras or more, the Bade Gharwali has an entire building under her jurisdiction.) and popularly known as Gangubai.
This is one dreadful story of Gangubai, there are various other true stories of Karim Lal, Arun Gawli, Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Shakeel. For many of us it would be shocking to read about women Dons like, Jenabai and wives of the dons— who supported their husband’s to get into this murky business of Murder, Kidnapping and drugs.
In the middle of this sinister drama how can a love story be evaded? The love story of Dubai based Don, Abu Salem and the actress Monica Bedi unfurls a swindling love tale. According to the book, Monica was innocent and was trapped by Abu Salem in the name of love. They were arrested in Portugal for carrying fake passports due to which she was imprisoned for more than 2 years.
It is an interesting book, it is one book full of crime based true stories which revels the other side of it. It is a must read for people who love to know the unknown stories of the criminal class and the love stories of Don’s, there is a reason behind such cruel actions and that is, poverty and that is why they end up into such illegal ways of making money. Happy Reading!!
