Title- Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands
Author- S.Hussain Zaidi with Jane Borges
Publisher- Tranquebar Press
Year- 2011
Genre- Non-fiction, Crime
Length- 290 pages
Rating- 4/5 stars
"Mafia Queens of Mumbai" by Indian author and former investigation journalist S.Hussain Zaidi is a well-researched account on 13 women leaders who once controlled the Mumbai Underworld and the Dons associated with it.I am a huge fan of crime thrillers and you can imagine my excitement when I came across this book which is a compilation of real-life stories of Indian female gangsters.
The book is divided into eight sections with a forward written by famous Bollywood filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. There are so many stories in it but I would like to share a few of them with you guys which have really touched my heart.
The first one is the story of Jenabai Daaruwali who started her career as a grain smuggler but later got into bootlegging and then turns into a police informer. She had a tremendous influence on Dons like Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim and she actually helped Mastan to unite the Ibrahim brothers (Dawood and Sabir) and the Pathan Gang in the name of religion, in his fight against the Chiliyas. She is the one who actually made Haji Mastan a bigger Don in Mumbai.The most shocking thing is, before the independence Jenabai Daaruwali was a freedom fighter and fought along side Mahatma Gandhi.
Then there is the story of Gangubai, a Gharwali (brothel madam) who made strict rules at Kamathipura (an area once known for its brothels) that no one would be forced to take up the profession of Prostitution against their will.When she was brutally raped by a pathan, she gathered enough courage to met Don Karim Lala, who was the leader of the pathan organization called "Pakhtoon Hind" and through her charm and oratory skills she became a close friend of Karim Lala who used to call her his sister.I absolutely loved Gangubai's speech. In it she advocated the importance of brothels and prostitutes to control the city crime rates.
The last one is the story of Ashraf Khan aka Sapna whose husband Mehmood khan was brutally murdered by Dawood Ibrahim.She decided to kill Dawood with the help of Hussain Ustara.
The stories are really amazing. I recommend this book to everyone.
Happy Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment
If you have any doubts, let me know