5 reviews for Mafia Queens Of Mumbai
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Mafia Queens Of Mumbai
by S Hussain Zaidi
Description:
Smuggling, gun running, drugs, terrorism for many decades, Mumbai has lived under the shadow of the Underworld. Dawood Ibrahim, Karim Lala, Varadara- jan Mudaliar: these are names that any Indian would recognise. Analysed in print, immortalised on film, their lives, their gangs, their ‘businesses’ are out there for anyone who wants the information. But there have been women, too, who have been part of this murky side of the city, walking along side, sometimes leading and manipulating men in the Underworld to run their own illegal businesses. Here, for the first time, crime journal S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges explore the lives of some of these women, and how, in cold blood, they were able to make their way up in what was certainly a man’s world. From Kamathipura to Dongri, from assassins to molls, this is a collection that tells the stories of women who have become legend in Mumbai’s streets, lanes and back-alleys. Absorbingly told, impeccably researched, Mafia Queens of Mumbai reveals a side of Mumbai’s Underworld that has never been seen before.
About The Author
Hussain Zaidi is an Indian author and former investigative journalist. His works include Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Black Friday, and My Name is Abu Salem.
Skryf Review
“Good Reading”
Tisha
In the corner of a graveyard in Mumbai lies an unmarked tombstone of a woman who was revered as godmother by you-know-who himself. Somewhere else, many years ago, an alone, sick and pained woman was stabbed multiple times in her private parts because she dared to stand up for her beloved departed and many more years ago and still remembered as a deity by few was a sex worker who’d put today’s feminists to shame. True stories of women who made their own footing in the dangerous and bloody of Mumbai’s underworld and were unremembered until Mr Zaidi wrote this book. There is this line from a Tamil song I always remember when reading Mr. Zaidi’s characters in his books – “Naragam adil nee vazhandaal, mirugam ena maara vendum” which roughly translates as “should you live in hell, it is imperative you become an animal (to survive & thrive)”. Victims of their circumstances and environment the people in Mr Zaidi’s books did what they had to do and paid the price, lived by the sword and died by it.Not much, just that it looked like he tried to cram a few uninteresting ones in the end to fatten the book which he shouldn’t have at all. The quality matters not quantity but who am I to say that to a veteran journalist who put his life at risk to bring this book to light for us?
Havisha
Having lived in Mumbai for many years, I have never encountered or witnessed, thank god for that, the underworld and their dealings. However, as I grew up in that city, I have read, heard many stories about the underworld. The lives of gangsters were in the open whenever one of them was caught. The stories haunted us for days together until we got back to normal life on the streets of Mumbai. When I look back at those years, I realize that Mumbai is quite a safe city for an average citizen of this hub. I mean, one would not encounter any such ghastly dealings in that city if one keeps to oneself.When I read the book, I sensed the sad undertone because these women appeared to come from humble backgrounds with humble expectations from life. All that they needed was love, care and a family. Those expectations were not at all different from any other woman’s expectations. Yet, circumstances, situations forced them to take up the path of crime. It also appears from their stories that once they chose that path, there was absolutely no turning back. They did not turn back as well. They fought the battle with life.Please read this book if you want a look inside the world of gangsters. Read it to know what it meant for these women to carve a place for themselves in that ugly world of the dons. Read it to know what is means to live a life that seems grand but in reality quite dangerous. Read this book to understand what compels people to take up professions or activities that they, in normal circumstances, would never ever take up.
Read it to understand that a human being is driven not only by power and money but also by the need to love and be loved. The book is about women who chose a life full of existentialism.
pankti
Most human beings hate crime and would be appalled at the violence and depravity often displayed by the underworld. But few can claim to be completely disinterested in reading about the underworld or watching movies made around the underworld. I guess I am not an exception. I keep buying books and read them even as I abhor the utter lack of morals and the mindless violence that go with the territory. The media had covered the episode involving Abu Salem and Monica Bedi. I had also read Hussein Zaidi’s book on Abu Salem. It was good to read the story of Monica Bedi, narrated in a matter of fact manner.These stories take up almost 70% of the book. The rest of the stories (there are 13 in all) are briefly narrated without much details. It was almost as though the authors kept their eyes on the size of the book. I wish that these narrations, too, were in more detail.If you are one that is fascinated by stories of the underworld, here is a book that is a must-read – at least for getting the facts straight. Some of the stories are told elsewhere with titillation or gory details in mind. In this book, the one aspect that I liked was that the narration was not salacious nor sensational. A damned good read!
Anupama
Yes it is true, behind every successful man, no matter what the profession, there is always a woman. A Woman who is not only strong-headed but also sly enough to accelerate the man’s thoughts and decision-making process, in the direction she wants to. And yes women rule the roost (though for some men it is hard enough to accept the fact) and that’s true. The reason I say this is because I have just finished reading Mafia Queens of Mumbai, a realistic and hard-hitting portrait of women who were the Mafia Queens of the metropolis. It is not weird to think that young Dawood Ibrahim in need of the hour would turn to Jenabai – a freedom fighter converted to a bootlegger. Haji Mastan and the other gangsters would also consult her and act on advice given when needed. That’s what got me thinking the most while reading the book, and come to think of it, it is just but one of the thirteen accounts of the book and Jenabai stays the most in memory as she has also been portrayed by many on the silver screen. Wives, Lovers and Mistresses – they are all there in the book. They seep through the pages and their voices are clear. They have had the will to survive and all of them are survivors, in one way or the other. From prositution to being a moll to silently being hidden behind the scenes and running the show, so to say. These women fall down and rise back to action with clearer minds and stronger determination to do what it takes to find their place in the throes of the underworld.