Maximum City ---- Bombay Lost & Found

I happened to read this book on Mumbai, as it is called currently. This book has been written by SUKETU MEHTA.

After I read this book, I could not control my overflowing desire to comment on this book & hence I thought that my blog would be the best place to express my thoughts on this book.

The book was written when the city was still called Bombay, but in few places the author has mentioned Mumbai, which indicates the state of the city, the events & all emotions & incidences related to the city with regards to two different names ---- BOMBAY & MUMBAI.

The Rent Act described by him showed how people, both tenants & landlords lived in the most elite parts of Bombay. How the Parses constantly shifted their residence within 3 months under this act. The relation between tenant & the landlord is nicely expressed.

The author Suketu Mehta spent his childhood in Bombay, staying in a building called Dariya Mahal. He belonged to a business family, which migrated to different cities over the years & finally reaching Bombay from Calcutta. He spend almost the first 14 years of his life in Bombay. But then his father decided to shift to U.S., where the author spent the next 22 years of his life. He then decided to come back to  Bombay. But he found a great difference in the city which eventually changed from BOMBAY TO MUMBAI. Any hardcore Mumbaikar would know the difference & the transition which is obvious from the title Bombay lost & found.

I really enjoyed reading about Raj Tachkrey. A cartoonist by qualification, who then decided to make BOMBAY ---- MUMBAI with the motto of making MUMBAI ---- DISNEY WORLD. Then he went on to tell how Shiv Sena & Shiv Sainiks work, a fact which I guess the entire nation knows.

Everybody & at least Mumbaikars would know about gangsters & gang wars. Chota Shakeel, a gangster who lives in Karachi & operates in Mumbai. Mentioned here the relationship of the trio, Chota Shakeel, Chota Rajan & Dawood Ibrahim. The sharp shooters related or at least working with the respective gangs are given a work to shoot someone who is from the rival gang, could be someone of different religion or if the gang master wants from a rich guy.

Bombay then had 2 types of gangs operating within it. One is the typical gang i.e. the Bhai Gang. Another was obviously the Shiv Sena gang.

Ajay Lal, a top cop in the Mumbai police, a different but a rare entity in the police force. He solved the bomb blasts case. It was he who charged the famous Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt under the TADA act. It was really a thrilling experience of reading about the bomb blasts case. His encounters with various murders & gangsters & methods to solve the case were very thrilling to read.

Then comes one of the best as well as the worst life of Mumbai. This life has money but no character. This life is called Prostitution & of bar dancers. Described here is the life of the bar dancer, Monalisa, who danced in the infamous Sapphire Bar. She had a bad childhood, a broken home & was sold by her mother to a businessman for money. She then spend majority of her life as a bar dancer. She narrates her story to the author about her aims in life. Monalisa introduces the author to a person named Honey. Honey is actually a normal man but was introduced to the bar dancing by one of his aunties & thus started the life of Manoj as a bar dancer, Honey.

The author writes about three top directors / producers i.e. Tanuja Chandra, Vidhu Vinod Chopra & Mahesh Bhatt. How film industry works & the making of 3 films, i.e. Sangharsh,Mission Kashmir, Zakhm. Gangsters funding the film is a well known fact. How these films are made, how they go through the censor board etc etc. Just read.

Most of the people in Mumbai live in slums. These people always have some aim in life & they have a basic aim of moving from the slums to the flat for a better living.

Mumbai is always considered a city of dreams. So many people come here to try their luck in films or in other professions to make it big like the already big people have made it. But it is well known fact that only a few can make that big & the rest remain......................................

Lastly he has described about a particular religion & people who became monks.

Most people will not like my quick review of the book, but to enjoy & have fun read the book. Also I am awaiting the next book from Suketu Mehta as he left Mumbai to go back to U.S. & hence left the book way back till 2004. Only 6 years have passed since then but a lot has happened in these 6 years.