Origins of the story behind The Monk and The Don

The story behind the book -  The Monk and The Don - which is due to be published mid-year 2023.

The idea started in early 2022 during a family holiday. The younger generations in our family were keen to know more about my wife’s and my Goan/East Indian origins. Also - what life was like in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1960s and 70s.

It was another era. Ethnic communities in each suburb lived in close knit groups. The small precincts still had a village-like atmosphere. The buildings inherited from the British times, carried their stately looks with aplomb.

The local trains were also very different in those days. While crowded (even at that time, they carried some 3 million passengers each day), there was a story and a community behind each railway station. The station master was a figure of authority, regularly seen on his rounds on the platform. There was usually only one tea/food stall. Passengers often knew the operator by name. The little shoe shine boys, the beggars, the coolies - each were known by name, formed an ad hoc community on the station, and helped each other.

I traveled to school each day by train. It was and remains a memorable experience I still enjoy recollecting and which I document in the book.

The underworld was evolving. With import restrictions on, as well as prohibition, there were ample ways of making money illegally. Tragic yet colorful figures emerged – Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Murdaliar, Jeenabai Daruwali. They were followed by the likes of Chota Rajan, Dawood Ibrahim and others. Each was intriguing in his own right. Each had his or her own back story. The book provides a fictionalized account of some of their underworld wars.

Substantial parts of the book are built on my own life story and those of my friends and colleagues. Bandra and Dharavi, the latter being the largest slum in Bombay, both figure prominently in the story. 

I hope the book brings alive the excitement, intrigue and color of those days in Mumbai. There were fewer people. Personal relationships held together small communities. Ethnic groups lived together in peace and tolerance. And trees still lined most streets.

People were not as well off as today. It was a period of scarcity. But Bombay of the old was a kinder and gentler city.