Book Review: Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia by S Hussain Zaidi

Source: Google Images

Book Details. . .

·         Title: Dongri To Dubai: Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia

·         Author: S Hussain Zaidi

·         Genre: Crime Thriller / Non Fiction

·         Publisher: Roli Books (2012)

·         Pages: 408 Pages

·         Rating: 3.75/5

Behind The Book. . .

Dongri to Dubai is the first ever attempt to chronicle the history of the Mumbai mafia. It is the story of notorious gangsters like Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, Varadarajan Mudaliar, Chhota Rajan, Abu Salem, but above all, it is the story of a young man who went astray despite having a father in the police force. Dawood Ibrahim was initiated into crime as a pawn in the hands of the Mumbai police and went on to wipe out the competition and eventually became the Mumbai police’s own nemesis.

Shirdi Diary . . . July 2015 (II)

Source: Google Images

There is no dearth of devotees’ experiences to re-affirm the belief that Baba is truly a ‘karuna-avtaar’ (abode of grace) and ‘bhakta-paradheen’ (slave to the devotees). After hearing the experience of Amma (shared in my previous post), Baba’s words echoed in my years as I debarked from the train, “If you take one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards you.” Every time I read or hear the experiences of the devotees recollecting Baba’s grace, I get goose bumps. A strange mix of feeling overtakes me making me restless, envious and wishful (all at the same time) & I aspire to be the one of many souls to experience similar miracles so as to feel further closer to HIM (is it what we call being human – the tendency to crave for things a bit more, I don’t know). Reading and listening to HIS divine leelas are always soothing to the soul, calming even the ever fickle heart by sprinkling fresh droplets of HIS name.

Micro Fiction – The Wait

Source: Google Images

The dawning dusk always makes her pensive about life’s cherished moments and each swing of that rocking chair makes her smile, remembering those enchanting memories of him. She has lost count of the hours she has been sitting there waiting for his return, remembering those passionate and sensuous moments of togetherness when his caressing fingers would explore every curve of her body, discovering those erotic zones where he would eventually lose himself – the soul-searching sojourn which would begin with the physical pleasure and culminate into the ultimate platonic ecstasy.

Shirdi Diary . . . July 2015 (Part I)

Source: Google Images

The last time I took on to words to share my blissful experience of visiting Sai Dhaam Shirdi was almost a year back. Baba’s grace has been showering upon allowing me to visit and have his darshan every month…His grace, in that sense, is truly boundless. Consequently, every month on the third Friday (almost), the tiresome week signs off bidding good bye to the hard toiled days & opening its arms to welcome and embrace the weekend with a silent wish and hope that Baba’s divine vision continue to grace my trip with eternal bliss and contentment. As an afterthought, as I am reliving those moments of the month writing them down, I just remembered that I had reserved the full description of Sai Dhaam Shirdi to some other occasion and (strangely enough) that occasion is still waiting to see the dawn of the day (guess it’s high time to get rid of this procrastination stuff!!).

Movie Review: Bahubali: The Beginning

Bahubali Movie Review (Image Source: Google)

Movie Details. . .

Title: Bahubali: The Beginning

Director: S. S. Rajamouli

Music: M. M. Keeravani

Genre: Period

Running Time: 158 Minutes

Language: Hindi (Dubbed)

Rating: 4/5

Plot Summary. . .

The first installment of the two-part epic fantasy, Bahubali – The Beginning depicts the mythical tale of an ancient kingdom of Mahishmati in India. The kingdom which has been usurped with its legal heir displaced amidst the dramatic events which unfold somewhat as the story progresses.

The movie starts with Shiva (Prabhas) trying to climb a big waterfall whose unseen top always fascinates and entice him to win it over. Despite repeated failed attempts, his zest and zeal to conquer it goads him to re-attempt the unconquerable task until he succeeds. Following the vision and imprints of a mystical girl (Tamannah) whose mask accidently bumps upon him, Shiva finally manages to reach to the top of the waterfall defying all the obstacles and hurdles.

An Undying Dream. . .

Source: Flickr

***The battle between the heart and the mind continues – the former wants to nurture and care for innumerable desires that arise, the later being judgemental dismiss them all ***

The thoughts provoke

And heart reflects

On the million desires

That lay behest

Wrong Number

Source: Google Images

***Just for a light reading, a comical incident woven in verses***

Tring – Tring, Tring – Tring, rang the phone

Tring – Tring, Tring – Tring, again he moaned

Tring – Tring, Tring – Tring, mustering all the courage

Tring – Tring, Tring – Tring, louder he roared