Reviews & Musings

A city is very much an entity and a complex one at that. It assumes for itself the life of any character(s) that identify with those of its elements given prime recognition. For instance, if the underbelly of a city is given prominence in a book, then the city gets to be seen as a villain. Where beaches, parks, gardens and serene parts of a city are central to the setting and plot of a story, then the city becomes romantic. In any book, the city assumes an entity in its own right. And even when this is not spelt out, but the reader knows. They always know. And if they don’t, there are some others who take note, and these ones end up wondering why their city is represented in a pleasing or displeasing manner; and then they contemplate whether to despise the author, or the book, or both. 

  Maybe you don’t like that I sold drugs. You may wonder why I came all the way from Nigeria to another man’s country to do illegal things. If someone had told me that I will be selling drugs when I came to India, believe me, I myself wouldn’t believe that person. And if the person had told me that selling drugs would be the only option for survival for me in India, I would never have come to India. You see, many of us you see are very good people back home in Nigeria. We come from respectable families. So many of us have invested time and resources in education. 

Spotlight: The Nigerian Mafia- Mumbai by Onyeka Nwelue Mumbai, the City That Never Sleeps Ek ungli kharab hai toh sab mat kaato – that is to say, don’t chop off all fingers if just one of them is rotten.