Deepak Panday is working on his second book.
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Deepak Panday, a former gangster-turned-author, will release Kings of Durban Part II: How The Town was Won, on July 7, continuing his exploration of Durban's gang history and its impact on communities.
The book is a sequel to The Kings of Durban, which released in 2017. That book documented the rise and fall of gangs in Durban from the 1940s to the 1950s, blending historical research with the author's lived experiences.
Panday, the youngest of four children, was raised in "gang-infested neighbourhoods", including Phoenix, Chatsworth, Newlands East and West, Wentworth, Springtown and Overport, which he said shaped his early life and drew him into the underworld. He became fascinated with the “Indian Mafia” legacy in Durban, which had ripple effects across generations.
A tragic shooting of a close friend in 2005 became a turning point. He soon turned to rap music and storytelling as tools to distance himself from crime, and began researching and writing about Durban’s gang wars, aiming to document their history and impact on communities.
Kings of Durban Part II: How The Town was Won is set from the 1960s to the 1980s. It recounts the "bloody gang wars" of Durban Central, better known as "Town" at the time. The story will be told through the accounts of real-life gang leaders and their members whom Panday met and interviewed. They are from gangs, including the Young Americans, Young Victorians, Young Generations and Queens Brigade's.
The story meanders one through the experiences of a relentless cop working tirelessly to put mobsters away, a brave news reporter who risks his life to bring the story to his readers, and the gangsters of that time period. It is about the struggle for power, tenacity, underworld dealings, justice, family and love, and is not devoid of arch-rivals that are hungry for vengeance, driven by jealousy, greed and a hunger for power.
Panday is also working on a documentary.