Love, sex change and betrayal: The Mafatlal story

The old banyan trees caress the high boundary walls - as if in fond memory of the affection that one of the residents of the bungalow on Mumbai's Altamont Road had showered on them till his death six years ago.

Yogindra Mafatlal used to spend substantial time and money on their upkeep.

By almost hiding the bungalow with the help of their long branches, the trees also appear to be paying back their master in their own limited way. For, the low-profile promoter of what was once known as the Sungrace-Mafatlal group would never have wanted the world to know what's going on inside his 10,000 square feet second-floor apartment.

It's where his wife Madhuri, son Atulya and Atulya’s second wife, Sheetal, now live.

Another family member, Yogindra's daughter Aparna Mafatlal, joined them in 2005 after her divorce, and soon became Ajay, the 'eldest son' of the family after a sex-change operation at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital.

It made him a claimant to the property and family fortune - at least whatever was left of it.

The newest entrants into the apartment are Atulya's two children from his first wife, Payal, Mahrushka and Varun, whom he divorced in 1997.

The sordid family drama is being played out inside the bungalow, in police stations and courtrooms.

Image: The front view of Mumbai's famous Breach Candy Hospital where Aparna Mafatlal underwent the sex-change surgery.

Text: Shyamal Majumdar, Business Standard

Image Courtesy: Breach Candy Hospital