Rattan Khatri came to Mumbai from Karachi after Partition, and in the 1970s and 1980s built up a legendary empire of gambling dreams that for many years had large parts of the country in its thrall every night. He was seen often at the Mahalaxmi racecourse dressed in his usual attire: white kurta pyjama with a black bandana tied around his forehead. Khatri, who would later come to be known as the “Matka King” of Mumbai, died in his South Mumbai home last Saturday (May 9), after having suffered a brain stroke recently.įor a man who for decades carried the fate and hopes of tens of thousands of people in his famous ‘matkas’, Khatri died in relative anonymity.Īpparently, until the very end, he had a soft corner for games of chance. This story - related by journalist and writer Vivek Agarwal, who covered Mumbai’s matka scene for many years, and who says he heard it from one of the journalists who went with Khatri to Zaveri Bazaar that day nearly 60 years ago - is one of the many, apocryphal or otherwise, tales told about Mumbai’s famous “matka”, a betting game a bit like Tambola, with people placing bets on certain numbers as the winning ones that would be drawn from a ‘matka’ at the close of the day’s books. Khatri then made an announcement: “ Juay ke is naye silsile ka naam ‘matka’ hoga (This form of gambling will henceforth be called ‘matka’).” These card numbers were declared as the lucky numbers for the day.

Indian satta matka