HAJI Mastan—a mere dockyard coolie in 1940 turned petty dock thief turned big-time smuggler—was the first of the real dons. His undisputed reign lasted for 20 years—from 1955 to 1975. Today's gangsters are the legacy of this one man. Dawood Ibrahim, then his trusted lieutenant, became his chosen successor. Haji Mastan, who ruled over the dock areas and Crawford Market, was on good terms with the other two major underworld names of his day—Karim Lala and Varadarajan Mudaliar.