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She fell in love with Ramnik Lal, her father’s accountant, during her college years when she was 16 years old. Ganga followed him from Kathiawad to Mumbai, where they planned to settle down and start a new life together.
Ganga and Ramnik Lal got married after leaving their home and settling in Mumbai. However, Ramnik then tricked her and sold her for Rs. 500 to a brothel. Ganga was destroyed by this treachery, but her new life as Gangubai began. She became a prostitute and moved to Mumbai’s red-light district.
According to Gangubai’s chapter in Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai,’ Gangubai was one of the most prominent names in Mumbai’s largest red light district, known as ‘Kamathipura.’ Her clients included a number of underworld mafia figures.
Karim Lala, along with Haji Mastan and Varadarajan, was one of the city’s most important Mafia figures in the 1960s, and he used to rule the underground. Karim also ruled over the red light district of Kamathipura.
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Gangubai went to one of the most powerful Mafia Don Karim Lala to seek justice in one of the events. According to the book, she was raped by a member of Karim’s group, and she appealed to him for justice.
Later, Karim Lala and Gangu’s relationship took a new turn when Gangu made him her brother by tying the rakhi around his wrist. Karim Lala also treated Gangu like a sister, handing over the reigns of Kamathipura to his sister Gangubai, who became known as one of Mumbai’s “Mafia Queens.”
Gangubai, who was also a victim of the sex trade, rose through the ranks of Mumbai’s Kamathipura to become a powerful and feared procurer.
Gangubai ruled Kamathipura after forming an alliance with Karim Lala, yet she never used her position to exploit young girls and women or compel them into prostitution. Despite the difficulties she had encountered in her life, she was resolved to strive for the improvement of all sex workers. She was a god-like figure for sex workers and orphans.
Despite the fact that she managed a brothel, she never forced anyone to work or urged them to work against their will. All the ladies and children in the Kamathipura were her children, and she looked after them as if they were her own.
Gangubai’s reign grew stronger over time, and she is famous for her sarees with broad golden borders. She was also spotted with a large red bindi on her brow.
She was the sister of Karim Lala, the undisputed ruler of the prostitute business, and she had a good fortune, owning a Bentley.
Her great strength was constantly focused on the betterment of sex workers and orphan children, and she was a staunch advocate for the rights of women trafficked into prostitution.
When Gangubai met Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, he supported her plan to safeguard red light hotspots after admiring her sagacity.