Gangubai ties rakhi to Karim Lala

Gangubai Kathiawadi's decision to tie a rakhi on Karim Lala's wrist is the single most transformative act of her early life in Kamathipura, the moment that converted a threatened young sex worker into the rakhi sister of one of south Mumbai's most feared ganglords. The ceremony, performed in the aftermath of a brutal assault, did not merely secure her personal safety; it rewired the entire social hierarchy of the red-light district, placing her on a pedestal where even her madam, Sheela, dared not take advantage of her. It was the foundational act upon which Gangubai built her subsequent career as a brothel madam, a political force, and eventually a figure who would command the attention of the Prime Minister of India.

The Pathan Ganglord and the Young Woman's Gambit

Karim Lala was one of the three founding titans of the Mumbai underworld, a Pathan ganglord whose formidable reputation was built alongside Haji Mastan and Vardharajan Mudaliar. Together, the trio had formed one of the most formidable gangs in Mumbai, amassing millions from smuggling gold, silver ingots, and electronic goods. By the time of Gangubai's arrival, Lala's power was such that his word was law in the lanes of south Mumbai, and his group's reach extended into the very brothels of Kamathipura. It was into this world that Gangubai, a young woman brought to the district and forced into prostitution, had been thrust, and it was from this world that she sought an escape.

The immediate catalyst for the rakhi ceremony was an act of horrific violence. Gangubai had been brutally assaulted by Shaukat Khan, a Pathan who allegedly belonged to Karim Lala's own group. The scars from this beating were so horrific that when Karim Lala saw them, he was aghast at the cruelty inflicted on her. He put his head down, visibly shaken by the brutality. In that moment of shared horror, Lala offered her a form of protection, telling her to send him a message the next time Khan came to her, promising to personally deal with the man. He told her she could go, a dismissal that would have ended the encounter for most, but Gangubai saw an opportunity.

The Ceremony: From Mistress to Sister

Instead of leaving, Gangubai smiled and removed a small thread from her purse. She addressed him as 'Karim bhai' and explained that it had been years since she had tied a rakhi for anyone, because ever since she was brought to Kamathipura, she had never felt safe with any man. She told him that by offering her protection, he had reinstilled her faith in brotherhood. The Pathan ganglord was amazed at her impudence. Here was a young woman who, just a few minutes earlier, had said she was ready to be his mistress, now telling him she wanted to make him her brother. The audacity of the pivot was stunning, and it worked. He smiled, brought his hand forward, and allowed her to tie the thread, giving his word that from that moment on, she was his sister. He then took a sweet from the snacks on the plate and fed her, a gesture of familial affection that left Gangubai elated.

The ceremony was a masterstroke of social navigation. Gangubai had transformed a relationship of potential sexual subjugation into one of kinship and protection. By invoking the sacred bond of rakhi, she had placed herself outside the realm of sexual transaction and into the realm of family, a status that carried with it the full weight of Karim Lala's honour. The ganglord's subsequent actions proved the sincerity of his vow. He planted a mole right outside Sheela's brothel in Kamathipura, a young man who kept a check on all the customers who visited Gangubai on a daily basis. For days, there was no sign of Shaukat Khan, and Gangubai was disappointed, hoping he would come so Karim Lala could put him in his place.

The Punishment of Shaukat Khan

When Shaukat Khan finally did return, the confrontation was swift and brutal. Angry at another attempt to stall him in the brothel, Khan slapped Gangubai and got up, little realising he would be confronted by none other than Karim Lala himself. Gangubai rushed to cover herself with a sheet as Khan's jaw dropped when he saw Lala and two other Pathans at the door with hockey sticks in their hands. He hurriedly put on his trousers and looked for an escape, but Karim Lala dragged him out of the brothel and began beating him mercilessly with the hockey stick. Khan tried to stop him and spoke to him in desperation in Pashtoon, accusing Karim Lala of going against his own race for a whore. This further angered Karim Lala, who kicked him hard in the stomach and knocked Khan on the head with the stick, thundering, 'Don't you dare call yourself a Pathan!'

When Karim Lala was satisfied that he had broken enough bones to render Khan an invalid for weeks, he stopped and made a public announcement that echoed through Kamathipura: 'Gangu is my rakhi sister. The next time anyone treats her badly, I will kill them.' The warning was not merely for Shaukat Khan; it was for everyone in the district. The beating served as a spectacular display of the protection Gangubai now commanded, and the message was received loud and clear.

The Transformation of Gangubai's World

From that moment, things changed irrevocably for Gangubai. People in Kamathipura started treating her differently, and her connection with the most feared gangster in south Mumbai put her on another pedestal altogether. Nobody, not even Sheela, dared to take advantage of her. An entirely new world opened up to her. Under the tutelage of her rakhi brother, she began to develop strong ties with the Nagpada police and the underworld, connections that would prove invaluable in her later career. When Sheela suddenly passed away some time later, people coaxed Gangubai to stand for the customary local gharwali elections. She immediately agreed, hoping this would put paid to her job as a prostitute, and it came as no surprise when she won the election and went on to become a brothel madam at a very young age.

The rakhi ceremony thus stands as the hinge point of Gangubai's life, the act that separated her from the ranks of ordinary sex workers and set her on the path to becoming the 'Queen of Kamathipura'. It was a demonstration of the shrewd, boundary-pushing intelligence that the book's author identifies as characteristic of the women criminals she profiles. These women, the author insists, were not blank slates written upon by dangerous male mafia members; they were active agents who pushed the boundaries of dominant moral codes. Gangubai's rakhi was precisely such an act of agency, a re-framing of a relationship with a powerful man that allowed her to transcend her poverty and limitations. The thread she tied was not just a symbol of brotherhood; it was a lifeline that she had engineered for herself, and it would carry her to heights no other brothel madam of her time would reach, including a historic appointment with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.