My account of these women – Salma also known as Aapa,Kajol, Annu, Rani – and of several others I have seen, interacted with and understood and am still in the process of understanding, is not a work of fiction. Rather, it is based on real-life human beings and the experiences I had while serving as Postmaster General of Mumbai, and while initiating a socio-financial inclusion project in Kamathipura– the red-light district in Mumbai – a name that sent shame down the spine of many a respectable woman.