Illustration/ Ravi Jadhav

Poverty can strangle many a dream, but for women, its impact is ruefully more inhibiting. The story of Baby Halder began in an abusive household, and kept taking turns for the worse until she ended up as a domestic help in the Gurgaon home of Prabodh Kumar. A professor of anthropology and grandson of Hindi literary icon, Munshi Premchand, he introduced Halder to the world of literature when he noticed her interest in books as she dusted the shelves of his study. In 2006, she penned her autobiography in Bengali, which got translated in over 20 languages.