Malathi Rai, 45, is an HR professional who works in Saki Naka, Andheri East. During her lunch hour, she also teaches spoken English to a student from Shishu Vikas Secondary School, Kandivli, with the help of Skype. An inconspicuous school in Kandivli, with about 280 students from the economically disadvantaged strata of society, Rai had a casual interaction with the children at a day spent in the school, as part of a company CSR activity. When she asked the students, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

A 12-year-old girl answered, "Miss, I want to talk English like you." Rai recalls, "The sentence reverberated in my head as I drove back to work. It was such an innocent statement and yet so poignantly profound. A desire to learn a language that would open the doors of opportunity for her and help her climb up a few steps from where she found herself and her family. It seemed so reasonable."