This too shall pass,” smiles Sheetal Jain with rapid gesticulations. “This has become my motto since the pilgrimage to Spain. It did begin on a tumultuous and painful note, but ended in mountains of personal discoveries.” Her excitement is palpable through the laptop screen on a weekday afternoon.

 Daughter of a sex worker, Jain is a professional drummer and social activist. Born and raised in the red-light district of Kamathipura for the first 12 years of her life, Jain’s mother was a bar dancer and her maternal grandmother was trafficked from Karnataka to be sold to the brothel there. Abused by her step-father whose surname she wants to get rid of, Jain was thrown out of the house by her druggie mother when she was not even a teen. She found her purpose after coming in contact with various NGOs while  growing up.