“Maria” was five years old when she lost both of her parents. A few years later her brother and sister committed suicide, leaving her with her older brother, a drug addict, who was in and out of jail. After spending time with an abusive aunt and a cousin who raped her, she was thrown out on the street.
Javed grew up in a tightly knit family in a small village outside of Delhi. As his family were in abject poverty and were unable to support 8 children he migrated to Delhi on the promise to help support once he would find a job. Sadly the only job he could find was changing tyres and that paid him a mere 20 rupees a day for a 14 hour day.
Shahid comes from a farming background. However his father was part of the local mafia and he was soon being pressured to joining, despite still being a child. At the tender age of 11, he had the presence of mind – far beyond that of a child of that age – to decide against a life of crime, which meant he had to leave
