I was seven years old when my mother died. Soon, my father also abandoned me. I was raised by myuncles. They were never nice to me. I was not good at studies. So my uncles sent me to a neighbouring home as a servant. Right from my childhood I had a reputation for being a bad girl. There was no one to teach me the rights and wrongs of life. I became a sex worker. I don’t know why I made that choice. May be when you are dirt poor, you are not used to asking why. I was still a teenager when I became a mother. I was thrown out of the family. An elderly woman, Karthyani, was kind enough to take me to her house. I gave birth to Manju there. She died of jaundice when she was nine. After my daughter died, I quit sex work. I went back to working as a servant. When I was working at a house in Kaladi, a bus driver wanted to marry me. I was not interested. But he relentlessly pursued me. After a long time, I agreed. We were together for eleven years. Then he became bored of me and went after another woman. And I walked out of that relationship.

From the series "HOME"