The Dalit Woman who became a Real-Life 'Slumdog Millionaire'

She was then married off at 12 to a laborer from Mumbai at the persistence of an uncle who considered girls "little packets of poison." He told her father "Your daughter's an ugly, dark-skinned kid. If someone from Mumbai is willing, you'd darned well better marry her off."

Her torture didn’t end and she was then beaten up by her husband, his alcoholic brother and wife. Sometimes her brother-in-law would yell saying - Whom did her mom sleep with to produce this donkey? She said "All my dreams were shattered. It was hell."

But her father rescued her after six months. The village detested her and she ended up drinking rat poison and fell into coma. Later, villagers concluded that she must have a guilty conscience. Saroj said "I realized, whether I live or die, I'll get blamed. So I might as well go for it."

She lobbied to return to Mumbai, threatening to try suicide again when her family refused. Once she was there, she got a job removing fur from finished garments at a hosiery company for 15 cents a day. In lunch breaks she practiced on the sewing machines and became a tailor.

Saroj said "It was the first happiness in 15 years. I've earned millions. But that initial $5 was the most satisfying," as reported by LA Times.

When Kalpana was in her early twenties, her sister became ill and died as they couldn't afford a hospital. To this she said "I realized, if it's all about money, I need to control it."