And if she managed to learn to handle files, Priya Vispute, with the accounts department, overcame her fear of numbers. “I used to do social work. I have
never dealt with numbers and files recording payrolls for railway workers. But the situation forced me to do so,” says Vispute.
For most of them, the transition from home-maker to sole bread-winner was painful. But like Vispute, who wants to go back to social work and build a home for the aged, they hope for a better life for their children, despite the loss.