Nilofar Amin, 28, from Gujarat, has been under self-imposed house arrest for years. That was the only way to spare herself the ridicule she faced whenever she went out. Reason: Amin suffers from a rare skin disease since birth that makes it appear as if the left side of her face has melted off; and, to make matters worse, this has led to development of a tumour there.

She has undergone treatment at several hospitals in Mumbai over the last decade, to no avail. For the first time in a long while, she's finally got some hope of a cure, for which she is on her way to Chennai to undergo skin grafting.