How does one explain Mumbai being perhaps the safest city for women in India (relatively speaking, of course)? That it has better people? I'm tempted to agree. But that's still a subjective, moot point. I guess one way to sense what makes this sprawling metropolis slightly harmless is that it is still small in geographical size, housing millions, who never sleep, because they simply don't have space to. As a result, no corner is ever bereft of whistleblowers — making crimes against women (or men, for that matter), a tougher act to pull off, without being noticed by many, at any given time of day (or night).

This is perhaps the same reason a lot of crimes, in the indoors, can take place with much ease, given that people are packed into noisy drawers, over drawers. Each of which, if you look closely enough, reveal several skeletons in some crevice or the other of the city's multi-storeyed cupboards. This is how Mumbai's fat underbelly effectively spreads out, when it comes to prostitution, in particular. The cabbie or auto-rickshaw guy operates as a resourceful pimp of the night, guiding customers toward random rooms, in busy by-lanes, and tall skyscrapers, neatly ensconced between regular homes in posh neighbourhoods, that open up to reveal full-on brothels, promising momentary love for the price of instant sex.