The scholar who grew up in Mumbai's red light area.......

Born in Mumbai's infamous red-light district, Shweta Katti has won a scholarship to the Bard College, New York. This is her story.

Shweta Katti is warming up to the media attention she's been receiving lately. She has had a long day but has agreed to meet me at a coffee shop for what must have been the nth interview she's giving in the last 48 hours.

It is close to 10 in the night. Katti isn't here yet; though the two young ladies who have all but adopted the 18-year-old are sitting in a corner, having a pizza.

Robin Chaurasiya, an American of Indian origin, and Trina Talukdar, along with Chaurasiya's partner Katie Pollom, started Kranti, a non-governmental organisation that works towards the rehabilitation of girls from Mumbai's red-light area.

Shweta Katti is one of them.

Katti was introduced to Kranti when she was looking for a place to study for her Class 12 exams. Over the year and half since she's been with them, she has become the face of the NGO, travelling around the country, addressing conferences and promoting Kranti.

More recently, the 18-year-old was listed by Newsweek as one of the 25 under-25 women in the world to watch out for. The list includes women like Malala Yousafzai, who have battled adversity to become symbols of resistance.

This, however, is just one of the reasons why Katti has found herself at the centre of media attention over the last few days. The other is that she has only just heard from New York's Bard College, who have accepted her as a student for the coming semester.

They've offered her a $30,000 scholarship that covers her tuition fees for the year, as well as half her accommodation cost. If Chaurasiya is to be believed, this would make Katti the first girl from Mumbai's red-light district to travel to the United States for education.

She will begin her term at Bard in September this year.