 The stroke of the midnight hour when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. The Indian woman, an indomitable spirit. India has witnessed much prosperity and progress, graced by the indomitable human spirit, embodied in the lives and works of pioneers. Women who dared to make a choice and follow through with purposeful action. Since the Vedic age, we find evidence of women contributing to the growth of knowledge and society in India. Women such as Maithri, Gargi and Surya Savitri. Women in modern India stand not alone. They are the bearers of a long heritage of self-liberation and empowerment. We asked a multitude of women about empowerment. I'm working with Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network. We have 120 women artisans in Himachal Pradesh. We work with over 5,000 widows in 300 villages of Manipur and giving new skills to the Himachal women on hand looms. I'm the founder of a company which deals majorly in health and upkeep of women's life. In vocational unit we teach special children to do these kind of work. We have a very different concept of teaching through museums. By profession I'm a fashion designer and also into teaching so that when they are out from this project they are self-independent enough to take this as a livelihood in future. Women and the police are definitely making contribution to making police force in India a very, very credible force. The answers surprised us. They were as varied as the women. As heterogeneous as our country's socio-political milieu. And all the answers had to do with one simple aspect of their lives. The ability to make a conscious choice. Not about power, not about competition. In this feature we tell but a few stories of triumph. Birth and grit and determination and brilliance and dedication. Our champions are women who dared to strive for what they really wanted. And their tales of success, their struggles often from humble beginnings, remind us again and again that there is always a fire. Just needs a spark. Mumbai. Amti Mumbai. A city that never serves. Some say women do not drive railway engines. Surekha refused to believe them. The train was a machine. She learnt its mechanics. Surekha was responsible for thousands of lives each time she reported for duty. Not only does Surekha teach other women to follow in her footsteps she is an inspiration to women world over who decide to overcome the myth of a man's job. Hyderabad. Famous for its history. Palim and... Tessie Thomas. Otherwise proudly known as the Missile Woman of India. Having grown up in a rocket launch station her fascination for the guided systems knew no bounds. She followed her dream. What I feel is climb the mountain with the intention to see the world and learn more. One of the most important traits of success is Tessie's growth mindset. She learned from the short fuses of other projects and made it a point to perfect her craft even more until her creation reached new heights. We now move on to a very different world. A world where hunger is often acute. Dignity often lacking. Our next champions emerge from this world managed to shatter its stereotypes along the way. Bhopal. A capital city bathed in water both from natural and man-made land. Bhooribhai belongs to the Bheel tribe. The fierce people, the Bheel are renowned for their Pithora art and Goomer dance. But women were disallowed from drawing until Bhooribhai. She showed extraordinary courage and conviction in herself to take Pithora art to new heights. It is unthinkable that a woman without education or a prominent family can be worth millions. Kalpana Saroj, the CEO of Kamani tubes in Mumbai is such a woman. Valued at $115 million, she is probably the quintessential slum dog millionaire. She worked tirelessly while exorcising her acute financial skills. Tired of being a chambermaiden, she snatched the opportunities of becoming a queen in Akka Mahadevi's words. Ayya, if husk without grains is watered would it ever grow and bear fruit? If senseless people follow pieties would they ever lose their ignorance and be happy? These amazing stories take us back to the beginning from where we started this wonderful journey an indomitable spirit, the Indian woman.