From keeping watch on one's spouse to digging the past of another's boyfriend, detective agencies in the country undertake an array of interesting tasks. Media Voice gets you the details of secret services these agencies offer in major cities like Pune, Kolkata and Chennai.

Kolkata
The barber and the priest, who were the unofficial matchmakers in the days of yore, have now been replaced by matrimonial agencies. The nosey neighbour and the local vegetable vendor don't give you the low-downon the boy's family or the girl's character anymore. Enter the era of private detective agencies that have mushroomed all over Kolkata and have successfully replaced the informers.

Inspite of the Right to Education Act, far too many children get left out of the school system as they have to contribute to the family kitty.

Madhabi Rai was enrolled in a primary school near Badauni in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. But she attended school only on days when her mother did not go to work. Madhabi had to look after her three siblings and roll hundreds of bidis and stack them in bundles from the raw materials her mother brought home every evening.

Date rape is a growing threat for urban girls and according to doctors and police officers, peaks during the academic year-end when there are many reasons to celebrate -- Valentine's Day, New Year, Christmas bashes and vacations when adolescents manage permission for sleepovers
By Annam Suresh