His dream project which met with rejection from several premier media institutions was funded initially in 1993 by The Times of India's Fellowship Aw a rd, followed by a series of other prestigious awards. While traversing the 80,000 kms covered in the two years (5,000 of which were done on foot) through eight districts in four states, his experiences ranged from the hilarious to the hurtful. It included travelling with migrant labourers 'AC first class' atop a train in Bihar; dropping khaki t rousers for jeans so that illicit arrack makers in Tamil Nadu did not mistake him to be the police; inventing excuses to skip a meal at the homes of the poorest people in the country or running against the fact that the pettiest of oppressors can overwhelm the Adivasi and Dalit widow. The common thread that ran through the multihued fabric of various states: "Whether in Tamil Nadu or Bihar, people will feed you no matter how little they have. And if you are not careful, you can end up eating someone out of his meal for the day," says Sainath.
Exercising caution didn't work at all times. A Zero-B glass remained an "ornament in packaging". Fevers had to be wished away, weight was lost, several types of dirty water had to be gulped down. "I enjoyed every moment of it," he avers.
