“When you throw a party, do not call your rich neighbours and relatives and friends, but the poor, the lame, the dumb, the neglected, who cannot pay you back,” 

This was the sentence from the Gospel which I stumbled across years ago and set off on the journey of exploration in search of the poorest, the most neglected, the last man or woman and child; leaving the secure and risk-free portals of secondary and tertiary care hospitals and walking into the uncharted areas of community health and primary healthcare.

The first halt was in Karnataka in Chamarajnagar district, with the final destination being Kalahandi, Odisha. The fascination with Kalahandi started from the time I read P. Sainath’s ‘Everyone Loves A Good Draught’ years ago. This region, way beyond the back of the beyond beckoned me, although I had never been there and finally I came here in 2013. When none else understood or had the courage to walk with me, Sister Angelina, a senior lab technician joined me on the journey.