In the run-up to the 15th Lok Sabha elections in 2009, the Hindustan Times decided to take its readers up closeto grassroots India, and to share the lives and perspective of ordinary Indians-the people who really matter in an election.India Yatra was probably the biggest national reporting project of its kind. It spanned more than 23,000 kilometres and 117 constituencies-around one-fifth of all Lok Sabha constituencies. Fifty-six reporters and the same number of photographers were sent out on selected routes to explore different themes and convey the concerns that occupy thepeople. The exercise showed just how diverse India really is, and how startling its variety. So that, as Nandan Nilekani points out in his foreword, anyone who claims to 'know' India is either lying or foolish .

These reports present a picture of the country with remarkable clarity, without getting lost in the maze of its complexity As India negotiates this critical period of rising awareness and an intensifying struggle for access to the benefits of growth, India Yatra assumes a significance that goes beyond the immediate reality.