INDIA: The Story of Hunger and Hope

Religious: Dozens of people gathering for Annakut festival in Kolkata, India. They eagerly collect prepared rice - an offering of the Hindu God Lord Krishna, seen showering from above - to ensure food safety for the rest of the year.

Suffering: Young child helping his father to transport a pile of crops down a road in New Delhi, India.

Heart-wrenching: This photo of Indian residents collecting bread from a food distribution service. It conveys the message that how poverty still prevails in India. The intense looks in the eyes of the person conveys it all’.

Poverty Stricken: A man selling coconuts alongside his son in the village of Joypur in Bengal, India.

VITAL STATS OF INDIA As of 2010,more than 37% of India's Population of 1.35 billion(456 million Indians according to

World Bank) live below the poverty line. The poverty line is marked at Rs.21.6 ($0.36) for urban areas and Rs14,4($0.24) for rural areas.

Recent stats point to over 217.5 million under-nourished people in India which is highest for any country in the world.

Only 31% of the total population has proper access to Sanitation in 2008. 128 million people have no proper source for drinking water.

Dharavi, Asia’s second largest slums and one of the largest slums in the world is located in Central Mumbai. It houses a population of 600,000 to 1 million people in 175 hectares or 0.67 sq miles. Rents are as low as $4 a month and there was one toilet per 1,440 residents.