India, March 8 -- By any measure, Kamala Devi has lived a difficult life.

Born in one of India's poorest regions, in northern Bihar, the 45-year-old woman spent her youth tending to her children, then followed her labourer husband to Delhi, where she found work as domestic help, to add to the family income.

Her days are a long cycle of trudging from one house to another. Nights are restive and disturbed in the cubbyhole they call home.

Yet, no hardship prepared her for the extraordinary journey in the summer of 2020, as the country shut down at four hours' notice in the face of a once-in-a-century pandemic.

A still-mystery virus was stalking the populace. The government was sounding repeated warnings to people to stay home. But the fe...