INDIA. Gaya, Bihar. 1999. Bihar is India's poorest state. Not far from Bodh Gaya, on of Buddhism's holiest places, I came across a spot where thousands of workers were carrying rocks for pulverization by a machine to produce stones for construction use. Women work more than ten hours a day to earn only forty rupees (about one dollar). Even at that pay rate, the women said they felt lucky to have work.