Gurgaon, India

Delhi is one of those global mega-cities that pushes most of the boundaries of comprehension of what a city can be. Although this is my fourth visit to Delhi, it is my first of any substance or duration. One of the most striking things is the endless pulse of flowing traffic. This is not the kind of "flow" that one sees in those time-lapsed photos of Los Angeles freeways that show seemingly endless neat rows of headlights and taillights flowing down a broad freeway. It is a much more syncopated and unstructured dance of modern cars, Indian-made Ambassador taxis and government cars, tuk-tuks, motorbikes, bicycles, pedestrians, and the occasional cow, camel, or temple elephant. The actual infrastructure on which this flow happens may not look all that much different from Los Angeles after the infrastructure boom of recent years, but the pace and rhythm of that flow is a world away. 

The new Gurgaon (from wikipedia)

We spent most of yesterday in meetings in the city of Gurgaon, which adjoins the city of Delhi in the neighboring state of Haryana. Located 35 kilometers from central Delhi, it was once a free-standing small town in Haryana state. The endless spread of the megacity of Delhi has engulfed it, leading to population growth from about 800,000 in 2001 to over 1.5 million today (in a Delhi metropolitan area of 22 million). The presence of Indira Gandhi International Airport, one of the busiest in Asia, between Delhi and Gurgaon, has led to the city becoming a hub for any number of multinational corporations. The night sky over Gurgaon is lit by gleaming names of almost any multi-national you can think of on the tops of an ever-growing number of skyscrapers. Because of the presence of so many offices and the relatively breezier climate outside of Delhi, Gurgaon has become the home of many of the wealthiest and most powerful of India. Apartments in prime locations regularly start at around US$300k. 

Yet a drive down the main roadways of Gurgaon shows another India as well. Along one street, a row of small mud-huts lined the road. Women cooked over open fires and sold vegetables, while others were carrying water from some distant source. A small, informal market in all manner of goods existed in a tangle of tables, and bullock carts. Behind this rose multiple brand new glass towers, gated and guarded, with well-dressed Indian ladies and men coming and going. A world of contrasts indeed. 

Contrasts in Gurgaon