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The Buffalo and the Bentley

Ben Sutherland Ben Sutherland | 12:46 UK time, Tuesday, 6 December 2011

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This blog post was written by Lyse Doucet in Gurgaon and posted by me.

In ancient Hindu Mythology, it's the Village of the Guru in the epic of Mahabharata.


In the modern epic that's the new India, Gurgaon is the city growing so fast, no one can keep pace.


From a farming village that was a speck on the map two decades ago, Gurgaon is also known as the "City of Malls." Nearly thirty gleaming shopping centres, (who can keep count?) along with soaring office towers, and gated residential communities, keep rising from the fields.

What does this booming city in the southern suburbs of New Delhi, tell us about India today? World Have Your Say is in Gurgaon today to find out.

We'll be hearing from Indians who moved to Gurgaon to live the high rise dream complete with swimming pools and golf courses.

But we'll also hear from residents and officials who complain about a city with no public transport, no city wide sewage system or garbage collection.

Gurgaon has not developed because of India's famously bureaucratic state. It's risen in spite of it. And the private sector has had to move in to fill the gaps - providing generators for electricity, wanter tankers, cars to ferry the workers.

Can a city become a shining civic star without reliable public services, urban planning and infrastructure? Can this Asian giant, poised to become the world's third largest economy in 15 years, surge forward like this?

And what about the social costs? Some Gurgaon farmers, who've sold their land, became millionaires overnight. They still hold on to their buffalo while holding fast to the wheel of their new Bentley.

This is India today. 1.2 billion people strong, the world's biggest democracy - moving ahead at breathtaking speed - held back by stubborn poverty, corruption, and inequality.

I've been coming to India for more than two decades but this is my first trip in a few years. I've been marvelling at New Delhi's sleek new airport, its swish Metro system, and the proliferation of well known global brands in everything from coffee to clothing.

But this is also still the India of old, with its tangle of rules and regulations.

Gurgaon is a microcosm of this nation's great wealth and weaknesses.

So, what's working and whats not? Take a trip with World Have Your Say to hear how one city is racing ahead, a magnet for investment and ingenuity.

Join us on World Have Your Say at 1800G/2230 India time.

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