Changing Landscape

Sunday, 5pm

Gurgaon

While working on a Sunday isn't usually a matter of fun, this weekend it's not so bad. Tyler and I are working at his office, the 2nd floor of a mid-rise modern building in Gurgaon, in the northern state of Haryana. I'm catching up on work and we're working on a paper on microfinance, which is actually really fun.

We stop to get lunch nearby -- about 10 minutes on his motorcycle. Yesterday it's McDonald's inside a mall, followed by dessert across the way at TGIF's (YES, TGIF's!!), which blares American music from the late 1990s. Today it's Pizza Hut, across the street.

What's amazing about all this is that I can be describing pretty much Anywhere, USA. But we're in Gurgaon, which a few years ago was nothing but complete rural farm land. The Central government then set up a special economic zone (SEZ, ahem, pronounced "zed" here, thank you) -- over an area of 300 acres. With all the tax incentives, FDI poured in and development accelerated. On my way to a meeting in here earlier this summer, I passed about 20 Fortune 500 firms -- companies like GE, Unilever, and Microsoft are all here.

From the back of Tyler's bike, it all just looks like an alternate universe made up completely of dust, grey, and construction -- "a bit like the apocalypse", we always joke. But it really is amazing to think of how much the landscape of this small area has changed in the last decade -- and to think that this is what's happening across India, and what will continue happening as development ensues.

A few months ago, the Wall Street Journal published a photo essay: click here -- which talks about Indian farmers who have become millionaires overnight by selling their land to developers here. As the Journal talks about, in recent years tens of thousands of villagers across the country have sold fields to developers building malls and suburbs for the New India. One of the most poignant photos is of a villager who sold milk for $250 a month before selling his land for $180,000 to a developer. While some are happy with their fortunes, others regret selling their land in the first place. Another memorable photo is of a 75-year old villager at the local courthouse, asking how he can reclaim his land that his nephew stole and sold.

It's a complex story, and one happening all around the country as the New India gets built.