Amy Waldman, of the New York Times, recently wrote a series of four articles about the socio-cultural impact of highways and the burgeoning number of cars.
Here are the links:
- Updated 12/7 All Roads Lead to Cities, Transforming India – focuses on urban migration
- Updated 12/6 On India’s Roads, Cargo and a Deadly Passenger – Talks about AIDS
- In Today’s India, Status Comes With Four Wheels
- Mile by Mile, India Paves a Smoother Road to Its Future
The articles include interactive features with audio commentary and slide shows. While the photographs are well shot, Waldman’s hurried narration leaves much to be desired.
Brief comments and caveats: Waldman puts far too much emphasis on the posited transformative cultural power of both the highways and the increasing number of cars. Waldman repeatedly paints the “old India” in stereotypical terms (like the land of dharma etc.) and then talks about the “transformation” that these new things are wrecking on the cultural landscape of India.