The Suketu Effect: Bombay in the News

Last week, Somini Sengupta had a piece in the Times on the question of what will happen with the redevelopment of Bombay's mill lands. They were being rapidly developed, but some groups have been fighting the process.

Also, today, there is a piece in Slate on everyday life in Dharavi.

I can't help but wonder about this sudden interest in Bombay from the New York-based media. Might it have something to do with reporters reading Maximum City? Both the redevelopment question and the sprawling slums are discussed in the book...

Incidentally, Somini Sengupta also recently had a piece on the small boom in Pakistan's economy since 9/11 (6.4 percent growth last year, and projected 8 percent growth this year). Some of it is 9/11 related investment, but much of the growth comes from better handling of economic policy. This, I must say, came as a surprise to me.