India, Oct. 27 -- The story began, as many in Gurugram do, with a drive to Gadoli near the Dwarka Expressway. It was meant to be a routine civic assignment, to report on broken roads and poor connectivity and residents' woes. But as the car jolted over potholes and dust thickened the air, it became clear that this was more than a story about infrastructure. It was about identity, about what Gurugram has become and what it has left behind.

On paper, Gurugram represents India's urban success. From the Delhi border, the city glitters with a skyline of glass towers, tech parks and luxury apartments that could belong to the most upscale parts of the world. Yet, a few kilometres in, the view changes sharply. Vacant plots turn into dumping yard...