Shekhar Kapur's blog | Changemakers

We are Adapting by Creating Two Societies . . .
2008-07-10 11:25:13

A cycle is starting in rural areas where either water tables go down and there is drought, or rivers flood. Those that can’t afford water in rural areas must walk a long time to get it. So people are moving into cities, creating megacities.

Water: Escalating from Topic of Conversation to Social Unrest Trigger
2008-07-03 18:47:23

Everybody’s becoming water conscious now. I hear about the big drought in Australia from friends there. I hear about the problems of water in California. But you haven't been touched to any large degree in the West.

India's Silicon Valley Goes Dry
2008-07-03 14:54:18

The most surprising thing that’s going to happen in India is when Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley, goes dry. Bangalore is known all over the world as India’s high tech city. It’s now impossible to get a house or a hotel room in Bangalore.

Modern India "Edge City" Facing Water Crisis
2008-06-30 11:25:54

Gurgaon is India’s most modern, new high-tech satellite city. It’s near Delhi and has India’s largest mall—it’s going to be the largest mall in Asia. It’s the new center of Delhi, where the big mall centers are, and where everybody’s moving.

City of the Future: a City in the Sky?
2008-06-16 05:42:22

I just heard the other day that one of the most famous businessmen is now building a house in Mumbai that is 27 stories high, and I said, “How appropriate! One man has a house that has a helipad at the top.” He just lives there and hops in his helicopter from one place to another. You effectively don’t live in the city.

Battle for Water in Mumbai's Richest Neighborhood
2008-05-30 14:09:56

My assistant went out and shot a little video in Colaba (below), which is one of the main bustling places in Mumbai. I asked him to go and shoot there. There’s no water there.

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Will We Ever Learn?
2008-05-30 14:09:56

I was reading William Dalrymple’s book, “The Age of the Kali.” Pages 165 to 173 are devoted to Bangalore, and I quote: “The government of Karnataka, which has proved itself adept at attracting foreign investment, soon showed itself to be wholly unable to cope with the massive expansion that it was able to generate.

Living with Water Rationing
2008-05-27 10:48:01

An earlier blog post from last summer when the Mysore region was suffering from drought: We get water once in every 2 days. And we live in one of the “righter” side of the Cauvery areas—not posh, but getting there.

How Do You Have Community Water?
2008-05-23 14:17:22

Originally water controlled the land, development, and the population—how many people could live there. But that’s no longer happening. And in a very mythic way, water is hitting back and saying, “OK, well this is what’s going to happen.”

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The Contradiction Really Struck Me
2008-05-21 11:44:12

I went to see a friend of mine one day. He lives in Malabar Hill in Mumbai on the 25th floor of this swanky apartment. He was having a shower and I waited for maybe 45 minutes. I could hear him singing and in the shower, and eventually I got bored and left.

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