Debeshi Gooptu

Gurgaon Diaries: Life, Work and Play in Drona's Village Debeshi Gooptu

Modern-day Gurgaon was Guru Dronacharya's village, a gift from the Pandavas and Kauravas for training them in military arts. While the legends of the mythical village are woven around the warrior mystic, the Millennium City, as it stands today, owes its rapid growth to globalization, outsourcing and the BPO boom. From swanky malls and skyscrapers to pot-hole-ridden roads where gleaming Mercs vie for space with rickety rickshaws; from voluptuous North Indian aunties and brawny local men to rotund Bengali mashimas; from designer stores and Starbucks coffee to roadside vans peddling chole bhature; Drona's village is riddled with contradictions, both hilarious and poignant, irreverent and bittersweet. Gurgaon Diaries is a humorous peek at the workings of this modern-day village and how the Millennium City is a paradox in itself.