The following was written by President Brodhead:

Each day, a whole new India–or a new and old one. Yesterday started with an address on higher education to a group of leaders in that field, followed by an hour of lively give and take. They clearly recognize the centrality of trained intelligence to driving economic development and addressing the problems that accompany development, in health, environment and other fields. Each system has its own resources and its own challenges in adapting to these needs. I thought people were happy to learn of Duke’s thinking–and our two alums on the platform with me, Amit Mitra, Duke PhD in economics, and Shivinder Singh, Duke MBA, were outstanding ambassadors for our university. I just brag about Duke; they made it sound like the pinnacle of earthly happiness!

In afternoon, we headed south to the great modern development zone of Delhi, called Gurgaon. New Delhi is low and green, with stately boulevards and coherent architecture of a self-conscious capital city. (It was built to be the capital of British India but has functioned perfectly as capital of independent India.) Gurgaon, by contrast, is miles of gleaming modern new construction, with every multinational corporation in residence, the whole thing seeming to spring out of the ground as you watch. The New New Delhi, I call it in my mind. Then we went a little south and east onto back roads and found ourselves in fields and rural villages where little must have changed since the middle ages (except the motor scooters). You’d have to be here a lot longer than I’ll be able to stay to understand how the many Indias coexist side by side. Absolutely fascinating, every minute of this day.