Jonathan Kaminsky, Special to The Chronicle
Sunday, May 7, 2006

(05-07) 04:00 PDT Bangalore, India — Three years ago, Shwetal Mehta moved from Cary, N.C., to lead the expansion of a small software services company into this sprawling, low-slung city in southern India, famous as the back office to the world.

The managing director of Cyberwerx, who is Indian-born and U.S.-bred, does not regret coming here. But the drawbacks are considerable.

For one, the power at his downtown office goes out at least twice a day, necessitating a costly backup generator. And because of Bangalore’s choked, narrow roads, he says, his 3-mile commute to work, which used to take 10 minutes, now pushes an hour each way.

Read the rest of the story here.

A trio of documentary students traveled to India for two weeks in March 2006 as part of the spring semester’s Covering India course to produce long-form television pieces connected in one way or another with India’s economic development. The results:

“Pound of Flesh,” by Samantha Grant, travels into the desperate back alleys of Southern India for a hard look at the illegal kidney trade.

“Heart of Mumbai,” by Charlotte Buchen, takes a long look at controversial plans to redevelop Dharavi in Bombay, Asia’s largest slum.

“Captain Lakshmi,” by Singeli Agnew, profiles a 92-year-old doctor and feminist rabble rouser who is one of the most vivid living symbols of India’s fight for independence.

Rough cuts of all three pieces are available to watch here on the journalism school’s CNS TV site.