The highway
Amy Waldman wrote a brilliant series of 4 essays on the changing social and economic conditions in India. The series is anchored around the subject of the national superhighway ('Golden Quadrilateral') that India has been building. These are very well-written and well-researched.
Here are the individual links to the essays (courtsy Aaron Swartz) in case the series eventually goes behind the TimesSelect wall.
Mile by Mile, India Paves a Smoother Road to Its Future
In Today's India, Status Comes With Four Wheels
On India's Roads, Cargo and a Deadly Passenger
All Roads Lead to Cities, Transforming India
Here is the Q&A with Amy Waldman.