Bangalore: India's boom economy

Every time you phone a company to complain and are put through to India, you will almost certainly be speaking to someone in Bangalore.

Most major IT firms have a base here in India's Silicon Valley which lies to the south of the city.

And as the country undergoes rapid economic development, it is being powered by cities like Bangalore.

Gridlock: Bangalore's population has soared - and the roads are struggling to keep up

While Britain struggled to get out of recession, in 2010 growth in India was running at an an eye-watering 10.4 per cent.

The country is undergoing a rapid urbanisation as people move from the countryside in the hunt for work.

Grim: Although Bangalore is growing economically, the lives of many are poor

In 2001, Bangalore's population was 5.7million - but just a decade later it had soared by 48 per cent to 8.4million.

It is easy to compare the dynamism of modern India with a city like New York which was booming in the 1920s.

But to use such a lazy comparison, is frankly, well, lazy.

And anyway, the Bangalore boom is happening far more quickly.

Despite the growth, this is a dusty, dirty city with absolutely staggering inequalities. The slums sit alongside the skyscrapers. Dishevelled cows meander down the roads munching away on the rubbish.

Entrepreneurs sell 'freshly' caught fish at the roadside which are covered in flies as they bake in the midday sun.

We visited Cubbon Park expecting a green metropolis in the middle of the city but discovered something that resembled a landfill site.

When I get home I'm going to write a letter to Keep Britain Tidy and tell them to stop their whinging.

If they think Britain is untidy they should try visiting the "green" parts of Bangalore.

The botanical gardens in Bangalore which were a lot nicer than Cubbon Park!

Here there is a complete lack of upward social mobility. The poor are born poor and expect to remain poor. It almost resembles Dickensian Britain, the inequalities feel that entrenched.

The owners of our guesthouse, in an affluent residential district with a bookshop, told us proudly that Starbucks - that emblem of western decadence and tax avoidance - will be coming to Bangalore shortly.

Grim manual labour

Western brands contrast sharply with the basic but happy lives of the poorest.

By 2016 the city should have a much-needed Metro (subject to delays) which will relieve some of the pressure on the clogged roads. But at a stroke it will put a significant chunk of the city's 80,000 rickshaw drivers out of business.

Tragically the pace of growth and development here is so fast that I don't think anyone will stop to care.

It's a booming city yes, but the poorest are being completely forgotten in the transformation.