For decades the colorful, swaggering town of Vijayawada has set its sights elsewhere, dreaming of escape, of leaving, of the US. But now it’s going to be India's newest state capital -- a proposed ultramodern, ultra-expensive neoliberal Shangri-La -- and a rush of new money is eagerly flooding the old city. And for all the enthusiasm about skyrocketing land prices and "World Class" skyscrapers, few people express interest in actually living in the new capital. Is this model of development a fever dream? Winner of the 2016 Mumbai Press Club's RedInk Award for Politics.