Cities and Their People - Delhi

soulfood

An interesting read for anyone interested in Delhi from IndianExpress.com:

Poverty and pride, side by side

There’s a growing international consensus that the world’s megacities must be places of diversity. Yet the South Delhi elite who sweep past in air-conditioned cars ignore what lies beyond their gated colonies

Excerpt:

Apart from the tiny percentage of the population with roots in Old Delhi, the city commands very little loyalty from its citizens. As a migrant to Delhi, I am struck by how little the English-speaking elite knows of its own city. One member of that elite told me recently that there was hardly any poverty in Delhi, and very few slums; another didn’t realise that the city had a Metro; someone else had never, knowingly, crossed the river, and didn’t know where it was. Is there any explanation for this ignorance? It is true that the Metro does not yet service the affluent south of the city; that the slums of Delhi are better hidden than those of Kolkata and Mumbai; and that the Jamuna is a foul-smelling sewer. But there is something deeper at work here.

Complete story

beach

Also in Delhi people use their own cars as if it belongs to someone else. Count the number of scratches on the same year old cars of Delhi & Mumbai.

Some how Delhi has this expansive feel compared to other Indian cities. May be because it has got enough land around to expand and go wider, unlike Mumbai.

Delhi has more number of vehicles than all other Indian metros combined!

soulfood

Scratches? Surely you mean dents!

My guess is, six to seven out of ten small cars in Delhi have a prominent dent. I'm amazed at how many people drive around with such cars... even when they're insured.