Delhi: 11 Years Later

The Old Neighborhood

We went back to the old "ilaka" (neighborhood). Everything looks so different and it is all so dilapidated, it makes you want to weep!  Those who live in Delhi probably get so used to the general state of disrepair, peeling paint and public urination, that few notice anymore!  

Dust and More Dust! 

The one thing you can't miss is the dust, much of which is blown in from Western Rajasthan. It hangs in the air like an unshakeable pall that seeps into everything: clothes, hair, eyes, ears, nose, throat, lungs. The air is heavy with it. We got severe sinusitis and bronchial problems which feels like a very bad cold and cough but is in fact a dust allergy.  It stays with you and lingers in your lungs long after you depart.  How do people tolerate the dust and the long-term health problems it brings?

Unclean Air

In the mid-90s, people in Delhi realized they had the power to change the status quo.  A lawyer filed a case with the Indian Supreme Court about the health risks caused by air pollution from road vehicles. The Court decided that cars put into circulation after 1995 would run on unleaded fuel and, by 1998, Delhi was converted to 100 percent unleaded fuel. It became mandatory for all buses, three-wheelers and taxis to use CNG (compressed natural gas) instead of the diesel that was causing serious environmental pollution. 

When I visited India in 2003, I was pleasantly surprised that I could breathe the Delhi air.  Alas! Those gains are long lost as Indian car manufacturers are still using diesel. Most car companies sell CNG automobiles in Europe (where they are considered the best available technology), but don't do the same in India.

According to Urdu translator and writer, Gillian Wright, much of the smoke and haze that contributes to Delhi's severe pollution levels, comes from neighboring states, Haryana and U.P. where the poor light open fires to cook food or keep warm - with no regard for existing laws. 

World's Worst City for Pollution, says WHO Study 

Traffic and industrial emissions are a major cause of air pollution in Delhi and the main reason for the dense unhealthy smog that engulfs the city. According to a WHO Study, Delhi is considered the world's worst city for air pollution (worse even than Beijing), with an annual average of 153 micrograms of small particles (PM 2.5 per cubic metre).  Carbon monoxide is also way above safe levels and India has slipped in the 2014 Global Environment Performance Index to 155. 

With more than 8 million registered vehicles, Delhi is ahead of Beijing on pollution from particle matter. More than 1,000 new personal vehicles (cars, two-wheelers) are added each day while bus ridership is decreasing. Most of these vehicles use diesel which emit higher smoke, deadlier particles and more nitrogen dioxide than vehicles using petrol. These fine particles (or particulates) penetrate the lungs and bloodstream and are linked to increased bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

Tarakki but at what Cost?

Delhi has made a lot of "tarakki" (progress) in terms of material wealth since 2003.  I didn't notice as many poor and homeless as in the past or as many beggars at traffic stops. There are thousands of vehicles on the roads and, yes, people seem to be prospering but at what cost to their health and their children's health from dust and pollution?  You can make all the money in the world and drive the most luxurious cars - but you still need to breathe the same noxious smoke- and dust-laden air and drive on the same roads and deal with the same traffic. 

According to experts, 10,000 people a year die prematurely as a result of Delhi's air pollution.  A 2013 study found air pollution to be the fifth largest killer in India, causing more than 600,000 premature deaths, up six times from 2000. 

Worst Traffic Ever!

Few people wear seat belts. People drink and drive routinely. Cars rush across four or five lanes of traffic from the extreme right to the extreme left lane and vice versa without signaling. I feel sorry for the policemen standing in the midst of heavy traffic trying to provide direction while narrowly escaping being run over. That happened recently, we were told - in front of the Moolchand Hospital when two traffic cops were killed by drunk drivers. 

No Regard for Pedestrians

There are no official sidewalks or footpaths. Where they exist, they are either broken or have been encroached on by road builders. If you are on foot, you must walk alongside traffic while somehow keeping your limbs from being injured, fight your way through traffic, and run across roads heavy with traffic. Vehicles routinely ignore red lights and don't bother to stop for pedestrians. Your ears are assaulted by the horns. I think they learn to sound their horns before they learn to steer!

32/202 Vikram Vihar

We walked to Vikram Vihar our first evening: breathing in the dust, smoke and other pollution. We also ran across roads in the midst of traffic (did that in Mumbai as well where there appears to be no other alternative to crossing most roads).  The trip to Vikram Vihar was unplanned and in the dark as Lorna was clamoring to see "battees batta do-so-do" (32/202) - where we used to live. The gulmohar and jacaranda trees that lined the blocks have disappeared and so have the fruit trees (jamun, mango, custard apple, guava, chico, pomegranate) in our garden. The present owner has built up the entire area.  The whole space is covered and there is no garden.  

We should've kept our pristine memories and not seen the current unkempt state of the place.  Sadly, we didn't know anyone and no one knew us.  

Guru Nanak Market in Vikram Vihar was also looking very deteriorated.  We were told that Rashid, the "kasai" (butcher), had passed on three years ago.  He was in good health and very friendly when I met him in 2003 and reminded him I was "Leslie ka bahen (Leslie's sister).  This time we spoke with Rashid's son and the person who took over the business. 

FAPS

En route to Vikram Vihar, we passed Lajpat Bhavan and our alma mater, the Frank Anthony Public School.  It was a pretty good school in our day, I think, but - just judging from comments on the FAPS Website - the standards may have slipped somewhat!  Is it just me or does no one appear to give a hoot about writing grammatically anymore or even speaking well?  Maybe it has something to do with the ever present social media!  

The chowkidhar (guard) let us into the main gate of Frank Anthony's. You couldn't see much in the dark except for a large building.  Strange to think one spent a dozen formative years of one's life in this place!

Vikram Hotel & Vikram Dhaba

What looked good was the renovated Vikram Hotel where - in the 70s and 80s - we spent many hours at the swimming pool or coffee shop or salon with neighbors and other "block-wale dost" (friends from the blocks). What also looked good was the Vikram "dhaba" (roadside eating place) famous for its "anda" (egg) "parathas" (stuffed bread) and "aalu" (potato) parathas. The Vikram Dhaba was a special place for late-night snacks and "masala chai" (spiced tea). 

We also checked out our former haunts: the Oberoi, Taj Mahal and Taj Palace Hotels.  As always, they remain blissful airconditioned refuges from the heat and dust outside.

Metro - Hotel Imperial

Delhi has a swanky metro - very spacious and efficient. It opened in 2002 and carries about 2.4 million riders a day. We rode the metro with our hosts to Connaught Place and got off at the Imperial Hotel - a unique blend of Victorian, Colonial and Art Deco styles, invoking turn of the century British Raj. We spent a few pleasant hours meeting friends and having high tea: Assam tea with hot milk, cucumber sandwiches and "kathi rotis" (roll up stuffed bread) on the Imperial's "verandah" (patio) restaurant called '1911' (after the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary).  1911 was also the historic year that Delhi was declared the new capital.  With its manicured green lawns, trees and shrubs, the Imperial was a welcome oasis from Delhi's noise, traffic fumes and other hubbub. 

New Delhi, India 

Nov. 24, 2014

Photos from my iPad: 
Delhi Metro; Hotels Oberoi, Imperial, Taj Mahal and Taj Palace