Having dwelt acidically on the state of preparedness for the commonwealth games and the unabating optimism of the Indian, I would like to make some amends.
While the picture painted by me in the earlier posts is partly true, it is not the whole picture. New Delhi is a beautiful place to be in. Wide roads and beautiful tree laden parks, dotted with seasonal flowering plants makes for pleasant drives. The city traffic in Luyten’s (named after the British architect-Edwin Luyten) Delhi flows free (whatever the situation in other parts of the city). You will certainly catch your breath as you sweep past the North and South block down to India Gate. The sandstone buildings recahing up to the sky from the rise of a small hill is visually pleasing. The rising dome of the Rashtrapthi bhavan just below the horizon adds to beauty of the panorama.
If you turn your back to Luyten’s masterpiece, you will be enamoured by the graceful sweep and curving sandstone
facade of the India gate. To the left and right you will see other sandstone or modern white painted buildings nestling amidst the greenery of the parks that seem to cover most of the landscape. Driving away from Luyten’s Delhi towards Chanakyapuri, the landscape seems greener and formally laid out gardens and greened over patches dividing up the width of the road are pleasing to the eye. Embassies of different countries gracefully line the sides of the broad roads–located at a sufficiently remote distance from the road for security.
Luyten’s Delhi is clean-green. One cannot imagine that one has landed in a third world country where poverty, dirt and filth are the norm. So long as you keep to Luyten’s Delhi and the immediate environs of Central Delhi or even the adjacent parts of South Delhi you can delude yourself into a belief that there is all round progress and India is sufficiently advanced on the path to growth and citizen centric services. The New Delhi Muncipal Development Corporation ensures that the regions under their control showcase the best of the city to its visitors–at least, I presume that is so.
The roads are named after distinguished individuals or concepts that underlie the spirit of India. There is a Kautilya (the greatest Administrator of the Mauryan empire –often compared with Machiavelli) marg (Road), a Panchasheel marg (The path of the five peace principles), a Shanthi Path( the path of peace), a Neethi path (the path of justice) and other named roads that recall the glorious past and present of the country.
The roads themselves are smooth, well maintained and absolutely blemishless. Rains do not flood them and the sun does not melt them. So driving down these roads, one can relax and expect no sudden jerks that precipitate you to the roof of the car or bring you crashing down to the floor.
However, this should not lull you into complacency. Other parts of Delhi are not so relaxation friendly. We will tell you more about them when we discuss the environs in other posts to follow. For now, I hope you are tingling with anticipation of enjoyment and are eager to know more about the history and sight seeing potential of central Delhi! Visit this blog daily and we shall gradually introduce you to what you should not miss when in Luyten’s Delhi.
