UncategoriesTop 10 Reasons Why Living in Delhi is Awesome
Top 10 Reasons Why Living in Delhi is Awesome
Around 18 million people are currently living in Delhi, including a large number of expats. We give you the key facts about expat life in Delhi.
1. Pragati Maidan
Pragati Maidan Currently the India International Trade Fair is being held here – the variety of shopping on offer will sate the most obsessive shopaholic, the food will satisfy the gourmet and the gourmand alike and then there are cultural activities! Apparently there is to be the Auto Expo and then Book Fair and then… I can’t wait!
2. The history & the monuments
You cannot throw a stone in Delhi without it hitting an ancient ruin or other edifice of historical value. I plan to visit Tughlaqabad Fort and Purana Qila, revisit the Red Fort, Jantar Mantar, Qutub Minar, the Lotus Temple and much more. At leisure… like a resident instead of a tourist this time around!
3. The street shopping
Janpath, Sarojini Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, CP… the list of cheap and cheerful shopping destinations is long! So little time, so much shopping to do!
4. The Food
As someone who hails from Ahmedabad who had to travel a significant distance even to buy eggs, the kebabs and tikkas available everywhere, makes Delhi a heaven for foodies. The evening air redolent with the smell of grilling and frying!
5. Fast food comes to you
It’s not just the ice cream man. Even in Delhi’s most residential neighborhoods, hawkers selling roasted corn on the cob, tender coconut juice, and local favorites like the deep-fried mashed-potato patty known as “aloo tikki” troll the streets, calling out their wares in sing-song voices. Listen for the aloo tikki wallah clanging his ladle against his wok and chase him down. You won’t regret it.
6. The Metro
There’s no better equalizer than public transport. But the Delhi Metro has done more than get middle-class Indians rubbing shoulders with migrant laborers. One of India’s few successful infrastructure projects, it’s provided a glimpse of the struggling country’s possible future. A great antidote to the pessimism that creeps in during the daily skirmishes on the street.
7. Jalebis are better than cronuts
Jalebi
Cronuts schmonuts. You want something decadent? Try jalebis. Here’s what you do: Squeeze pastry dough from an cake-icing tube into a deep-frier filled with clarified butter and sugar syrup, carefully squiggling it into the shape of a pretzel. Repeat for 100 years, occasionally washing the deep-frier. Yep, this place in Chandni Chowk has been around since 1905.
8. There’s the Parathewallah Gully
Around the corner from Old & Famous Jalebiwallah, this is a narrow lane filled with century-old restaurants specializing in the stuffed north Indian flatbreads called “parathas.” Parathas stuffed with potatoes are a staple of every restaurant in India. But here you can get them stuffed with virtually anything — from bitter gourd (my favorite) to papadum. Better still, they dispense with the griddle and deep-fry the suckers.
9. Jama Masjid
Jama Masjid
The main mosque of Old Delhi — the city’s medieval core — Jama Masjid was built in the 17th Century. Outside, destitute children and crippled crones beg for alms amid the teeming frenzy of a market selling second-hand auto parts and the like. Slip off your shoes and step through the gates and silence descends. There’s no better place to recalibrate your misconceptions about Islam.
10. India Gate
India Gate
The national monument of India, this L’Arc de Triomphe-esque structure was designed by Raj-era architect Edward Lutyens as a memorial for the 90,000 Indian soldiers killed fighting for Britain in World War I. After independence, India removed the statue of George V from beneath the arch, making it a modern symbol of India’s freedom struggle. It’s a brilliant place to see tourists from all over the country — many of them of modest means — enjoying an ice cream and snapping photos.
