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The English-speaking world calls me a sparrow. The Hindi speakers here in the city, call me a gauraiya. And some who can’t master the colonial accent call me an ‘eesparrow’. Whatever my name is, I don’t want you to care about it. All I want you to care about is…my life.

I and my friends have been living in Delhi since four generations. It is an extreme world. The summers are extremely hot. The people are extremely impatient. And the landscape is extremely changing. My mother says that earlier, the human nest-builders called architects made more ‘sparrow friendly’ houses in the city.

My family also used to own good property near window sills. But then the temperature rose with this thing called global warming, and all window sills began to be covered with these white boxes called air-conditioners.

Now these ACs are funny inventions. They are meant for cooling rooms of human beings. So, I too went towards the outer side of the AC hoping to get some cold air in these hot days. Ah! Little did I know the AC releases hot air from the outside! I nearly burnt myself that day.

We are much like the humans who are of the ‘displaced labour’ species.  We get no permanent nests and no permanent rest.

Ornithologists say that we, the sparrows, act as ecological indicators and reducing numbers show an imbalance in the ecology of Delhi. I don’t like these ornithology chaps. They are these experts who keep on staring at us without consent. These creeps even have a term for it: bird watching.

But I agree with them, the environment here is really messed up. And it might get more messed up for our lives if people are selfish enough to care about themselves. Along with AC, another invention killing my brothers and sisters is the mobile phone.

You see I used to live on the roof of this boy. He was nice to me, used to feed me every day. But my lungs got damaged because every darned day, he used to sit on the terrace, talking on the phone to his girlfriend. Then one day, she had dumped him. This sounded like good news but as ill my fate was, he began to spend even more time on the phone, calling his friends for consolation.

And I don’t know who will give me consolation.  Sigh.

I live on the outskirts now as they are still sparrow friendly. If this settlement also changes its environment, then I don’t know where I’ll fly off to. I can’t fly all my life. I want to settle down. After all, I’m just a house sparrow.

 

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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As the world celebrates May as ‘Gift from Gardens’ month, here’s looking a how Delhi has adopted a different method of gardening and how you can make your own garden in your homes.

Delhi has been choking for pure and fresh air to breathe. Over the last few years, excessive construction and overburdening of vehicles on the roads have led to Delhi NCR becoming one of the most polluted regions in the world. Thus, looking out for new and innovative methods is the need of the hour.

Keeping this in mind, the Horticulture Department of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has begun the development and expansion of vertical gardens in the city with its debut dated almost a year and a half back.

If you have looked around while your travel on the city, you must have found this beautiful plush of greenery wrapped around the pillars of Delhi Metro Network or beautifying the stretch of the new Yamuna Expressway.

Cities worldwide not only are facing the concern of pollution and warming but also space congestion. In a scenario like this, vertical gardens or “living walls” as they are called, have come out as a blessing for they cancel out all of these issues. Massive construction has led to considerable damage to the green spaces in the city. These vertical gardens not only occupy any landscape at all, but are cost-effective, too, as they are cheap to develop and maintain with plants like Asparagus, Jade plant, Syngonium, etc. and are seasonally grown in plastic containers.

This is what the NDMC is doing to enhance the quality of the air of the city and add to its greenery. But there’s a lot more that people themselves can do in their individual capacity.

Rooftop gardening is one of them. Space crunch in the city restricts people from owning gardens but they can always develop one on their own roofs. Due to excessive heat in the summers, the variety becomes limited but plants like Water Lilies, among others, grow well despite the temperature.

Gardens, apart from purifying the air, also give relaxation from the intolerable heat. The various products they provide are just an added bonus.

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t celebrate this month by doing your bit in developing a garden of your own!

 

Image Credits: India Times

 

Shreya Agrawal

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Solidarity and resistance found itself in the heart of the national capital on 7th of February. Students from all over the country gathered to voice their dissent against the prevailing system.

On 7th February, thousands of students, migrants and political activists marched from Lal Quila to Parliament Street to protest current labour laws, unemployment and issues within the education system as a part of the Young India Adhikar March. The march started at the Red Fort around 10 AM, with daflis, posters, banners and songs of resistance, the contingent reached Parliament Street in the afternoon.

The march saw students and migrants from Assam to Punjab and various remote areas of the country.
Though the march had a less turn out than previous student protests, the sound of resistance echoed loud and clear. With small groups in every corner, chanting slogans for azadi, it was clear, the student organisations divided by their ideologies stood united in their act of resistance.

Hope screamed louder than fear in the air, Jairsong Tisso from AISA, President of the Karbi Angalog and Dimmahassau Hills district region says “We hope that the government will accept our demands, we will not give in. We spent a night at the Ramlila Maidan and we would be leaving tomorrow or day after. We want our voices to be heard. We would be presenting a memorandum to Rajnath Singh, the Home minister. (sic)”

Sadaf from CYSS, the student wing of AAP says, “We had thousands of students march today and 70+ student organisations came together and took a stand against the central government. There have been so many scams, the paper leak scam and the lack of jobs and the seats that have remained vacant in the jobs…(sic) Our demand is that the vacant seats must be filled and unemployment does not mean that we go out and sell pakoras, we demand that our education budget be increased, the budget isn’t enough to sustain educational institutions and that’s where privatisation comes in. Privatisation hits the lower and middle class the most. Another demand we had from this march is that the lower and underprivileged classes are completely neglected. Look at the mob lynching, they suppress all the news. We want our voices to be heard by the center. We want it to be known that Modi sarkar will not triumph once again in this general election”.

Speaking to Reetkamal Kaur from Y4S, she talks about the state of the youth in her homeland, Punjab as the Y4S chants slogans of azadi in the background.
“I am from Jalandhar, I am an MPhil scholar and I don’t have a job. It’s sad but I am here to fight for the younger generation, so that they don’t have to struggle the way I do. We are here to fight together. We want our voices to be heard.”

“This march was inspired by the Kisan Mukti march which took place in Nasik and Mumbai and then spread to other parts of the country…It was pretty easy for the BJP to win the Madhya Pradesh elections, they needed to incite another communal agenda..(sic) it was pretty easy to propagate that kind of communal agenda..(sic) but when farmers march, no political party has the right or the audacity to ignore it and that is the inspiration behind this march as well ki (sic) we know that the 2019 elections is around the corner and we know that every single political party will march towards Ayodhya. At that time, we as students feel is our responsibility to bring them back, hold them by their collars and ask, ‘where is (sic) the 2 crore jobs that you promised?’ ‘what kind of alternative (sic) are you offering to the youth by telling them to sell pakoras on the street?’ We are here to stand against bhagwakaran (saffronisation), we are here to stand with the teachers who are abused daily by the system. We are here to stand with the yuva (youth), kisan ( farmers) and the masses of the country whose issues aren’t treated like real issues.”
Hope finds its way into Abhigyan’s resistance, “We certainly hope that the government does something. This march was supported all over the country by prominent figures like Arundhati Roy and Kunal Kamra. One march alone cannot change the shape of our politics, it’s not about one day and a few thousand people marching…it is about continuously challenging the fascist agenda that currently surrounds the country and threatens the very civilization of the country. (sic)”

The common resistance to the Modi government was echoed with protests by the Dilli Nirman Mazdoor Sangathan and All India SSB Volunteer Association. Their songs of resistance echo the same demand, to be heard, to be recognised, to get justice, to find azadi.

Image Credits: Jaishree Kumar for DU beat

Jaishree Kumar
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Delhi Winters fall right in the middle of a spectrum from my perspective, with just the right amount of cold for it to actually feel like winters. Comparing it with two other places I call home currently, it definitely feels like a blessing in disguise.

The month of November comes with an extra nip in the air, almost asking you to grab your light sweatshirts. It slowly gives way to a certain significant drop in temperature, which only moves on to a rather blissful three months, which constitute the best part of the year. You know winters are here when waking up in the mornings seem like a gargantuan task. The burrito of blankets might just be home for the next coming months.

The rest of the nine months in Delhi can really prove to be testing, especially during daytime when the sun is at its peak, sucking all your energy and pushing you towards exhaustion. Getting out of an air-conditioned environment might seem equivalent to entering the seventh circle of hell. Delhi winters, therefore, are a welcome respite from the heat, and one that is looked forward to by all the Delhites.

Now from a perspective of a person who hasn’t really experienced these kinds of winters all their life, it might seem like something entirely else. I, personally, juggle between three parts of the country, all having varying degrees of cold, with Delhi right at the middle of the spectrum. The Pune winters don’t seem like winters to begin with. One hardly senses a change in the weather and can easily forget that it’s December. It is pleasantly chilly during nights, but nothing that would make you run towards your bed and wrap yourself in four layers of blankets. Another extreme side of the spectrum, for me, becomes the icy cold Ladakh winters, with the frigid winds blowing in every direction, the temperature dropping well below zero. Any part of your body that remains uncovered (including your face) is bound to get numb. You really can’t feel it. If you thought the Delhi winters were a living hell, you really might want to change your opinion by this point.

I would rather not talk about what each place is symbolic for me but if I were to talk about winters, there is no place like Delhi. The soul-thawing kulhad waali chai might become your elixir in the coming months. Exploring the by-lanes of Chandni Chowk might also be a good idea right now.

There is certainly something extremely magical about Delhi Winters that never fails to charm you into loving it.

 

Feature Image Credits: Veni Vidi Vici

Anoushka Singh

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Agla Station Rajiv Chowk Hain,an automated voice speaks in a manner calm and composed unlike the ambience in the metro coach. Everyone in the trainthe office goers with their laptop bags and dark circles,  rucksack wearing tourists, WhatsApp addicted aunties in sarees, and college students like myselfbraces for impact as within seconds, chaos is about to be unleashed.

“Doors will open to the right,” the deep baritone of a woman echoes through the speakers like a war cry from a conch shell. The situation gets more intense and beads of perspiration appear on my forehead. As soon as the gates open, it indeed feels like a battle with people kicking, elbowing, pushing, and pulling each other as they struggle to get in and out coach. I feel like a lifeless rag doll dragging my sorry self to some corner trying to avoid the bulls charging at me. It’s another day of travelling by Delhi Metro.

I have had a bittersweet relationship with the Delhi Metro, a part of my daily life. I  start my day by opening my arms wide in Shahrukh Khan’s signature pose at the security check. Then I slide down the escalator and skid my feet towards the airport express line. After reaching the bustling New Delhi metro station, I travel by the yellow line.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) includes several routes like the yellow line, blue line, violet line and the airport express. The airport express is the Barry Allen of metro lines, the fastest in the DMRC. It somewhat feels like an elitist ride as it is fast and has proper seats with elbow rests. In sharp contrast to this, my friends are accustomed to creepy stares from strangers while travelling by the yellow line (which just includes two rows of seats in each coach facing each other). Obviously, the elitist ride costs more (INR 50) than your normal metro journey.

Now let’s talk about general metro rules. The brains of Indians (especially that of Delhiites) are renowned for lacking basic civic sense and adherence to rules. Indians in the metro are no exception. When the gates open at every station, basic courtesy requires you to stand at the sides, allow the passengers to come out in a proper fashion and then subtly step in. But subtleness and courtesy seem like a far cry from typical metro behaviour. Outside every gate, there are printed words on the floor which read, “Let the passengers alight first”. But everyone seems to be in a rush. The blokes at the platform stand right at the doors facing the blokes who want to get down and this ends up looking like a wild rugby match, an elaborate dance of bumping heads and trembling hands. This is particularly true in the case of extremely crowded stations like the famous Rajiv Chowk metro station and Kashmere Gate metro station. If my train halts at these stations, I breathe a sigh of relief as I see multitudes of passengers set foot to the outside world. However, this feeling is short-lived as five odd seconds later, the absence of the crowd gets compensated. An equally large number of commuters rush inside and it feels like I just had a delusion of an empty coach. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that after China, India and ‘Friendzone’, the zone with the highest population in the world might be Rajiv Chowk metro station.

Another rule prohibits eating and drinking inside the metro. Although it seems like a minor rule, I still choose to be a hardcore law-abiding citizen. I remember that I did break the rule one evening when I opened a packet of nachos to feed my famished stomach. Another day, a lady sitting next to me opened her large lunchbox which had a shade of bright pink that made me cringe. Then shifting my eyes towards my phone screen, I tried not to bother. But my nose got triggered in an instant. The reason for my nostrils yelling for help was because the lady was eating a sandwich which had a lot of raw onion slices stuffed inside. If I was ever a Superman, I’m sure onions would be my ‘Kryptonite’ because I just hate them.  Basically, the onions in this sandwich were so smelly that I was about to faint. There were no more empty seats in the metro so I just got up and stood near the door as that seemed like a better option. That day, I understood the actual reason why the DMRC had framed the ‘no eating’ rule.

The Metro is a lifeline for the majority of the wildlings of the urban jungle called Delhi. E Shreedharan, a man credited for setting up the metro lines in Delhi, earned the sobriquet “Metro Man”. No wonder that he was once considered as a Presidential candidate by the BJP. The network connects people and despite the little issues and moments of mayhem, I feel a sense of belonging to these trains. Apart from Connaught Place, momos, and unruly traffic, what characterises Delhi best is the Metro. Now I should better stop writing because the man with the heavy voice on the speaker is resuming his announcement, saying “Next station is Kashmere Gate”.

 

Feature Image Credits: Diwas Bisht (Behance)

Shaurya Singh Thapa

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For me, the idea of Delhi from a nondescript town in Assam had been small. It was bounded by red brick buildings of a campus, in the souls of what I considered the crème de la crème of India’s student life. But after a year in this glorious city, after countless kebabs in paranthe wali gali, I realize that there is so much more to it.

I moved to Delhi during August of the year 2017, very pleased with my admission in Miranda House, a college I had hoped would cater to my feminist wings. I encountered a bunch of people there, who amazingly tackled subtle forms of misogyny and sexism with grace and patience. I was proud to be a part of such an institution.

Come winter, me and my roommate went on the quintessential Delhi darshan: meandering through the crumbling lanes of Chandi Chowk, the jaded monuments of Majnu ka Tila, and the looming monuments of South Delhi. All were relics of the history of the city, all enshrined in glorious magnificence. Having a best friend as a roommate means that you get a partner to be insane with and to hang onto that insanity through the nitty-gritties of college life. It is a blessing to have someone so close to you, that you literally sleep on top of each other during winters (because we cannot afford a heater so we proudly rely on body heat). I saw dervishes in Nizamuddin’s famed dargah, cried in its sweltering heat, and let my teeth chatter during winters. I saw the ghosts of the past and the present.

Ghalib once wrote, “I asked my soul: What is Delhi? She replied: The world is the body and Delhi its life.” His words ring true in every cobblestone path, every blade of grass of the city. The world’s life beats in the streets and the blades of grass of Delhi. But it is the University campus that is where I come to roost— Hudson Lane, McDonald’s, Tom Uncle’s Maggi point, Kamla Nagar, Arts Fac, and Vishwavidyalya Metro Station became my daily vocabulary.

There are still great desires to be fulfilled with Delhi. My tryst with its ghosts and its denizens will continue. But I have come to realize that like Ghalib, my soul lies not just with the city but with its people. It lies with my roommate, my friends at the University, with DU Beat, the guards at my college, the rickshaw pullers from Vijay Nagar who know me well enough to know I won’t ride their rickshaws, the professors who seem to grow in stature, and in the fire that burns in every individual of the city. It lies with the ghosts of Edwin Lutyens, Nehru, and Ghalib. For the freshers stepping into the city, I only hope your experience is just as subliminal and yet sublime. That you realize that it is the people of the city who breathe life into what would have otherwise been a lifeless, insipid necropolis.

 

Feature Image Credits: NDTV

Sara Sohail
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The Delhi metro has helped students through hard times and good times. Snaking through the vast corridors of the state, it has become more than just a means of transport.

For students, the presence of Delhi metro has been a boon. We have now started to spend more time underground than above the ground, happy in our moleskins. No, it is not a place for Pritam and his band to sing romantic songs, and it is not a place for Amitabh Bachchan to let out his inner child in front of his ‘father’. It is our commute, our lifeline. The Delhi metro has served many purposes for the average student of the University of Delhi (DU) since its beginning. Despite helping students beat the strenuous Delhi traffic, the Delhi metro has many other amenities to cater to students. The Vishwavidyalaya metro station’s cheap INR 50 earphones become necessities; copies, books, earrings, and food are readily available right at the metro stations. Not to mention the utility of the bicycles for use on a leisurely day around the campus.

College students spend a substantial amount of time commuting in the metro. The average, broke DU student can hardly afford the luxury of an Uber cab. For the lucky few off-campus students, the metro sometimes serves the purpose of not just connectivity, but also as a completely acceptable excuse to be late to class, on the days the usually punctual metro is confronted with a technical snag.

For a few of us, the metro is also about chance encounters. We meet new people every day, whether it is that jhola-carrying cute guy who asked you what you are reading, or the aunty who threw you dirty looks for rocking out to AC/DC. The metro is a host of characters, and mingling with them is our very own capsule.

Recent expansion in the metro will prove to be more helpful in bridging the north-south divide. The 21.56 km stretch of the Pink Line which is operational now connects the North and South campuses of Delhi University, which would reduce the travel time to 40 minutes. The line also connects 12 stations and the Blue, Yellow, Red, and Airport metro lines. In December 2017, the Prime Minister opened a section of the Magenta Line connecting the Kalkaji Mandir metro station to Botanical Garden in Noida. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is hence slowly expanding and is expected to cover 700 kilometres in a few years as per the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

 

Feature Image Credits: India Today.

Sara Sohail

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Still have no plans for the coming days? Worry not, we have a list for you whether you plan to go stag or make a bash with your friends.

The National Capital has a number of parties and events lined up for you across the upcoming days. We bring to you our top three pick specially curated for you, your friends, or your family.

1. Smaaash New Year Carnival at Gurugram

Located at the DLF Cyber Hub, Cyber City, Smaaash is the perfect destination for Arcade Games, food and Drinks. This is the go-to location if you want to step into the New Year high on action. The event gets rolling at 8 PM on 31st.

2. New Year Bash Party at JLN Stadium

With artists like Sharry Maan, DJ Sonali Katyal, Rapture Dhol Mix Nites, Qisaa The Band and many more lined up, this event at the JLN is the perfect destination if you want to start early, as the gala starts by 6 in the evening on 31st December.

3. New Year Bash at the Lord of the Drinks Meadow

Located at the New Deer Park in Hauz Khas Village, this certainly is the best choice if you are fine with shedding a few extra bucks for the classiest experience. With DJ Sam scheduled to arrive, this would be nothing short of a perfect way to look forward to a perfect New Year.

Go ahead, make your choice and secure your booking at the official website of these venues.

 

Feature Image Credits: AllWording

Nikhil Kumar
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Over two months into the new set of fares, it is imperative to scrutinise the kind of impact it has had on the students of the University of Delhi.

Barring the minimum fare of Rs. 10 for a distance of 0-2 km, which has remained the same, fares have been raised for all other slabs. This has evoked mostly negative responses for student commuters and has caused chaos all over Delhi-NCR. The central question being asked by Delhi-NCR students with limited spending money is- why the Delhi Metro can’t have a student pass system, as there is for DTC buses?

How much does it pinch one’s pocket if one has to pay Rs 10 more per ride on Delhi Metro? The fare hike, which came into effect on October 10, 2017, looks moderate at first glance. But for those Delhi college-goers who take the Metro everywhere, this has been a pain in the last two months.

It used to cost the average South Delhi-ite Rs. 40 to travel from South Delhi to the North Campus earlier. After the two price hikes in Delhi Metro this year, they now have to spend over Rs. 100 on their daily travel.

While this move to hike the metro rates has attracted mounting criticism towards the Delhi government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation over the last two months, it is not the DMRC which is to blame. As per the provision of Delhi Metro Rail (Operation & Maintenance) Act, 2002, the Metro fares are fixed and revised by a regulatory authority (fare fixation committee) constituted by the Government of India. Under Section 37 of the Act, the recommendations of the FFC are binding on the Metro Rail authority. DMRC does not have any power in this regard.

Nevertheless, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has defended the fare hike, saying it was needed to “maintain a world-class service”. But what good is a world-class service if the common man finds it unaffordable?

The Delhi Metro had made it possible for students to cut down on commute time and attend college far away from home. Following the hike in rates, it has become taxing for them to go back to sitting on a bus stuck in a jam, spending 90 minutes each way on the commute. Auto-rickshaws and taxis haven’t been a viable option either, being too expensive for the student pocket.

Apart from this effect on students, the fare-hike hasn’t “fared” well for the DMRC either. It has in fact led to reduced ridership and subsequent loss to DMRC. The move has also resulted in traffic congestion and increased pollution levels in the national capital. (Remember, remember the fifth of November?)

For others, while a hike of Rs. 10 per ride has not been too much, has that led to better services? It goes without saying that there is a lack of clean toilets at Delhi Metro stations — in fact, few Delhi Metro stations have any toilets, clean or otherwise. While some students wouldn’t mind paying an increased fare, they had expected better facilities to supplement the hike.

Unfortunately, the fare hike hasn’t witnessed a corresponding hike in improved crowd management during peak hours. The case is worse for women students. The fare hike has forced them to adopt less safe modes of transportation or has forced some of them to attend college less frequently.

But things aren’t going downhill for everyone. While the move has certainly benefitted cab operators, it has favoured the e-rickshaw drivers operating near the campus colleges.

Two months down, it is widely felt that the Centre did not assess the ground reality. It is pinching the pockets of students to an extent that it has taken a toll in their attendance, in some cases.

At a time when six rapes and several cases of eve-teasing and harassment are reported each day, the Metro fare hike needs serious reconsideration.

When the government says that it’s trying to give us world-class services, it must also keep in mind that many countries allow discounted rates of metro travel for students. Why is it that the Delhi Metro doesn’t?

 

Feature Image Credits: The Times of India

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak

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With the onset of winter, the weather is finally good enough for exploring the city without worrying about the extreme heat. Here are some sites worth planning a visit to in Delhi.

Whether you’re an outstation student who hasn’t stepped out of their college area much or a lifelong Delhi resident, finding interesting places in the city is always rewarding. Winters especially let us look for such places without collapsing due to heat strokes, so it’s a good time to step out of your comfort zone (literally) and explore. Here are a few suggestions to start off with:

1. Lodhi Gardens

Unfortunately, Lodhi Gardens are either known as the space where South Delhi folks are seen power-walking or a spot for amateur photographers trying to brighten up their Instagram feeds. It is seriously underappreciated for being sunny, filled with natural beauty, and striking monuments. Go there on a sunny afternoon with a book or your earphones for some peaceful and relaxing time. It is a 30-rupee auto ride away from Lok Kalyan Marg metro station.

2. Old Delhi

Old Delhi has some of the most well-known monuments of Delhi, such as Jama Masjid and Red Fort, and is also not too far away from Rajghat. It is also filled with lanes which house renowned restaurants that are being run by same families for generations. So go out for a walk through Old Delhi, have a look at the view of the city from the tall minarets of Jama Masjid, stop for a bite of Kebabs or Rabdi Parantha, and end your day with the serenity of Rajghat.  You can reach Old Delhi via Chawri Bazar and Chandni Chowk metro station on the Yellow Line or Jama Masjid metro station that is on the Violet Line.

3. National Gallery of Modern Art

Located close to the Khan Market metro station, the National Gallery of Modern Art houses paintings, sculptures, and other works of art by artists from all over the world. It also has a gift shop that has cheap postcards featuring paintings from the museum. India Gate is also close by, with its variations of bhelpuri and numerous ice cream stalls. At its other end on Rajpath, along with the Rashtrapati Bhavan, are the North and South Blocks that seat some of the most important government ministries and have beautiful European architecture.

4. Delhi Zoo

Going to the zoo might seem drab and boring, but for one it’s something very different from going to the movies or the usual things we do. It’s relaxing, and with the right kind of company, it can be a memorable activity.  The Delhi Zoo is located near the Purana Quila, closest to the Pragati Maidan metro station.

 

Image Credits:  Observer Research Foundation

Rishika Singh

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