For someone who is born and raised in Delhi, the city holds a special bond. You drape its soul over your persona and carry it everywhere you go. Metropolitan cities across the globe have the same personality. Pollution, overpopulation, affluence, chaos and vibrancy are the elements that characterise a metro. High-rise and slums co-exist almost seamlessly. Although Delhi is not much different, it stands a little apart from other cities by the virtue of being an intriguing mix of heritage and modernity. And like any city you are rooted in, you know it inside out.
The woes are a plenty but you take them with a pinch of salt and carry on. For me, Delhi is sometimes an indulgent parent, letting me get away with misadventures, yet at times, behaves like a jealous lover, pulling me back in its embrace every single time I travel to other cities. It can be your unsympathetic boss, a recalcitrant junior, a nosey neighbour, a loving sibling or a best friend. It can love you and also drive you insane. Urban migration has made the city burst at seams. The almost non-existent interstate boundaries have not only stretched the limits of Delhi NCR but has also diluted the original culture of the city. Sadly, the sophistication of language that evolved as an outcome of the rule by various dynasties has been completely thrown asunder.
Delhi exasperates you often in the form of an autorickshaw guy who will find a pretext to refuse you a ride. Lack of action by the authorities has emboldened them. The city has been worrying us constantly with the issue of women safety. It needs to learn to treat its women with respect. If a women goes out post 8 in the evening, she realises that gender neutrality is just bull crap. People have political connections and this is how they get away with crimes.
Delhi is beautiful no doubt but its people also need to be beautiful from within to make the capital a better place to live in.