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Parliament House, New Delhi
Photo: AP

All of human life is here
Randeep Ramesh
“One of the greatest cities of antiquity,” a Mughal description of Delhi.

Rude, disorientating, effervescent complex mixture of the ancient and the modern, Delhi is a ball of contradictions worth unravelling. The skyline cannot decide whether it wants to be populated by the spikes of skyscrapers or filled with minarets. On the ground the pressures of caste divides and devastating poverty are all too obvious. So are the bared midriffs and gas-guzzling SUVs of the vertiginously upwardly mobile middle classes. Check out the mall rats of Gurgaon, watch the world go by from the chrome stools of the Barista coffee chain and drink and eat in the student village of New Friends Colony market.

Once a culinary desert, Delhi’s foodie culture has taken root: try Diva, run by the irrepressible Ritu Dalmia who learnt her cooking in Sicily and flies in Italian herbs for her dishes. Nanking in Vasant Kunj has a Peking Duck to die for. But in the pell-mell rush for modernity don’t forget to see what Delhites have been doing for centuries - hawking food on street corners; visiting mosques, temples and gurudwaras; and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes while lost in thoughts of love and hate for a city that is the doorway to India.
Best view
Firoz Shah Tughlaq
For a view of Delhi’s mix of old and new, clamber among the ruins of Firoz Shah Tughlaq found beyond the swanky designer shops of Haus Khaz village. There you look down on Delhi’s deer park and get a smog-free panorama across the western end of the city.

  1. Delhi
  2. | view

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Best thing to do for free
Wander the Walled City
Wander along the narrow streets of the bustling Walled City (Shahjahanabad) before escaping the rush by entering the sandstone and white marble edifice of the Jama Masjid, India's biggest mosque. Dress appropriately as it is still a working mosque.

  1. Delhi
  2. | free
  3. | walk
  4. | architecture

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Where to watch the world go by
Cafe Turtle
Sit on the second-floor terrace of Cafe Turtle in the trendy N Block market in Greater Kailash. Overlooking a patch of green you can stare down at the shoppers while sipping a cappuccino and munching through falafel wraps.

N Block market, Greater Kailash

  1. Delhi
  2. | watch the world go by
  3. | cafe

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Nighttime hangout
Urban Pind
Delhi’s coolest lounge bar with a glass atrium and a funky interior that is more Hoxton than Himalayas. Food is reasonably price at 300 rupees a dish and there’s a selection of strong Indianised cocktails. The current fave is a Paradiso, a coconut-flavoured whiskey concoction.

N Block Market, Greater Kailash

  1. Delhi
  2. | bar

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Cultural highlight
The Garden of Five Senses
Delhi’s public art setting. Its walkways are lined with sculptures and local art students display paintings. Some of India’s hippest rock stars have taken to giving free performances there.

Said-ul-Ajaib, (off MB road), near Saket; Tel: 2653 4401/ 2651 0519; delhitourism.nic.in/fivesenses.html

  1. Delhi
  2. | culture
  3. | art

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Bring back
North-eastern handicrafts
Completely unlike anything that you might imagine would be Indian. The region is where south-east Asia meets the subcontinent and the bamboo-and-chilli fusion permeates its food and fashion. Pick up exotica at the state-owned Nagaland Emporium on Baba Kharak Singh Marg. As it’s a government venture, there’s no haggling.

  1. Delhi
  2. | souvenir
  3. | local speciality

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Leave there
Cheap jewellery
The stone-and-plastic necklaces on sale at tourist markets on Janpath. The jewellery won’t last as along as your holiday.

  1. Delhi
  2. | tourist tat

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Time for love
Humayun's Tomb
This being India, entanglements are advised to be discreet and certainly never short of proper. Turn up at dusk with your love at Humayun's Tomb, the grand 16th-century mausoleum of an early Mogul emperor and get lost among its recently restored gardens.

Near the Muslim centre of Nizamuddin, on the crossroads of the Lodi and Mathura roads; Train station: Nizamuddin

  1. Delhi
  2. | romance

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Best-kept secret (till now)
The President’s Palace
Visit the President’s Palace, known as Rashtrapati Bhawan. No one ever does as most think the only section open is the beautiful terraced Mughal gardens that becomes free to the public for one month, February, every year. But visitors are welcome to visit its biggest rooms provided they make an appointment with the invitation secretary. Built in the dying days of the empire it celebrated, its size and splendour still overwhelms.

Tel: 2301 5321

  1. Delhi
  2. | secret
  3. | historic site

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The thing to eat
Fried food
Delhi’s hawker stalls are filled with cheap fried food that explodes in your mouth. Mouthfuls of aloo chaat, fried potatoes served a tangy sauce, or golgappas, fried balls filled with chilli water, followed by a glass of a salty lime, cumin and mint drink called jal jeera will cost you less than Rs 30.

  1. Delhi
  2. | food
  3. | local speciality

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Green space
Lodhi Gardens
Delhi is a remarkably green city, but the jewel in the capital’s crown is Lodhi Gardens. Its lawns are filled with an embarrassment of fifteenth century tombs of the Afghan Lodhi dynasty that once ruled Delhi. Among the distinctive domes and Islamic-Indian curves, you can speed-walk with the locals, split your sides in a "laughter club" or join impromptu yoga classes.

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Best ride
The Delhi metro
It sounds bizarre but after a day in the heat and dust of the capital, a smooth ride in air-conditioned carriages makes you remember that the country is on the move.

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  2. | transport
  3. | ride

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Keep the kids happy
Purana Qila
A boat ride on the lake next to the Mughal fort of Purana Qila, followed by a wander through nearby Delhi Zoo.

Purana Qila, Mathura Road, around 4km south-east of Connaught Place

  1. Delhi
  2. | ride
  3. | family

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Escape the crowds
The Atrium, Hotel Imperial
Escape the crowds by taking tea and cakes in the Atrium at the Imperial, Delhi's landmark hotel.

Janpath, Connaught Place end; www.theimperialindia.com/

  1. Delhi
  2. | escape
  3. | eating

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The film to see before I go
Monsoon Wedding
Filmed in one of Delhi’s posher enclaves, Mira Nair’s film about love and lust in a time of plenty, a perennial theme of Indian cinema.

  1. Delhi
  2. | film
  3. | film location

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... and the novel to read
Delhi: A Novel by Khushwant Singh
A comic novel that interweaves 700 years of the capital’s history into the life of a reprobate journalist.

  1. Delhi
  2. | books

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Where to eat (budget)
Saravana Bhawan
Authentic south Indian vegetarian food served in a stylish cafeteria. A culinary adventure into steamed rice cakes, chutneys, spicy pulses and peppery vegetable dishes. Prices start from Rs 23.

Connaught Place; Tel: 2334 7755

  1. Delhi
  2. | eating
  3. | budget

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Where to eat (moderate)
Punjabi by Nature
Outsized Indo-fusion cuisine. For those with a fang for flesh, the Punjabi Meat Masala is the meal of choice. A meal for two will bring the bill to Rs 1,000.

11 Basant Lok, Vasant Vihar; Tel: 26153333; www.punjabibynaturerestaurant.com/

  1. Delhi
  2. | eating

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Where to eat (posh)
Bukhara
Reckoned to be the place to eat Mughal and north-west frontier cuisine in Delhi. Plates of dhal and kebabs served on low tables where famously Bill Clinton once gorged himself silly. With drinks, there is not much change from Rs 2,500.

Maurya Sheraton Hotel, Diplomatic Enclave; Tel: 011 2611 2233

  1. Delhi
  2. | eating
  3. | posh

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Where to stay (budget)
Wongdhen House
Located in Majnu Ka Tilla or Tibetan colony, a maze of narrow alleys filled with stalls selling Chinese and Tibetan gifts and goodies. Clean rooms with air-conditioning begin at Rs 415. There’s a rooftop terrace to chill out on.

15A New Tibetan Colony, Majnu Ka Tilla; Tel: 011 2381 6689

  1. Delhi
  2. | accommodation
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Where to stay (moderate)
The Manor
Delhi’s first boutique hotel still could make the pages of Wallpaper magazine. Italian-Indo fusion furniture offset with rich wood panelling and Japanese flower arrangements make this retreat worth the $175 per day bill for two.

77 Friends Colony, New Delhi; Tel: 011 2692 5151; www.themanordelhi.com/

  1. Delhi
  2. | accommodation

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Where to stay (posh)
Oberoi Hotel
The Oberoi nestles next to Delhi's golf course and its threesixty restaurant, serving everything from sushi to pizza, is a hang out for the rich and powerful. Rooms start from US $250 a day plus taxes for a luxuriously basic room to $1,800 for the top-end suite.

Dr Zakir Hussain Marg; Tel: 011 2436 3030; www.oberoidelhi.com/

  1. Delhi
  2. | accommodation
  3. | posh

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Get there from the airport
Airport transfer: Pre-paid taxis
At 50 minutes a bus ride might prove too much after a lengthy flight. Instead purchase a pre-paid taxi voucher from the Delhi Traffic Police booths located in the arrivals area of both terminals. The voucher should only be handed over once the journey is completed.

www.airportsindia.org.in

  1. Delhi
  2. | transport

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