Delhi: Crowded, Contradictory, and Kinda Overwhelming
delhi... oh man. where do i even start? it's this massive capital thing in north-central india, straddling the yamuna river. the coordinates are 28°37′N 77°14′E if you're into that sort of thing, but honestly it just feels like chaos when you're there. the city's split into urban and rural parts, with terrain that's basically floodplains, some ridges, and plains - all sitting in earthquake zone IV, so you know, keep your hard hats handy.
historically, it's been a mess for centuries. british folks decided to move the capital from calcutta in 1911, slapped down new delhi, and now you've got this "delhi triangle" with old delhi's narrow streets and mosques versus new delhi's wide avenues. it's been a union territory since '56 and became the nct in '92 - whatever that means for paperwork.
the weather... i just checked and it's semi-arid with those scorching summers and cold winters, plus monsoon rains from july to august. hope you like that kind of thing. if you get bored, ghaziabad (across the hindon river) and haryana regions are just a short drive away, though traffic might make that "short" relative.
old delhi's the walled part with jama masjid and bazaars that'll swallow you whole. new delhi has rajpath connecting the president's place to india gate, which is kinda impressive until you remember it's all on earthquake ground. someone told me that the delhi ridge is like a tiny forest reserve in the middle of this concrete jungle - seems like a bad joke, but there it is.
the population's insane - 22 million packed into 1,500 km² with air quality that'll make your lungs weep. it's india's political and transport hub, blending old delhi's maze with new delhi's greenery. honestly? it's exhausting. the city's got this whole "city within a city" vibe where the british-planned part sits inside the older mess. don't even get me started on the seismic risks or the expansion into the ncr. it's a lot.
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