Much like any other major city of India, Delhi is chaotic. Notable aspect though is the traffic behaviour. While in the heart of the capital things may follow an orderly an script, in other areas absolute mayhem rules with most people in an insane hurry. The traffic snarls are time consuming, and the relatively low number of accidents is awe inspiring. The auto-rickshaws, as is the norm everywhere, are a few steps away from committing daylight robbery, with the meter reduced to either an accessory or completely done away with, and fare being fixed in a manner which does beg a reasonable logic.
The jewel on the crown though is the metro or tube/underground. The network is not as intricate as, say, the London Underground but it does handle an enormous number of passengers every day and shares other similar problems. The reason it’s a boon is coz it has eased travel for most, especially when travelling across the city, e.g. Gurgaon - Noida, or Noida - Dwarka. It does take time but for the most part does away with the hassles of any other form of public transport.
It was interesting to note, when out exploring with Delhi By Foot's Ramit Mitra, that modern Delhi happens to be the seventh city built in this area. In the past 1500 years the cities built here are:
- Lal Kot built by Anangpal of Tomara Dynasty. Renamed to Qila-i-Pithora by Prithvi Raj Chauhan.
- Mehrauli by Qutb-ud-din Aibak
- Siri by Alauddin Khilji
- Tughlaqabad by Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq
- Ferozabad by Feroz Shah Tughlaq
- Dinpanah by Humayun / Shergarh by Sher Shah Suri. Supposed be near the site of Indraprastha. Present day Purana Qila is the current location.
- Shahjahanbad built by Shah Jahan of the Mughal Dynasty. It is present day Old Delhi and contains the famous Red Fort, Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid amongst others.
- Indraprastha : capital of the Pandavas. Lack of conclusive evidence does not lend strength to its veracity, although a village by the name of Indraprastha did exist in the vicinity.
- Jahanpanah by Muhammad bin Tughlaq.
- Lodhi Complex built by the Lodhi dynasty.
- Lutyen's Delhi or New Delhi by the British. It was built when the British moved the capital of the empire from Calcutta to Delhi in 1911. Being the current city it hasn't been accorded the historical status as the others of the past.