Delhi, once celebrated for its vibrant streets, festivals, and communal spirit, now carries the weight of worsening pollution, crowded public spaces, and a changing culture.
A woman, in a Reddit post, who grew up in Delhi for 23 years, shares that coming back home now fills her with a mix of nostalgia and sadness.
Once proud to call herself the “most Delhi girl” in college, she finds the city she loved is changing faster than she expected. “Does anyone feel that we have lost the Dilli of our childhoods?” the caption of her post reads.
Delhi streets lost their charm
According to the woman, the city is changing at a saddening pace. Pollution hits harder than before, making her fall sick and feel like an outsider who cannot tolerate the Delhi air. “I can sense the difference in the air now, and it makes me so sad that I fell sick because suddenly I am an outsider who can’t tolerate the Delhi pollution,” she writes.
She also highlights how streets and public spaces are becoming less walkable. Street vendors and e-rickshaws crowd the roads, creating a chaotic environment in popular markets such as Kamla Nagar and Rajouri. “No one needs ten Momo stalls in a radius of 500 metres," she says.
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In her detailed Reddit reflection, she adds: "I have been a resident of Delhi for 23 years before I moved cities for education and then my job. Before moving out, I would always think that 'dilli se better kuch bhi nahi hai' and I was the biggest Delhi supporter ever. People in my college would basically call me the 'most Delhi girl' they have ever seen. I have my family roots in purani dilli, have grown up in west and north delhi and I am as Delhi as you will get.”
She adds, “However, coming back to Delhi for my holidays during festivals or birthdays of family members- there’s a small pang of pain because you realize that Delhi is changing at a saddening pace.”
She recalls, “We would go for family dinners at Alka Restaurant in CP and I remember CP at night would be such a pleasant experience to walk in but now its just full of people making tiktoks.”
She concludes, “The kids have stopped celebrating festivals. I don’t see kites on 15th Aug, kids barely hit you with balloons and pichkaris a week before holi starts. Neighbours have lost touch. I remember my parents going to our neighbour’s house for 'diwali dene ke liye' but now that trend is just dying a slow death. The communalism is rampant. People are slowly succumbing to bh*jpa’s idea of a saffronized Delhi."
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Reddit reactions
The post drew a wave of reactions from Reddit users, many echoing her sentiments of loss, nostalgia, and the feeling of a once-thriving Delhi gradually changing beyond recognition.
Her post resonated with many Reddit users, who recalled their own memories of Delhi. “Delhi is no more how it used to be 10-15 years ago. The spirit of Delhi has now faded out,” one user commented. Another added, “Over-migration has killed my city. It’s hard to recognise the people I grew up with.”
Another wrote, "I remember playing near jali vala darwaza in my house in early 2000s when electricity used to go, it was so serene, no honking and now even when i shut all the doors of my house i still feel i am standing in the middle of the road."
Through her words, the woman reflects a larger truth of Delhi’s evolution.
Does anyone feel that we have lost the Dilli of our childhoods?
byu/InteractionQuick indelhi
