But Delhi has begun to emerge from the shadow of Mumbai and Calcutta, and even provokes a certain amount of jealousy.

Delhi attracts migrants from all over India (as well as some like me, from the rest of world) and is now the most cosmopolitan and fastest-growing of India's large cities.

These ruins include one magnificent cathedral-like building - three stories high - that always seems destined to topple over in the next storm. It is popular with peacocks, but I have never seen another human there.