Vintage City

On the train from Delhi to Jodhpur, which mercifully chugged out of Old Delhi station on time, the man seated across me happened to be a Jodhpur native. His family had lived in the city for generations. He was a retired government servant who had worked for the Indian Railways for over three decades. “What’s special about your home town?” I asked when we got talking. He was quick to respond.

His city—unlike most other Indian cities which have morphed into modern Frankensteins—still retains its old-world charm. Sure, there were more malls and pizza joints and soulless office towers than before. Sure, the migrant population in the city was rising. More people meant more cars. And more traffic jams . Also, new apartment complexes were sprouting in unlikely spots, including

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