Capturing the changing urbanscape of Delhi for three decades

How has Delhi changed in the last 30 years since The Hindu set up shop there? Our lensmen were there to capture it then and now.

Connaught Place

Barring the giant flag post and facilities for shoppers on the central park, Connaught Place or Rajiv Chowk has not changed drastically since 1986. But the grounds beneath the commercial hub have undergone a sea of change, housing the largest and busiest metro station in the city.

Indira Gandhi International Airport

A lone double storey building was all that comprised the IGI Airport, catering to 35,000 fliers, 30 airlines and 150 flights daily. Today, the swanky new airport, or T3 in popular parlance, handles more than 132,000 passengers, 70 airlines and 943 flight movements with facilities that compare with the best globally.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences crossing

Located on the arterial road connecting central and south Delhi, the AIIMS crossing was a commuters’ nightmare, with monster traffic jams a daily phenomenon. That is now a thing of the past. Traffic may not be a breeze but the flyover-cum-loop has ensured it is goodbye jams.

Nirula's

When Nirula’s opened its first fast food restaurant in Connaught Place in 1997, offering a desi version of Western fast food and a range of ice creams, it quickly became the favourite haunt of yuppies and the well-heeled. Today it has ceded space to global and Indian fast food chains such as Haldiram’s, which has opened an outlet where the once popular Nirula’s Potpourri used to be.

Boat Club

Jayaprakash Narayan in 1975, Charan Singh in 1978 and farmers’ leader Mahendra Singh Tikait in 1998, the India Gate lawns have seen some of the biggest political rallies in the country. But the once ground zero of protests is now a no-go zone for protesters. The central vista hosts only government-sponsored programmes now, from the first International Yoga Day last year to the Bharat Parv jamboree to celebrate Independence Day recently.

Nizamuddin Bridge

The most visible change can be seen on the roads. The once ubiquitous Maruti 800 can be found only in the scrap yard, the last remnants of the Premier Padmini ply only in Mumbai, and the ‘good ole Amby’ ferries only sarkari babus now.