Each time I visit Delhi I stay in a different part of the city -- which allows me to get lost once (or more than once) again. This time (2007) I called Karol Bagh area temporary home. It was a five minute walk from my hotel to the elevated subway which would take me to the central Delhi underground station. Coming home at night, of course, the walk from the Karol Bagh station to my hotel was more like 45 minutes. Not atypical for me. I do get to meet a lot of people who I can ask directions of and each person offers a unique solution.

The central Delhi station makes New York train riders appear almost humane. The Delhi commuters give no quarter. They line up opposite the door without a break in the rank and when it opens they charge -- like an offensive line opening a seam for the running back. Fortunately they ones I met were lightweights and I charged right back. I broke through but not without expressing my disbelief with a few loud gutterals.

I visited tombs, palaces, parks, a mosque, and the major market, Chandni Chowk. The air was overwhelmingly polluted (but not the worst I've breathed), the temperature was hot and muggy, the bicycle and auto rickshaw drivers were demanding and testy, my clothes weren't damp -- they were wet. But I was going home the next day and then I could rest.