Viral: Delhi, once celebrated for its lively streets and festive energy, is increasingly being associated with poor air quality and a shifting social fabric.
In a Reddit post, a woman who spent 23 years growing up in Delhi shared how returning to the city now leaves her torn between nostalgia and a quiet sense of loss. She wrote that she was once proud to call herself the “most Delhi girl” in college, but the city she loved seems to be changing faster than she ever imagined.
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Does anyone feel that we have lost the Dilli of our childhoods?
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“Does anyone feel that we have lost the Dilli of our childhoods?” the caption of her post asked, striking a chord with many readers.
According to her, the pace of change feels unsettling. Pollution, she said, hits harder than before, often leaving her unwell and making her feel like an outsider in her own hometown. “I can sense the difference in the air now, and it makes me so sad that I fell sick because suddenly I’m someone who can’t tolerate Delhi’s pollution,” she wrote.
She also pointed to how streets and public spaces have become less pedestrian-friendly. Roads are increasingly clogged with street vendors and e-rickshaws, adding to the chaos in popular markets like Kamla Nagar and Rajouri Garden. “No one needs ten momo stalls within a 500 metre stretch,” she remarked.
Places that once offered calm evening walks, such as Connaught Place, now feel overcrowded, she said, with people filming short videos and vendors selling what she described as unnecessary items.
Beyond the physical changes, she reflected on a fading sense of community. Festivals, she noted, no longer feel the same. “Kids don’t celebrate like they used to. I don’t see kites on August 15, hardly any balloons or pichkaris before Holi, and neighbours barely interact anymore,” her post read.
The reflection has sparked a wider conversation online about how Delhi’s rapid transformation is reshaping not just its skyline, but also its everyday life and shared memories.
Reddit Reacts
The post drew mixed reactions from the users. Many were humbled by post. Users were sympathized to an extent that they shared their own memories of a more better and cleaner Delhi.
Reacting to the post, a user wrote ‘Sunshine of 2000 – 2010 was different..it was refreshing Now sunshine feels like as if we are watching a Mexican movie Back then 10:00 sun was pleasent…nd now 10:00 am feels very itchy and frustrating (especially in summers)’.
‘Delhi is no more how it used to be 10-15 years ago. The spirit of Delhi has now faded out’, said another.
Comment section was filled with people sharing – how their childhood looked in Delhi. Commenting on the same, a user 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’.
Another user said, ‘You are 100% right me being 90’s i loved delhi from the core and felt pride. Yes there was a vibe entering Delhi from gaziyabad which is lost now. Delhi is full of dehatis, mad rush, dirt, pollution, overcrowded’.
Referencing a line from a well-known song, another user wrote, ‘Tujhse milna purani dilli mei, I miss the charm’.
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