Too often do we criticise Delhi as a concrete jungle – just a series of sky-scrapers for offices, match-box apartments and glitzy malls. Too often do we talk of pollution – Yamuna is just reduced to filth at many places, water is often not fit for consumption, air at many traffic intersections is unfit for breathing. So many complaints! Justified as many of the laments might be, some day, let’s try to count our blessings and we will be surprised to see what the Lord has bestowed upon us.
Lakes, for instance. Not many even take note of it, but Delhi is in many ways the city of lakes.
For proof, take out your car and drive across the city. Approach the city from the east and you come across the good old Sanjay Jheel; the water is tranquil, the greenery better than elementary. Drive further down to Purana Quila and its waters; it is the place to find couples in love enjoying a boat-ride. Or go to the south. Hauz Khas, the part of the city dating back to the Khalji rulers, has an enviable lake. The story is the same in north Delhi where the Capital boasts of its own Naini lake.
Not satisfied with these water bodies? Go to Bhalswa. Many know it as a dumping ground, few treasure the lake initially shaped as horse shoe. Or the innumerable smaller bodies in Mehrauli-Tughlakabad belt. Not to forget the much-ignored Ugrasen ki Baoli located at just a kilometre from Connaught Place.
Now, didn’t I tell you we are guilty of ignoring our blessings? The cloud called Delhi comes with a silver lining called lakes.
