I remember coming to Delhi for the first time with my family and going on tours from morning till night, trying to cover all the ‘must sees’ in and around the city. We went to Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Taj Mahal and so on. We did not let the dehydrating heat slow us down. I went back believing that I had seen everything to be seen in the city. The first few days of Odyssey2022 proved how wrong I was.

On our first day out, the cycle tour by Delhi by Cycle and the Ramadan special night food walk through the streets of Old Delhi, accompanied by insights by our guides on the way, gave a glimpse into the past glory of the city. The next day we met our guide Laurent Glatti. What made Laurent, a researcher from Paris, fall in love with Delhi? What was it about the city that pulled him back again and again? He took us, the 6 tribers, to some of his favourite places – the Sunder Nursery, Nizzamudin Darga, the Lodhi  Gardens and the Lodhi Art District. After navigating through crowded streets, strolling through New Delhi was a relief.

He loved how instead of closing off the mausoleums, the gardens have incorporated them gracefully, connecting them to the public and giving them a sense of belonging as well. The Lodhi district is the last area of New Delhi, which was designed by the colonial government. Wandering between these run-down buildings, we basked in the shadow of giant murals, commissioned by Start India, which has given the area a new life.

Delhi is known for its old monuments and rich history. Through his eyes, we saw that it was also a young, active and evolving city, worth loving for it’s something old and something new.

Odyssey 2022, India's first travel scholarship initiative by Shoshin Tribe, powered by goStops.