New Delhi

Where I Go: Reading Among Readers

In India, Weekly Reading Clubs Offer a Sense of Community and Belonging

Where I Go: Reading Among Readers | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

I entered the Lodhi Gardens through Gate 1, as I’d been instructed, and approached the monument. A city park spread over 90 acres in New Delhi, the gardens contain the tombs of medieval rulers of the Delhi Sultanate and today serve as a popular destination for walking and hanging out. I found myself facing a tomb with a dome on top, with people ranging in age from university students to those in their early 30s sprawled all around. Some reclined on mats; others simply lay on the grass. Everyone was …

by Ankush Pal |

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Our Favorite Essays of 2023 | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Our Favorite Essays of 2023

In the Boxing Ring. At a Parking Lot. Through Prison Glass. These Stories Captured the Sights, Sounds, and Heart of the Year

South Africans got it right when they made “kuning,” the isiZulu word that roughly translates to “it’s a lot,” one of the defining words of 2023.

It was a lot this …

The Human Costs of Building a ‘World-Class’ City

In Advance of the G20 Summit, New Delhi Has Demolished Neighborhoods and Displaced Thousands

by Ankush Pal and Anubhav Kashyap |

On a hot summer day in New Delhi, a young resident of the posh area of Greater Kailash looked down from the window of his air-conditioned room.

“I don’t know how …


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