Delhi is enjoying pleasant weather these days. After a long cold spell, and rains breaking winter records, the warm days are really welcome. One can see people with nominal woollens, enjoying the sun wherever its bounty is not blocked. The nights are still cold.

Delhiites know this well. Ignoring the fall in temperature in the evenings can be dangerous. Covid is weakened. But without woollens, it is easy to catch a cold in the evenings. For most, there is little risk as people turn homewards, as the sun goes down. Crowds are out in open spaces and parks to enjoy the weather.

The Delhi Zoo is attracting visitors in large numbers. Sea sons come and go, and Delhi knows it must hurry up and enjoy their colours. A few things in the capital, however, remain unaffected by the change of seasons. Traffic jams top this list. These have become the most powerful symbols of life in Delhi.

In fact, they are so permanent as to deserve a place in picture postcards of the metropolis. For thousands of Noida residents, taking the DND flyway to South Delhi is a nightmare every day. The traffic slows down well before the Yamuna river bridge is anywhere near its end. One has to literally drag one’s car in the first two gears. There is no choice but to just look around, and see who is driving which model.

The pleasant weather does not mean anything to those stuck in the long queue of vehicles. It’s the end of all peace and quiet in the mind. By the time, DND’s end is emerging, it’s a skill game in which you steer your car in the uneven, curvy and dusty “road.” There are trucks carrying building material, live chickens in pigeon-hole cages, dumpers, and desperate cab drivers trying to write their own law of driving.

One can only curse oneself, watching the emerging foundations of a long flyover under construction, leading to Ashram Chowk. There is no traffic police to comfort you or to guide you that movement of vehicles is about to resume.

As one straightens up, there is a determined inflow of more traffic wanting to join your stream from the left. You may ask your stars where you went wrong today. To get out of the slow-motion mass of traffic, there is no choice but to climb the old flyover which shows its face. If one turns to the slip road by the same flyover, it means still more driving bumper to bumper.

Down the old flyover, as one turns to the Defence Colony flyover to reach the centre of the city, there is more testing of patience. Some vehicles try to escape the tyranny of municipal Lords and move towards the Lodi Road office complexes against the one-way traffic.

The others drive on the narrow strip of road available to traffic towards India Gate. The Barapullah elevated corridor and Mathura Road remain identified with slow traffic. Choices to escape the pain are limited, and they ensure you neither get value for the precious fuel you burn nor enjoy the Spring air.