“Smog and dust mix with the air in New Delhi. I buy jasmine for her hair in New Delhi.” So begins Michael Creighton’s poem on Delhi. Creighton is among the 50 Delhiites profiled in this book 50 stories that reflect Delhi’s past, present and future. Contained within are stories of Delhi’s artists, activists, teachers, students, policemen, chai-wallahs, book sellers, shopkeepers, refugees, rickshaw drivers. The individuals who symbolise the living remnants of the capital’s glorious heritage. The migrants who imprint the city with their aspirations and dreams, just as Delhi shapes theirs. Those helping a younger generation grapple with the challenges of this new world. Those trying to hold on to a way of life and a culture that is in danger of disappearing. Those trying to record the multiple and competing realities of the capital. Those trying to simply get by. The visible and invisible faces of this vast and teeming megapolis. This book is an ode to the people of Delhi. It is an ode to a people called Delhi.