Mughal domes, Sufi shrines and spice lanes share the map with metro lines and rooftop cafés, from chole bhature breakfasts in the old city to sunsets over the ruins of Mehrauli.

Gated old-city lanes called pols, lace-like stone windows at Sidi Saiyyed, late-night snack stalls in Manek Chowk and a riverfront sky full of kites each January.

Jasmine-crowned Karaga processions in the old market lanes, a granite legislature lit up at night, breakfast eaten standing at darshinis and a glass house that disappears under flowers twice a year.

Wide lawns run from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, white colonnades ring Connaught Place and murals cover the lanes of Lodhi Colony. India's planned capital, with a garden at every turn.

Four minarets above bangle-lined lanes, a granite fort on a boulder hill, a lake with a giant stone Buddha and glass towers to the west. The old pearl city of the Deccan still trades in sparkle.

Fort walls winding along the Aravalli ridge, a palace facade of 953 latticed windows, a giant stone sundial and jewelers' arcades in a walled city painted terracotta pink.

Gothic railway stations, dabbawalas weaving lunch through rush hour, sea breezes on Marine Drive and Bollywood studios in the suburbs. India's biggest city, built on seven joined islands.

Migratory birds over the Yamuna at Okhla, snow falling inside a shopping mall, momo stalls lighting up Sector 29 and numbered sectors, each with its own park and market.

Peshwa fort gates, drum troupes rehearsing for Ganeshotsav, plates of fiery misal and famously blunt shop signs. A college city of hills, forts and leafy lanes with a dry sense of humor.

White-marble tombs on both banks of the Yamuna, a red sandstone fort, leather and inlay shops along Sadar Bazaar, and petha counters stacked with sweets in a dozen flavors.

Our guide to Baga is on its way.

Pink minarets doubled in still lakes, Nawabi-era bazaars selling beaded batuas, and wild tigers padding through forest at the edge of town. A capital of lakes, Begums and kebabs.

Our guide to Chaibasa is on its way.

Le Corbusier's concrete Capitol, a lake made for quiet walks, a sculpture garden built from broken tiles and bangles, and leafy numbered sectors below the Shivalik hills.

Sectors named after Greek letters, a Formula One track beside the Yamuna Expressway, winter geese at Surajpur Wetland and evening momo stalls packed with university students.

A gold-roofed temple mirrored in a sacred tank, workshops stitching footballs and hockey sticks, and late-December ragas at the world's oldest Hindustani music festival.

Tribal drums on Gopal Maidan, Mughal-style fountains in Jubilee Park, wild elephants in the Dalma Hills and a steel plant at the heart of India's first planned industrial city.

A Big Ben-style clock tower over an old woollen mill, tanneries by the Ganga, laddus sold with a cheeky slogan and quiet river ghats a short ride from the factory gates.