Comic Con, festivals, heritage walks are on as pollution cloud lifts

This week (Monday to Friday), Delhi's average AQI has been 244, as good as it gets this time of the year, at least since the late 2000s when the city's air quality took a turn for the worse after Punjab passed a water conservation law that started the trend of stubble burning.

- Paras Singh

Although AQI has been in the moderate territory (sub-200), the days have been crisp and sunny, and the skies have been blue. To be sure, AQI will turn poor again, and then return to moderate, and keep varying between these two till the end of January with occasional spikes into very poor territory.

But the relative improvement seen this week means that starting today, Saturday December 7, the Capital's winter calendar kicks in - replete with heritage walks, literature festivals, a horticulture fair, even a comics convention. Some of the events are by one of the three administrations governing Delhi; others are private. All mark a comforting return to normalcy. And all remind Delhi old-timers of a time when winter was a season that they could look forward to.

Saturday heritage walks

The heritage cell of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will, on Saturday launch its series of heritage walks and symposiums on the evolution of Delhi, its historical cities and cultural icons, senior civic officials said. "Starting December 7, we will be holding these walks and events on every first and third Saturday of the month. The walks will continue throughout the winter season till March," a senior MCD official said, asking not to be named.