The national capital's other pollution problem

very winter, air pollution in the national Capital seizes media headlines and social media virality.

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Beyond short-term measures and individual coping strategies, there area few clear solutions on the table. Addressing air quality will require sustained policy action over time. What receives very little or no attention in comparison is another form of pollution — noise.One part of this problem is visible and familiar — traffic and honking. Honking is now deeply embedded in how Delhi drives. Our traffic movement is not rule-based; it is based on negotiation and risk-taking.

There is limited trust that other drivers will behave predictably. Assertion replaces right of way.

In that sense, honking is not just a traffic issue. It reflects how movement takes place in the city — through assertion rather than coordination.

‘And because honking is ceaseless, it becomes background noise that has come to be accepted.