Delhi

I dashed up to Delhi for the weekend to meet up with the in-coming rentals. They were making a whistle stop tour through India to check up on me, make sure the runs were at an end, feed me up, pamper me - all the usual things that parents do exceptionally well and that I'm especially adept at denying I'm in need of until my head hits that comfy pillow...

In my mind, Delhi is the bustling capital of India; an organised chaos of auto rickshaws, Ministers, and history. That turned out to be rather far of the mark. Admittedly, I stuck mainly to the downtown area around Janpath, but I really wasn't prepared for the sweeping boulevards, grand government offices, and imposing monuments.

The British moved the capital of India to Delhi from Culcutta in 1911. They commissioned Edward Lutyens to design a capital fit to be the "jewel in the crown". Imperial ambitions know no reason and over the next 22 years, Luytens and an estimated 20,000 workers constructed New Delhi. He was an ambitious planner with an imposing vision, and when you stand at the Presidential Palace and squint into the distance at the Red Fort jutting out from behind the India Gate some 3km away, it's obvious that the result was iconic.

And then suddenly it clicked. Here was a vivid reminder of why British nostalgia for the "glory days" of the Empire runs so deep. This was the time when the British felt they were at their best. We were world class at something, standing tall, head and shoulders above the rest. We could plan grand cities, rule over thousands, bring "civilisation" to the world through trains, education, and the rule of law. Nevermind the fact that trade was often more akin to theft, and British rule subjugated millions to our concept of what was right.

So why all the nostalgia for what was, arguably, one of the darkest moments of our history? Perhaps it's because once you've fallen into the trap of believing that you're view of the world is inalienably right, then you lament your decine. Or maybe if you believe that once you've reached the pinnacle of your power, it's inevitably all downhill from there. America beware; nostalgia can quickly smother a nation's aspirations.