HEALTH

In recent times air pollution has increased, otherwise Delhi is a healthy area. There are numerous hospitals and dispensaries all over the city. In fact with the giant hospitals like the AIIMS and others, Delhi has probably the best facilities for medical treatment in India.

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LEISURE

On its own Delhi would probably not support much in terms of entertainment except maybe some kathak-mujra and bhangda, but the government's generous grants ensure there's some activity in diverse fields. The various central government institutions do their bit all round the year, organising some seminar, show, exhibition, discussion, etc something or the other all the year round. The bureaucratic orientation is very strongly marked, but since it is all for free, no one complains, instead they duly attend the shows and soak up culture.

Classical visual and performing arts including all forms and schools of classical dance and music are a regular at a host of auditoriums including, Kamani Auditorium, Triveni Kala Sangam, The India International Center and Pragati Maidan. The annual national film festival and the bi-annual international film festival held in January at the Siri Fort Complex, are eagerly awaited events. Theater is also a popular form of recreation in Delhi with the influence of the National School of Drama. Delhi also has some of the country's finest museums in the country. The various embassies and cultural centers of different countries in Delhi contribute to the cultural scene.

There are several discos in Delhi: some of the well known ones are

Annabelles New Delhi Intercontinental
Aubergine The Radisson National Highway 8
CJ's Le Meridien Windsor Place
Ghungroo Welcome Group Maurya Sheraton, Sardar Patel Marg
My Kind of Place Taj Palace , Sardar Patel Marg
Djinns Hotel Hyatt Regency , Ring Road
Scribbles Gourmet Gallery, South Extension II
Someplace Else The Park Hotel , Sansad Marg
XS Vasant Vihar Float
Park Royal, Nehru Place
(source: delhigate.com )

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WORK CULTURE & ROUND UP

The Delhi scene ranges from international to rustic with all intermediate elements. Overall there is the stamp of the bureaucracy and politics, it being the capital.

Corporate culture is fast gaining ground. There is an overall linguistic 'caste' divide, those who are fluent in English and those who aren't. People who are fluent in Hindi in addition have the best of both worlds. Then there are the government servants and their families and the others. ( Delhiites are shameless name droppers--" yesterday, when I was lunching with the secretary of the department of XXX..etc is countered by 'As I was telling Atalji .." .

In north India Delhi is probably the best place for job opportunities. Spouses (M/F) can get employment without difficulty especially if they are in teaching or the newer sunrise industries like IT or services.

In spite of increasing public awareness women in Delhi say they are not treated equally --lingering influence of the rustic belt. But things are changing fast here, too.

Delhi is basically a city of people from Uttar Pradesh and refugees from Punjab. It has large numbers of people from all over India though, again thanks to the government's encouragement and policies. Each state of India is represented here not just in people but also in associations, cultural centres , festivals and the like.

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