Manoj Sharma

New Delhi

Metro Features Editor at Hindustan Times

Metro Features Editor @htTweets. Pursuing stories that fall through the cracks. #bookworm; a fan of Jagjit Singh, Ian McEwan, Paul Auster, Javier Marías.

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Articles

HT Syndication: The rise of Anywhere City

1 week ago | htsyndication.com | Manoj Sharma

India, May 5 -- Gurugram's skyline glints with mirrored facades, soaring office towers, and luxury condominiums-symbols of aspiration in a globalising India. But to many long-time residents, such as Rajesh Bhardwaj, the city's transformation feels oddly disorienting. Visitors often tell him it reminds them of Dubai. "And I wonder why that is a compliment," he asks.
‘Homogenisation creates cultural amnesia’

1 week ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

Dikshu C Kukreja is a leading Indian architect and the managing principal at Delhi-based C.P. Kukreja Architects, one of the country’s most reputed architectural firms. A strong proponent of architecture rooted in its social, cultural and climatic context, he is known for blending contemporary design with local sensitivity. He spoke to HT’s Manoj Sharma about the importance of contextual architecture.
The rise of Anywhere City

1 week ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

Gurugram’s skyline glints with mirrored facades, soaring office towers, and luxury condominiums—symbols of aspiration in a globalising India. But to many long-time residents, such as Rajesh Bhardwaj, the city’s transformation feels oddly disorienting. Visitors often tell him it reminds them of Dubai. “And I wonder why that is a compliment,” he asks.
HT Syndication: Driving urban mobility, hostility: An auto story

1 month ago | htsyndication.com | Manoj Sharma

India, April 14 -- Autorickshaws were once the defining Delhi motif, often seen on book covers and tourist souvenirs. Over the decades, however, they've spread far beyond the Capital, becoming common fixtures in other metro cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, and others. Today, it's hard to imagine any Indian city without them. What hasn't changed, though, is their notoriety. Delhi's autowallahs have a reputation for charging exorbitant fares, refusing rides, behaving rudely, or worse.
Driving urban mobility, hostility: An auto story

1 month ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

Autorickshaws were once the defining Delhi motif, often seen on book covers and tourist souvenirs. Over the decades, however, they’ve spread far beyond the Capital, becoming common fixtures in other metro cities such as Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, and others. Today, it’s hard to imagine any Indian city without them. What hasn’t changed, though, is their notoriety. Delhi’s autowallahs have a reputation for charging exorbitant fares, refusing rides, behaving rudely, or worse.
Rethinking streets: Why cities need to make room for buskers

1 month ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

This is also in contrast to cities across the world such as London, New York, and Paris, where street performances are an essential part of urban cultural fabric. London’s Covent Garden, for example, is known for its lively street performers; New York City’s Times Square is a magnet for buskers, and Paris’ Place du Tertre in Montmartre has been a thriving cultural hub where artists and performers co-exist with locals and tourists.
Marking history: can the new blue plaque trend promote heritage conservation in Indian cities?

2 months ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

If you stroll through the historic districts of cities like Delhi, Ahmedabad, or Kolkata, you’ll likely spot blue plaques adorning heritage buildings. Inspired by London’s renowned blue plaque programme, these markers honour the legacy of structures that have endured through time. Whether it’s an old haveli, a colonial-era institution, or the residence of a notable figure, these plaques put up by municipal corporations aim to make the past more visible in the present.
Stranded in the transit information void

2 months ago | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

On a warm but windy February afternoon, Ram Swarup, 69, waited for a bus at Barakhamba Road in Delhi. The bus shelter on this road in central Delhi has bright digital screens that flash advertisements, and boasts of a digital clock, an emergency button, and route numbers. But what Swarup needed the most was missing—a route map and real-time bus information. A bus arrived, and Swarup asked the conductor whether its route took it to Kamla Nagar in north Delhi.
Revving Trouble? What India’s two-wheeler boom means for urban mobility

Jan 26, 2025 | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

India is currently grappling with a dramatic increase in the number of two-wheelers — an oft overlooked element of the road. Over the past two decades, the number of four-wheelers on the country’s roads has seen a marked rise, which is often blamed for the massive snarls that almost all Indian cities now grapple with.
The names we keep: India’s unchanged urban memory

Jan 12, 2025 | hindustantimes.com | Manoj Sharma

It’s a rainy December evening, and an autorickshaw driver in Chennai looks puzzled as a visitor from Delhi, unfamiliar with the city, asks to be taken to Anna Salai. “Where?” the driver asks, perplexed by the name. The passenger repeats, “Anna Salai”. There’s a moment of confusion, before the passenger adds, “Higginbotham’s Bookshop.” Instantly, the auto driver’s face lights up.