Even though I’d heard about it, I wasn’t prepared for how chaotic the street wiring in Old Delhi is. But Bob Cranwell and George G did — they recognized our One Clue Mystery photo, so congratulations to both!
There are many places in the old city where you’ll see spaghetti-like masses of live wiring that seem to be incapable of being untangled or understood, yet somehow Delhi electricians figure it out and keep the power flowing. There seems no plan, no logic, no reason to it. It just seems to have evolved like some hideous beast.
By far the worst that I experienced was the Chandi Chowk Market area. It is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Delhi and is not far from the Red Fort. These photos were taken while walking those streets.
I think the photos are self-explanatory. Not sure which cables provide electricity, phone or internet services, but what you see is what powers those tech centers you get when dialing many company’s 1-800 numbers.
Still amazed by it even after having studied these photos many times!
I would bet that a great deal of that power is unmetered too ! Rogue connections to street lamps are everywhere, and a modest tip to the power company engineer cuts your business overheads !
Monsoon rains produce endless outages and sparking cables !