India, Dec. 20 -- Delhi's toxic air is a scandal, a global scandal. And it is going to be so, for the foreseeable future. Just imagine, visualise, this conversation between a young Delhi-based corporate employee from the South and his wife who is expecting their first child.

Wife: I am fed up. I cannot breathe. I want to go back to Chennai.

Husband: Leaving me alone?

Wife: What "alone"? Are you a child ? What about me? And our child who is going to be born? You go happily to your office which has air-purifiers, leaving me alone in this suffocating place. I cannot stay indoors because I cannot keep the windows open and I cannot step outdoors. Can you imagine what this may be doing to the baby? I cannot tolerate this Delhi.

Husband: Eve...