India, Nov. 18 -- Every winter, Delhi's concert calendar reaches a fever pitch - stadium shows, club nights, festival weekends stacked one after another. But this year, the soundtrack has changed. With AQI levels routinely crossing 400 and slipping into the 'severe' category, the same months that usually keep musicians busiest are now leaving them breathless, hoarse and increasingly helpless.

Parikrama's Subir Malik has seen decades of Delhi winters, but this one feels different. "As musicians, especially singers whose main earning source is their throat, you can imagine what they're going through. It's next to criminal. from younger kids to 80-year-olds. And for musicians it's different because if the singer's throat goes, the whole ban...