India, March 21 -- Are they gone?

The burger trolleys of Connaught Place (CP) would serve those among us who strive to find contentment in cheaply priced street cuisine. The metal carts were spread across the corridors and plazas of CP. They stocked burgers, but also patties, sandwiches, paneer kulche, "hot dog," and cream-rolls.

This weekday afternoon, despite making two rounds of the Inner and Outer Circle, not a single burger trolley is sighted in the entire CP.

A typical burger trolley would be manned by its vendor, sometimes aided by a young "helper." The all-vegetarian menu would be painted in red on the trolley's lane-facing side. Some carts would be sanctified with religious posters or symbols, or with sacred invocations such a...