India, May 2 -- Things are winding down, giving a sense of an ending. This sentiment besets a Connaught Place (CP) stroller, who finally steps into its Outer Circle, after faithfully journeying through all of the preceding circles.

In Dante's epic poem Inferno, Hell has nine circles, each denoting a distinct tier of sin and damnation. Similarly, Delhi's colonial-era CP has four circles, each encompassing a world of distinctly different sensations. The initial three circles were tracked over the previous weeks. The first runs along CP's core: the Central Park. The second is the popular colonnade, alive with showrooms and street performers. The third lends the shopping district its perennially dishevelled appearance.

The fourth circle has...