A city of contrasts, whose people are full of life and hold rituals in great regard — that’s how Kevin Kelly, Ambassador of Ireland to India, describes the Capital, where every day is different.When Kelly arrived in the Capital in September 2023, his first impression was how green and beautiful the city was. “It’s a “shame about the pollution”, he says. “Otherwise, Delhi would, in my view, be one of the most beautiful and livable cities in the world.”Before being appointed to his current role as Ambassador to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Kelly served as Head of Press and Communications for the Irish Department (Ministry) of Foreign Affairs, Dublin, Ireland. (2021-2023).Prior to that, he served as Ambassador of Ireland to the Netherlands and Special Envoy of the Government of Ireland to Africa for Ireland’s campaign for election to the UN Security Council. (2016 – 2021). Between 2007 and 2011, he served as Ambassador to Uganda and Rwanda based in Kampala.Kelly holds two Honours Masters Degrees from Queens University Belfast and University College Dublin and has experience working with civil society organisations in Ireland, UK and Botswana.He is married to Pamela Uwakwe and has two children, Maya and Noah.Kelly spoke to The Indian Express as part of a series of interviews with Ambassadors about Delhi — their home.Story continues below this adOne place in the city that you love visiting often.My favourite place in New Delhi has to be Lodhi Garden and Nehru Park. And I love Nehru Park particularly because it has a very nice running track — very professional and nice and flat. You can do two rounds of that and it’s a 5-km run. So, whenever the weather allows and the pollution allows, I go to Nehru Park. But Lodhi Garden is also spectacular because of the structures and the buildings in there as well.Three things that stood out for you during your stay here?I think the number one thing is the people, how full of life they are…Story continues below this adIndian people are always associated with beautiful colours, especially the women and the clothes that they wear, but I hadn’t realised how important rituals are… and celebrating all the key moments in life. So I really love the fact that there are so many national holidays, family events that people celebrate.In our embassy, we have a relatively small team of about 50 people, but in any week we could have, you know, somebody coming around with samosas to celebrate some kind of personal event, so that’s very very special.The other thing is just how surprisingly green and beautiful New Delhi is… you think of this big crowded, messy place with, you know, not a lot of greenery. And then when you arrive, it’s so beautiful… one of the greenest cities in the world in terms of the parks and the trees.It’s such a shame about the pollution for those months of the year, otherwise, Delhi would, in my view, be one of the most beautiful and livable cities in the world.Story continues below this adThe third thing would be the diversity. India is not just a country, it’s like a continent. If you’re down in Kerala, it’s a completely different vibe, and if you’re in Rajasthan or Mumbai or Chennai, every single place is so uniquely different in terms of their food, customs, how people live their lives… so that is also something very unique.I come from a very small country… but it’s also quite diverse in terms of culture and language and dialects… but nothing compared to India.The only problem I face here is the pollution. Sadly it’s longer than three months now… if you think it starts during Diwali, so that’s October, November, December, January. We even had pollution at the start of February. So it’s a real problem. I hope that it’s something that can be fixed over time.How do you personally deal with pollution?I’m lucky because I live in a nice house here in Delhi and we have air purifiers. And when the pollution is very bad, I wear a mask outside. But I genuinely worry for other people who don’t have those things… who can’t necessarily afford the electricity for an air purifier in their house… and effectively it’s shortening their lives.Story continues below this adIf you look at some other big cities in the world that face severe pollution, they have managed to fix that. I remember when I was in university in Dublin — that’s a long time ago — in the late 80s and early 90s, we had terrible pollution. I remember I’d be cycling in the smog going to university. That’s gone completely. We have zero pollution now in our city.It is something that affects everybody. It affects the rich, poor, middle class, people who work for the government, people who work with big multinationals… everybody is affected by this. So there should be a real incentive to try to fix it.What about the traffic? How do you deal with that?See, Dublin is not great for traffic either. We are one of the most congested cities in Europe partly because our road infrastructure isn’t as good as it should be and there are a lot of narrow streets… so the traffic can be congested but of course it’s nothing like Delhi.Story continues below this adTraffic is just something that you have to live with… of course, traffic and pollution are two big negatives but other things in this wonderful city make up for it in many ways.What I have found is that maybe I’ve become a Delhiite myself. Honestly, I think it’s better here than in many other cities like Bengaluru and Mumbai. The traffic there is crazy.In the Embassy, we’ve bought a new electric tuk-tuk… with the green colours of Ireland, so we’re very proud of that. We use the tuk-tuk to get us around in a quicker way in the neighbourhood…Memories or encounters that you’ll never forget?Oh, there are so many. I’ll just give you two. One would be when I presented my credentials to Her Excellency, the President. That was the most beautiful event, very nicely done by the Indian government in the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan. It’s something that I’ll never forget.Story continues below this adThen every day, there are small encounters. Last Friday was Valentine’s Day and I think it was also a Hindu holiday… we went walking at lunchtime with the staff to see the tulips on Shanti Path and we came across a group of the most beautifully dressed women, about 15, who were all poets… they were all out for lunch to look at the tulips and presumably talk poetry to each other… we took a little video together which I put up on Instagram…I can’t imagine if I was walking down the street in London, I’d come across a group of 15 women who are all poets dressed beautifully and talking about Irish poetry as well as Indian poetry so it was very special.What food do you like here the most?I’m a vegetarian. So, my favourite food is palak paneer. And I like it when the paneer is a little bit toasted, not too soft and fleshy. That is absolutely wonderful.There are some great restaurants, so many to name. Even here locally, near where we are, we have the famous Moti Mahal, where people go for their butter chicken. But for me, I always go for the vegetarian dishes.Story continues below this adHow is Delhi different from other cities you’ve stayed in?It’s so huge, my god. I know London is a big city and New York is a big city but Delhi just feels so huge. Just this Sunday, we were invited to an event on a farm in Gurgaon and it took almost as long to get there as it would to go to another county from Ireland. Just the vastness of the city… it’s on a different scale.Something that’s also very different is the contrast. You have the very manicured New Delhi juxtaposed with Old Delhi which is higgledy-piggledy with cows on the streets and tuk-tuks. You don’t necessarily get this variety in other cities.Any place in Ireland that’s similar to Delhi?There are, of course, because of the British influence… there are certain architectural similarities in some areas. We don’t have the big beautiful Lutyens buildings that you have here, but certain buildings would remind you a little bit of Dublin.But mostly I think it’s the people, believe it or not… because Ireland is also known as being a friendly country where people spend time and talk to you and ask questions and are helpful, and that to me is probably the biggest similarity.One thing that you’ll miss the most about the city when you leave?I’ll just miss that vibrancy, I suppose… I will miss the fact that every single day, if you’re open to a new experience you can have one in New Delhi. People will talk to you… they won’t think you’re a crazy person if you stop and ask them a question. People will want to get a photograph taken with you or show interest. I’ll miss being with people who are open to engagements.Very often in some European cities, people walk with their heads in their phones… some walk with their heads up in the air… but in Delhi, if you’re open to experiences and talking to people, you could spend the whole day chatting to different people.