In 2009, when children’s guide books were mostly limited to the drab educational kinds, while on a visit to Delhi, I spotted a vibrant distraction in the kid’s section of a bookstore. Urban Crayon Delhi by publisher-journalist Kim Barrington Narisetti called itself a must-have guide for all fun things to do in the capital for kids. The book was packed with options and ideas for every age group; it even had girl and boy-centric options for parents to pick from. In the days to follow, as I suggested the book to Delhi-based friends with kids, it seemed to resonate; each of them gave it a double thumbs-up.

As I flipped through it, I was compelled to do one of my favourite, obsessive pastimes with all things Delhi — the comparison game with Mumbai. Except that this time, it backfired badly. We were far behind.