Delhites will forever remember that something called G20 summit held in the national captial, when a part of  the city went into a halt.

But it's not the first time in Delhi that something as magnanimous as G20 Summit happened, but in 1951 the Asian Games happened in Delhi which has a flavor of its own.

In 1972, the Captial's first international trade fair happened in Delhi. That time the capital saw many buildings coming up.

It was the first time Delhi had hosted an Expo-like event. All the major nations built pavilions showcasing their economic prowess which were, for the most part, of no interest to the average gawker, but all of Delhi came to look anyway because the world had, allegedly, arrived at our doorstep. In Mrs Gandhi’s autarkic India, this was an Event.

Pragati Maidan became a thing that time, and now today Pragati Maidan is in its all new avatar, in a modern, architectural avatar.

Pragati Maidan, before its makeover by Modi, was a curious space; shabby, mostly vacant, but also a place that made a difference to our lives.

How can we forget the visit to World Book Fair l, which felt like tours of duty, but in between cliffs of unreadable books there were cheap miracles on offer like science fiction paperbacks with their covers torn off, sold for next to nothing in make-shift bookstalls.

The other reason people used to visit Pragati Maidan was to watch art house films in Sakuntalam, its single-screen theatre.

But now Pragati Maidan is a lot more than Book Fair, its about culture, and a centre of convention as grand or greater than the Sydney Opera House.

During Asia 72, Delhi created space that made city life more various and interesting. It enriched Delhi’s cultural calendar.

But now, 50  years later, Delhi staged another mega-event, this time a spectacle from which the city’s spectators were specifically barred.

In Modi’s global, world class, coming out party, they were extras.