Premium

‘Lives in India amount to nothing’: Indian traveller says he felt ‘numb’ returning to Delhi after Sri Lanka trip, sparks debate on civic sense

The user posted on X how returning to Delhi after a visit to Sri Lanka left him feeling unsettled. He described the contrast between the two countries as hard to ignore.

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Dec 18, 2025 08:55 AM IST

Indian traveller compares Sri Lanka India civic sense

The traveller described the contrast between the two countries as hard to ignore

A post by an Indian traveller comparing day-to-day life in Sri Lanka with that of India has triggered a lively discussion online about infrastructure, cleanliness, and public behaviour.

Posting on X, a user named Ish shared how returning to Delhi after a visit to Sri Lanka left him feeling unsettled. He described the contrast between the two countries as hard to ignore.

“Reached Delhi after returning from Sri Lanka and I am so numb,” he wrote, adding that Indians need not look to Europe for comparisons when “there’s a country with so much better air, roads, infrastructure, cleanliness and civic sense right in our neighbourhood.”

The post struck a chord, racking up more than two lakh views and drawing responses from people who weighed in with their own travel experiences.

Check out the post:

Reached Delhi after returning from Sri Lanka and I am so numb. Our lives in India really amount to nothing. You don’t need to compare India with Europe man – there’s a country with so much better air, roads, infrastructure, cleanliness and civic sense right in our neighbourhood.

— ish (@charassiaaa) December 13, 2025

Many echoed Ish’s sentiment. One user remarked, “The moment you land in Sri Lanka you realise a stark difference. Well-built roads, cleanliness, and air. Though the people look familiar, yet the land feels foreign.”

Another user commented, “This is exactly what I felt after my SL trip. We take pride in our global brand economy, but SL completely bypassed that and built a simpler, cleaner, and more dignified and charming life. Small towns with small markets but major chill.”

Also Read | ‘I was robbed’: Grammy winner Ricky Kej accuses Zomato delivery partner of theft; company promises probe

A third person added, “I was in Thailand this month and in Sri Lanka in July. The problem is we are a 150 crore population, and they are not… People here lack civic sense, and in other countries, they follow the rules. No honking, no littering, but here we do it all brazenly.”

Story continues below this ad

However, not everyone agreed that the comparison was fair. A contrasting view highlighted the vastly different scales at play, pointing out that Sri Lanka’s population density is a fraction of Delhi’s. The user wrote, “Sri Lanka feels calmer and cleaner, but it’s not a fair comparison. Sri Lanka has 360 people/sq km; Delhi has 13,800. India manages 1.4B people, 22+ languages, fast growth, and real defence threats. Different scale, different pressures. Even most of Europe is the size of our T2.”