• In college, Wendy Altschuler studied abroad in India.
• She traveled back 20 years later, eager to bring along her husband and three sons.
• It showed her how different it feels to travel in your 20s alongside students versus exploring with kids in tow.

It was dark when I arrived in India, the air was slothful with a gluey viscosity. I was still in college and had never traveled this far away from home before.

I hadn't decided to study abroad in India on a whim. I had spent months preparing, saving, and studying. Delving deep, I was fully immersed in my classes, reading every book on the recommended list and watching every film.

I also spent a lot of time wandering along Chicago's Devon Avenue, or Little India, which was home to 15 blocks of South Asian restaurants and shops at the time.

Of course, none of this prepared me for what I experienced in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur: the Golden Triangle.

Studying abroad in India

During my last year in school, as part of my study-abroad program, I volunteered at a children's home about 90 minutes south of Delhi. Through my work, I learned the power of Jugaad, a Hindi word — an ethos, really — which compels one to make the most of what one has, even if it's very little.

After a day of serving others, I'd return to the YMCA, my home in New Delhi at the time. I'd meet up with classmates to chat about the day's discoveries. I'd share about how generous and selfless it was for the home leaders to help. Others would discuss how difficult it was to witness families living on the street.

More than once during my first stay, a stranger welcomed me into their home, often just two rooms for their entire family. They would offer me a hot cup of tea or a bangle for my wrist. The people who ostensibly had the least seemed hell-bent on giving the most.

This was a formative time in my life, an era of tipping my toe into what might be possible for my future. The kindness and sincerity of the people I met in India, both at the children's home and also in other places I visited, made an indelible impression on me.

I returned 20 years later with my three sons

So, when I got the opportunity to bring my three boys to India two decades later, I raised my hand.

As a travel writer, I've had the opportunity to visit many countries around the world, and as a result, I've accumulated a fair amount of airline miles. My husband, who also travels for work, does the same.

We decided to cash in our miles and book a family trip to South and Southeast Asia, taking advantage of extended layovers. This included four days lighting up all five of our senses in India.

We made the most of our limited time by visiting some of Delhi's landmarks, including Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Humayun's Tomb, India Gate, Lotus Temple, and Jama Masjid. These were all the same locales my feet had wandered through as a university student.

We hired human-powered cycle rickshaws to explore the constricted streets of Old Delhi, where hundreds of snaking power cords blocked out the sky above. I watched my sons' eyes widen as we narrowly avoided itinerant goats, men and women carrying hefty bundles on their heads, beeping motorbikes, and green and yellow tuk-tuks.

The most distinctive stop for me was the timeworn YMCA. I didn't recognize it, truly, until I saw the hallway leading to the bedrooms where I could picture myself running down the stairs, a palpable sensation where I remembered unerringly how I felt when I was young, well before the demands of adulthood and motherhood.

In a snap of a finger, so powerfully poignant that errant tears escaped down my cheeks, I was now standing there, in the exact same spot, with my husband and three children. Time is wild.

Later, we'd leave Delhi and travel to Agra, stopping off at the famous Taj Mahal. A multi-generational family of women smiled and asked to have a photo with me at Agra Fort, and each time I spotted them around the grounds, we would all wave and giggle, verifying that the warmth and adoration were mutually felt.

In Jaipur, the Pink City, my 15-year-old middle son met a man who coaxed a green bird out of a cage. The bird then selected a red card with his beak, a delightful fortune of goodwill. When the rain poured down in sheets while visiting Chandra Mahal and City Palace, my boys dared each other to step out from under the safety of the overhang and get soaked — a dare my youngest took hook, line, and sinker.

Looking at the photos that my kids had taken later — elephants walking in the road, magnified details of gems stuck in walls, garbage on the ground, and plenty of goofy selfies — I recognized that they were going through something completely different on this journey than I was, which is the magic of travel.

Sojourning in India during my 20s with other students was undoubtedly a much different opportunity than seeing the country with my family in tow. We can all wander through the same destination together, but our ages, life experiences, and circumstances will always dictate a unique, personalized adventure. It's up to us to assign meaning to what we experience.

India is fragrant smoke, turmeric powder, mustard seeds, and dangling strings of chilies; tight round marigolds, fresh jasmine, and bursting bougainvillea; raucous tuk-tuks and inert cows. It's humidity, then a deluge of rain then beams of sunshine. It's smiles under draping colorful scarves and a bob of the head. There's an effervescence that must be experienced firsthand to comprehend, to believe, to feel.

My boys will likely be unpacking their journey for years to come, just as I am decades later still; and perhaps, in 20 more years, we will meet in the country of curry, textiles, forts, and flowers once again.

• Varun Badhwar lives in Delhi where toxic smog hit severe levels this week.
• Badhwar has lived in Delhi for 40 years and, despite pollution concerns, has not moved out.
• He told BI he values the melting pot community and family he has in the city.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Varun Badhwar, director for growth and monetization at Condé Nast India. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I've lived in Delhi my entire life — for four decades now — and I've seen it grow over the years into the melting pot that it is today.

Everyone is talking about the pollution in the city this week, but I've experienced it since I was a child.

I remember back in school we used to take these government buses with diesel engines. They would emit such huge clouds of black smoke that we would feel suffocated.

I bought my first air purifier in 2016, when people started talking more and more about the Air Quality Index (AQI). This week, when the AQI hit 1,500, I bought my third one.

At least three or four people in my circle have moved out of Delhi due to the pollution. The smog means people who develop breathing issues are advised not to stay here anymore.

I have considered leaving Delhi many times, but I still haven't.

Why Delhi's pollution problem is so bad

Our population in Delhi has skyrocketed in the last couple of decades with an influx of people coming in for jobs.

Our infrastructure didn't grow at the same pace, and maybe our government didn't anticipate it.

From a geolocation point of view, Delhi is also at a disadvantage because of the surrounding mountains. It's harder for the winds to sweep away the clouds of emissions, so they linger.

Our state is also close to agriculture-heavy states like Punjab and Haryana, where burning of crop residue is common and adds to the situation.

It's especially worse in the winters every year; there was a picture recently of a woman standing in front of the Taj Mahal and you can't even see it properly.

I do my part to stay safe. I try to stay indoors, keep physical activity to a bare minimum during the winter, and work out extra during the summer months until about August.

I drink a lot of hot water and ginger tea, stock up on air purifiers, and do my breathing exercises.

I usually escape to the hills, but it's no longer as sustainable

The situation has become so common that people who can afford to move out of the city to less polluted places during the winter. I tend to go to the hills every time the pollution spikes in Delhi, and usually, it gets better in a few days.

This time, it was more concerning. I went to the Kanatal hill station for three nights, and when I came back, my air purifier said the AQI was still 900.

But I don't want to leave Delhi. I was born and raised here, my extended family is here. About five years ago, I thought of moving to Canada, but I didn't pursue it because the opportunities were better for me here.

I think I'm better off in Delhi than somewhere I'd have to start all over again. It's hard to find a community like this outside.

Apart from the pollution problem, Delhi has a lot of positives. It's a melting pot, and especially after the tech boom in Gurugram, people come from all over the world.

The malls have the biggest brands in luxury and high fashion, the heritage and history are incredible, and the job opportunities are great. It's a great place to be.

• New Delhi reported severe levels of air pollution this week.
• Smog has led to school closures, a ban on construction, and flight disruptions.
• Titus Koshy, CEO of United Consultancy Services Group, told BI his employees struggle to commute.

Air pollution in India's capital, New Delhi, has become so severe that some people are struggling to commute to work.

Titus Koshy, CEO of United Consultancy Services Group which has more than 150 employees, told Business Insider that the toxic smog engulfing the city had made it difficult for his staff to come into the office.

"There's so much confusion. People can't reach the office, public transport is not accessible, it's very disruptive and we've had to work from home," he said.

Koshy added that some of his employees had complained about sore throats and viral infections over the past few weeks.

On Monday, the Air Quality Index in New Delhi was over 1,500, the BBC said, or 15 times the level the World Health Organization (WHO) deems satisfactory for breathing.

According to IQ Air, it improved to 186 on Thursday, a level still classed as "unhealthy." The United States Environmental Protection Agency considers anything over 300 as "hazardous" to health.

On Tuesday, Delhi's Chief Minister announced on X that schools would be shut and classes would be shifting online. Construction has also been banned in the city and some flights have been disrupted.

"These construction laborers are not going to be paid by anybody," said Koshy. "They didn't even let someone come in and install a geyser in my house. These workers will be impacted more than anyone else, what do they do?"

Delhi and the surrounding areas are home to offices of several multinational companies, including JP Morgan, KPMG, Cisco, and Mondelēz International.

Shubham Gupta, a consultant at KPMG, told BI that he tries to work from home as much as possible, but his company mandates in-office work at least two to three days a week. He wears an N-95 mask on those days, and relies on the office air purifier.

"Sometimes it hits my mind that I should leave Delhi, but after all, our livelihood is there, so how can we leave?" he said.

KPMG India said its teams can exercise the flexibility for remote working in consultation with their managers and based on their client commitments.

"All have been advised to travel to/from NCR/Delhi only if it's business critical," a spokesperson said in a statement. "Employee well-being continues to be our topmost priority and we will adapt ourselves as the situation evolves."

Smog in the city is worse during the post-monsoon winter months, especially when it is combined with the annual Diwali festival, dust storms, and mass burning of crop residue from neighboring states.

A 2019 study by the World Bank estimated the global cost of health damages associated with exposure to air pollution to be $8.1 trillion.