Water narratives in large cities reflect the complexities and challenges of human progress. Transition to modern urban hydraulics ignored and disparaged the traditions in the colonised oriental cities. After more than a century, the governance of urban water is at crossroad. This work explores the cocktail of politics, culture, governmentality situating the water journey in Delhi and using field evidence offers possibilities to improve the water well-being in the city and its inhabitants. Disrupting the binary thinking of urban water, it advocates holistic water management, public engagement, and right-based interventions to improve the water governance. " A topical and insightful research in the complex world of urban water" - Keshav Chandra,IAS, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi Water Board.