India, March 31 -- A simplest chandelier can stir the myth of a gilded age. At United Coffee House in Connaught Place, the feeling holds. Two chandeliers hang from the ceiling. One long-ago morning, their clear reflections form flawlessly on the surface of a customer's black Darjeeling tea, as if a miniature chandelier has been lowered into the cup. The illusion lasts until lifting the cup broke the tea's still surface.

Here is a brief survey of some impressionistic chandeliers across the city.

At Samar Guest House in Old Delhi's Urdu Bazar, the ground floor offers little: just a long, narrow staircase rising to the reception. Yet the road-facing staircase carries an unexpected dignity, conferred by a small chandelier suspended above it...