City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Jamia Millia Islamia General by The Delhi Walla - November 29, 2009October 26, 201016 She was mobbed by admirers. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] There was no wine, no cheese. Yet it was a full house at the 600-seater Ansari Auditorium at Jamia Millia Islamia University. A day after her 48th birthday, author Arundhati Roy was in conversation with Professor Shohini Ghosh. The venue was so crowded that some had to be turned away. In the two-hour-long talk, the essayist talked on India's Maoist crisis, discussed human right violations in Kashmir, chuckled over the idea of a mass struggle of the Middle Class, ripped apart the hypocricy of the corporate media and also brought up the new novel she is working on — in passing. She was in a saree. Asked what she feels
City Monument – Ghalib’s Tomb Restoration, Nizamuddin Basti Monuments by The Delhi Walla - November 26, 2009May 15, 201210 Restoring the dignity of Delhi's greatest poet. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi By March, 2010, the 19th-century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib will finally lie in a resting place worthy of his iconic status. "It will all be simple and elegant," says Mohammad Shaheer, a landscape architect, of his latest charge — Ghalib's tomb. The greatest flagbearer of Urdu poetry has been dead for 140 years, but his grave is at the centre of a revival plan, one that hopes to transport the visitor "to a pool of peace", as Mr Shaheer puts it. The tomb complex covers an area of 3,500 sq ft and is tucked away in Nizamuddin Basti, a densely populated 14th century Delhi village. Like other places of historical
City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Around Town General by The Delhi Walla - November 23, 2009October 27, 20106 On the Delhi-based author's 48th birthday. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi November 24, 1961. That’s when Arundhati Roy was born. On her 48th birthday, The Delhi Walla presents a few Delhiwallas seen with The God of Small Things, Ms Roy’s first novel. In Nizamuddin East (A Hindustani classical singer, his mother is always upset with him for not being as crazy for books as she is) In Defence Colony Market (An India-born Tibetan, she has seen Julia Robert's Pretty Woman more than a dozen times) In Videocon Tower, Jhandewallan Park (A radio jockey, she loves talking about Jane Austen's women and men, off the air) In Nizamuddin Basti (A butcher by trade, he is in love with two girls) In Connaught Place
Memo from Jantar Mantar – 19/11, The Day of Infamy General by The Delhi Walla - November 21, 2009December 30, 20107 Delhi’s historic solar observatory attacked. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is quiet on Ground Zero. “I have worked in Jantar Mantar for 40 years and have seen many demonstrations but never such vandals,” says Harilal, a sweeper, 24 hours after the pillaging of this 18th century solar observatory in Central Delhi. On November 19, 2009, the first day of the World Heritage Week, thousands of farmers from the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh came visiting Jantar Mantar. Protesting against the sugarcane pricing of the Indian government, their plan was to gather outside the monument — the designated place for demonstrations. However, hundreds, possibly thousands, of farmers gatecrashed into the Jantar Mantar complex. What followed could put Nadir Shah, Delhi’s great plunderer,
City Life – William Dalrymple, Bestselling Author Life by The Delhi Walla - November 20, 2009December 9, 20100 Delhi’s most famous expat author. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] William Dalrymple has a big paunch. When The Delhi Walla met the Delhi-based British author at his Mira Singh farmhouse off the Mehrauli-Gurgaon highway, he was lounging on a wicker chair in his garden. Looking like a white nabab, Mr Dalrymple is as popular. India International Center fills up each time he speaks. His articles are published in literary journals such as The New Yorker. Mr Dalrymple’s bitch, Aishwarya, was barking; his bird Albinia was kissing him on the lips; his children were playing with goats and cocks; his wife, Olivia, had returned from a walk. The latest New York Review of Books was on the table, along with his latest work,
City Secret – Delhi Kishanganj Railway Station General by The Delhi Walla - November 19, 20095 The Delhi walla's pretension in writing makes me want to lodge a bullet in his balls - Blogger Nimpipi, the woodchuck chucks GO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.An urban haven.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Except for the rattling of the pedestrian over-bridge, the British-built Delhi Kishanganj railway station in Central Delhi remains lifeless. The noisy non-stop express train has just left but the platform dogs haven’t raised their heads, the fakir on the stairs hasn’t awakened, and the young man standing at the railings hasn’t stopped staring at the space where the train passed a moment before.In a city with 2,500 bus stops and more than 80 Metro stations, Delhi Kishanganj is not among its four
Capital Experience – Dawn @ Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Faith by The Delhi Walla - November 17, 2009October 10, 201013 A must-see sight before you die. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the things to do in Delhi before you die is to watch the daybreak at Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, the shrine of the 14th century sufi saint. Embedded within a village of the same name (Nizamuddin Basti), the Dargah is accessible through topsy-turvy medieval-era bylanes. If it’s winter, reach by 5.45am, in time for the morning prayers. Park the car in Mathura Road, next to Nizamuddin police station, and start walking. The usually bustling Basti streets are empty, save a rag picker or two. Avoid stumbling into people sleeping at the Dargah's entrance. Inside, candles are burning on a few unknown tombs jutting out from the floor. A pilgrim is
City Life – Are You an Upper Class Delhi Walla? General by The Delhi Walla - November 16, 200919 The Delhi walla's pretension in writing makes me want to lodge a bullet in his balls - Blogger Nimpipi, the woodchuck chucks GO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.We all have dreams.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Some people have a woman’s soul trapped in a man’s body. I fancied having a South Delhi (read Jor Bagh) soul trapped in an East Delhi flat. One evening that illusion ended for good. After much scheming, I managed to get an invite to the birthday bash of an ex-Maharani (I'm her friend’s friend). There I was – at a white bungalow in Malcha Marg, a diplomat-dense neighbourhood in Central Delhi. Uniformed security guards, a driveway, a garden, and Her Highness’s
City Life – Abdul Rehman, Old Delhi Romeo General by The Delhi Walla - November 13, 20099 The Delhi walla's pretension in writing makes me want to lodge a bullet in his balls - Blogger Nimpipi, the woodchuck chucks GO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.Love in the Walled City.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Abdul Rehman, 23, lives in Old Delhi. A shop assistant, he shared his secrets with The Delhi Walla while whiling away afternoon hours at his work place – a beads store in the Walled City’s bustling Turkman Gate bazaar.Mr Rehman first met Ms Naz, 18, early in 2009 at Sheila cinema, one of the few single screen theatres left in the Capital. “I’d gone to watch Delhi 6, the movie. She was on the next seat,” he says. Before the
Photo Essay – Women Are Not Allowed Inside Nizamuddin Dargah General Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - November 12, 2009July 30, 201011 They say it's the tradition. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Women are not allowed inside Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Delhi’s principal sufi shrine. While they could pray in the courtyard, the women are denied entry into the tomb-chamber of Hazrat Nizamuddin, the 14th century sufi saint. Some of the Dargah khadims The Delhi Walla talked to ascribe the practice to traditions. No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No Women Inside Nizamuddin Dargah No