Mission Delhi – Kareem Khan, Nehru Place Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - April 30, 2010August 18, 20150 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sitting beside his secondhand books, Karim Khan, 52, lights up a Goldflake. The surrounding office skyscrapers of Nehru Place are looking like sleepy giants in the evening’s gathering darkness. The Delhi Walla is meeting Mr Khan after two years. I would come to this commercial complex, famous for its computer hardware workshops, to buy books from his stall. “I’m no longer only a bookseller,” says Mr Khan curtly. The bookseller, who would draw charcoal sketches of people on the pages of his musty-smelling books, has become an established painter. The man who once found it difficult to pay his chaiwalla now price his paintings between 30,000 and
City Food – Lassi, Chandni Chowk Food by The Delhi Walla - April 28, 2010May 23, 20100 The cool yoghurt drink. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi has no copyright over the sweet-tart lassi. The cool, creamy, frothy yoghurt drink is delicious nourishment across India, especially during the summer. It is simple to make - whip in yoghurt with sugar and it is done. Add malai (clotted cream), it is heavy. Throw in some ice, it becomes light. Highway eateries in Punjab are said to prepare great quantities of lassi by whisking yogurt in washing machines! For the most memorable lassi experience in Delhi, go to the tail end of 17th century Chandni Chowk bazaar in Old Delhi. Two lassi joints – Amritsari Lassiwalla (circa 1974) and Meghraj (since 1900) – stand across the red gateway of Fatehpuri
City Region – Middle Lane, Connaught Place Regions by The Delhi Walla - April 23, 2010May 23, 20100 It's not loved. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Its curved passage is empty. The stone floor uneven. The wall disfigured. The plaster is chipping off. This short passage connects the Outer Circle corridor to the Middle Lane of M-block in Connaught Place (CP), Delhi’s colonial-era shopping district, which is being given a major facelift in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games. Most showrooms and restaurants in CP line its Inner Circle. Since the opening of the Rajiv Chowk Metro Station at Central Park in 2006, newer cafes, fast food outlets and an increase in footfall has brightened the otherwise dull Outer Circle too. It’s the Middle Circle that remains drab. Drabber still is the Middle Lane that links the Outer Circle
Mission Delhi – Ram Swaroop Sharma, India Gate Maidan Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - April 20, 2010May 23, 20100 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The roti seems to be a few days old. Packed in a mud-stained handkerchief, it is broken into small pieces. With no sabzi or even a smidgen of pickle to go with it, these dry and crumbly remains of the staple Indian bread are the entire breakfast for Ram Swaroop Sharma. The Delhi Walla found him one summer morning lounging on the grassy grounds adjacent to Rajpath, the broad avenue that connects Rashtrapati Bhawan to India Gate. The area is popularly known as India Gate maidan. Surrounded by leafy trees, damp grass and untrimmed hedges, Mr Sharma, 45, looks like an Indian avatar of Henry David Thoreau,
City Landmark – Rajiv Gandhi Setu, Ring Road Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - April 15, 2010May 23, 20106 An urban refuge. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] A smoggy traffic square that was once dreaded by commuters for its long jams has become an unlikely urban haven. On one grassy slope, a group of women is playing kabaddi. On another, a cricket match is on. A few furlongs away, a badminton game is nearing its end. Across the road, the electric signboard of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) is blinking red and green. Meanwhile, cars are speeding in all four directions - Dhaula Kuan, Ashram, INA Market and Green Park. It’s just another late summer night in Rajiv Gandhi Setu. Popularly known as the AIIMS flyover, the nine-lane signal-free traffic interchange on the Ring Road is now also
Mission Delhi – Surinder, Pataudi House Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - April 13, 2010May 23, 20103 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Effortlessly stitching the sole of a slipper, he says, “Its side has torn off.” After finishing the job, Surinder, 24, cuts off the thick black thread with a knife-like thing that he calls raapi. The lady customer slips her feet into the sandal, looks satisfied, give him Rs 5 and walks off towards Sir Syed Ahmad Khan Road. “I make around Rs 150 daily,” says Surinder. The Delhi Walla met him in Pataudi House, a tumbledown neighbourhood in Daryaganj, which was named after a once-grand mansion in the vicinity. In a pair of blue denims and a striped shirt, Surinder is sitting at his regular place on
City Nature – Yamuna River, Jamuna Bazaar Nature by The Delhi Walla - April 11, 2010May 23, 20102 Delhi's holy maa. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every morning, after milking his buffalo, Pandit Sunil Kumar takes a ritual dip in the sacred Yamuna, also called Jamuna. Originating in the Himalayas, the river enters Delhi from the northeast of the city, near Palla village, and after 40 kms, it leaves the Capital region from near Jaitpur village in the south. A Hindu priest, Mr Kumar has his ancestral home on a ghat in Jamuna Bazaar, a village on the river’s bank in north Delhi. The residence’s setting is idyllic. One can see the river while sitting in the courtyard. The bank on the other side is uninhabited. The Outer Ring Road is a 5-minute walk away, but there is no
Who Do You Think You Are – Fatima Bhutto, Pakistani Author General by The Delhi Walla - April 5, 2010June 2, 201015 [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was in Taj Mahal Hotel when he approached a young woman. Fatima Bhutto came to Delhi in April, 2010, for the launch of her memoirs, Songs of Blood and Sword. Granddaughter to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and daughter of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, Ms Bhutto was born in Kabul in 1982. Her father was killed by the police in 1996 in Karachi during the premiership of his sister, Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. Ms Bhutto maintains that her aunt Benazir was responsible for her father’s killing. She lives with her mother and two brothers in Karachi. In her interview with The Delhi Walla, Ms Bhutto was sporting blood-red nail
City Faith – Urs, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Faith by The Delhi Walla - April 4, 2010May 23, 20105 Celebrating the saint's death. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Saturday evening, April 3rd, 2010. The sufis are celebrating the death anniversary of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Delhi’s 14th century sufi saint. On this day, he married his lover. That is, the saint’s soul united with his beloved, the God. Urs means ‘wedding’ in Arabic. The dargah’s dome is lit up with electric bulbs. Its courtyard is crowded. After the prayers, there will be nightlong qawwalis. Special food stalls have been set up around the lanes leading to the shrine. Some pilgrims are wearing yellow-colored pointed caps; yellow is the favorite colour of the saint. Families are lounging around the dargah’s several graves. The pankhawallas are fanning the pilgrims. One of them has
Mission Delhi – Muhammad Waseem, Near Barakhamba Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - April 1, 2010March 19, 20164 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The tea is coming to a boil. He lifts the pan off the stove but not his eyes. Muhammad Waseem, a helper at a tea stall in the commercial district of Connaught Place, is very shy. He isn’t telling The Delhi Walla about his favourite Bollywood heroine. Responding in hmmms and hooons, he tries to hide his smile by bending his head so much that his chin touches his chest. “Speak up, this is Delhi,” a customer says. “You can’t act like a villager.” Mr Waseem, 14, has the trappings of a city slicker. He is wearing cream-colored trousers, a leather belt and a silver-coloured necklace. He