City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia General by The Delhi Walla - October 26, 2010October 27, 20107 The bravest Delhiwalli. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon, The Delhi Walla sighted his most beloved Delhiite – author Arundhati Roy. She was at The Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia, near Pragati Maidan, central Delhi. Ms Roy's hair had streaks of grey. Her forehead was looking larger than usual. Her skin complexion had gone darker. Her eyes were kohl-lined. Her ear-danglers were of silver. Her black beaded necklace had a red pendant. Her blouse was black. Her brown cotton sari had maroon stripes. She was older, a little less thin, and more beautiful than ever. Ms Roy’s cheeks were still sucked close to the bones. Her smile – she was occasionally smiling – was still radiant, but also a
City Moment – Chaat Vendor, Kinari Bazaar Moments by The Delhi Walla - October 25, 2010October 25, 20107 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was one afternoon taking a stroll in Kinari Bazaar, a congested market in Old Delhi, famous for its wedding stores and street food. Reaching a turning, I found an incredible sight. A tall white woman was seated at a hole-in-the-wall eatery. She was serving kachoris and aloo-subzi on leaf bowls to customers. Dressed in a dark-blue short skirt, white blouse and light-blue jacket, she looked like an airhostess. Her uniform was a novelty to the Kinari Bazaar crowd, where women dress more traditionally. “More spices?” she asked each customer. If they nodded, she picked up chopped green chilies from a platter - with bare hands - and
City Monument – Minto Bridge, Near Connaught Place Monuments by The Delhi Walla - October 22, 2010October 25, 20104 The railway landmark's emotional pull. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] We don’t expect aesthetics out of a railway underbridge. Minto Bridge, that connects Connaught Place (CP) to the New Delhi railway station (Ajmeri Gate side), is an ambivalent celebration of decay. The opulent rotting city of the 2010 Commonwealth Games is a spectacle here. The bridge, circa 1933, documents urban crudeness, and is a comment on old-time glitter. Named after a British viceroy, the brick masonry structure is a homage to this dream-nightmare metropolis. Walking from the New Delhi railway station, you will be unable to see its familiar red. Billboards have overtaken the large segmental arch that spans the width of the road. In fact, the red colour is gone.
From the Press – On The Delhi Walla Books The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - October 21, 2010October 21, 20107 They are loving it. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla books are being talked about and not just by The Delhi Walla. The weekend edition of Mint, India's leading business daily, said: "The Delhi Walla blog’s mix of gentle exploration and candid street photography finds a perfect alternate home in this new set of three guidebooks to Delhi. Mayank Austen Soofi’s writing is peppered with wry observation and amusing historical nuggets (an example: When Pakistan dictator Zia-ul-Haq visited St Stephen’s College, his alma mater, he first looked for a cart selling “Banta” lemon), and the books cover the length and breadth of the National Capital Region, from the amusement parks in Rohini to the temples in Chhattarpur. The three guides cover “Hangouts”
City Food – Imarti, Mehboob e Ilahi Mithai Shop Food by The Delhi Walla - October 19, 20103 The sweet decadence. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Thick and sticky, the loopy imarti is as decadent as the court of Delhi’s last Mughal. Its crusty deep-fried shell packs in a pool of extravagantly sweet sap. The disciplined jogger shudders at its sight, but a true Delhi belly swells in pride. Made from urad-daal batter, the imarti is the fatter cousin of jalebi, which is softer and uses maida flour. One place to have imarti is the Mehboob e Ilahi mithai shop (open: 6am to 10 pm) in Nizamuddin Basti, a 14th century village known for the shrine of sufi saint Hazrat Nizmauddin Auliya. Adjacent to Zuberi Hotel eatery, it is the first stall on the lane that turns to
Photo Essay – Raavan Spotting, Tagore Garden Culture Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - October 17, 2010October 17, 20100 The making of the devil. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He will die. Again. On the evening of October 17, 2010, the effigy of Raavan, the 10-headed demon king of Lanka, will burn down with much cheer and firecrackers in the neighbourhood parks of Delhi. Raavan burning is the final act of Ramlila, the 10-day play on the exploits of Bhagwan Ram, which takes place every fall during the Dusshera festival. Based on the Hindu epic Ramayan, the play ends in the victory of good (read Ram) over evil (read Raavan). Most Raavan effigies in Delhi are made in Tagore Garden, in the western part of the metropolis. The Delhi Walla went there a day before Raavan’s D-day. Below the metro
Letter from Islamabad – On the Delhi Walla Books The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - October 16, 2010October 16, 20103 A Pakistani artist introduces the The Delhi Walla books. [By Faiza A Khan] Our own self is composed of some very vital elements, like our physical body, our soul, and our minds packed with diverse thoughts. This is our own self, our first identity. When I roam about in the cities whose history is as rich as Delhi's, I wonder who can capture the true identity of such places, where empires fell and arose, monuments destroyed and built, religions clashed and sustained. It is a difficult job to remain honest in capturing everything and portray its true character. Delhi was one of my veins once, which completed the circulation of life in my whole body, ‘Hindustan’. Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb or
City Culture – Ramlila, August 15 Ground Culture Faith Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - October 14, 2010October 14, 20103 The annual multi-starrer Hindu blockbuster. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Totally Shakespearean. It has love, jealousy, greed, lies, betrayal, revenge, war, death and redemption. Ramlila, the 10-day play on the exploits of Bhagwan Ram, which takes place every fall during the Dusshera festival, is a mix of King Lear (exile), Macbeth (jealousy), The Merchant of Venice (swayamvar) and Henry VI (war). Tonight, on entering the green room of Luv Kush Ramlila, taking place in the highly guarded August 15 Ground that faces the Mughal-era Red Fort, The Delhi Walla find actors in different stages of make-up. Queen Kaikeyi is getting her eyes lined with kohl. Her wicked maid Manthara – the actor Sanjay Sharma dressed in a saree and showing
City Style – The Classy Delhiwallas, Connaught Place Style by The Delhi Walla - October 12, 2010March 11, 20112 Searching for the stylish. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla saw these young women in Connaught Place, Delhi’s premier shopping district. In army boots, fatigues and caps, they still looked slender and delicate. Cargo pockets on their khaki trousers and shoulder lapels on their shirts were commando-like. A ball-point pen was tucked into their shoulder pocket. Their fully packed ammunition belt and rolled sleeves gave them a battlefield zest. No girl was dressed like them. Of course, the military look is globally a big fashion trend and Delhi is fast catching up, but these women are not ruled by Anna Wintour’s dictates. The fresh graduates of the first all-women battalion of northeast India’s Nagaland Police, they were in
City Moment – Dua e Roshni, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Moments by The Delhi Walla - October 10, 2010October 10, 20105 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was one evening resting in the shrine of 14th century sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. It was the hour of Dua e Roshni, when the day meets the night, a moment considered especially auspicious to seek blessings from the saint. The October air was mildly chilly and Syed Altamash Nizami, a dargah khadim clad in snow-white salwar kurta, was lighting prayer candles that were fitted inside green-coloured lamps. In the courtyard, a devotee, with a wad of Rs 500 notes stuffed tight in his palm, was asking the saint for his family's happiness; a sufi ascetic was perfuming the air with the vapours of loban incense. Inside the