Mission Delhi – Editor, Nizamuddin East

Mission Delhi – Editor, Nizamuddin East

One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He doesn’t talk much. The Delhi Walla is with Editor, a spoilt south Delhi brat with a weakness for Parmesan cheese and chocolate chip…

City Monument – Nila Gumbad, Nizamuddin East

City Monument – Nila Gumbad, Nizamuddin East

Delhi’s oldest Mughal-era ruin. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Its beauty lies in its tiled dome, rare in Delhi. Situated behind Humayun’s Tomb, Nila Gumbad, or blue dome, was on the banks of Yamuna, the course of which…

The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Simon Digby, b. Jabalpur, 1932-2010

The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Simon Digby, b. Jabalpur, 1932-2010

Delhi’s last eccentric. [Text by Mayank Austen Soofi; pictures given by Christie’s; Simon Digby’s photograph is courtesy of Robert Skelton] Born in Jabalpur to a colonial-era judge and a vagabond painter, British scholar Simon Everard Digby was a part-time Delhiwalla…

City Life – Home Sweet Home, Sahibabad

City Life – Home Sweet Home, Sahibabad

Inside the walls. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One morning The Delhi Walla knocked at the door of Mr Rajkumar. His one-room house is next to Aditya Garden City, a seven-floor residential high-rise in Sahibabad, a suburb in…

City Food – Haleem, Meena Bazaar

City Food – Haleem, Meena Bazaar

The one-dish meal. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is hearty food, different from the subtle confections of traditional Mughlai cuisine, like koftas and pulaos. Yellow and with paste-like consistency, haleem is a one-dish meal of wheat, lentils…

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Bulbuli Khana

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Bulbuli Khana

Searching for the stylish. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla saw this man at an alley in Bulbuli Khana, a congested neighborhood in the Walled City, the historic district established by the Mughals. His outfit was…

The Delhi Walla Books - A Work of Passion

The Delhi Walla Books – A Work of Passion

Interesting and informative guides. [By The Book Lovers] Delhi, the capital of world’s largest democracy, is perceived differently by different people. You can hate it, love it but you cannot ignore it. The city has been the hot seat right…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart – Pakistan's Poet Zehra Nigah, Mehrauli

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Pakistan’s Poet Zehra Nigah, Mehrauli

Visitor from Pakistan. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One spring afternoon, The Delhi Walla accompanied Urdu poet Zehra Nigah, 75, to Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Ms Nigah, who lives in Karachi, Pakistan, was in Delhi to attend a mushaira,…

City Classified – Penguin’s Literary Festival, India Habitat Center

City Classified – Penguin’s Literary Festival, India Habitat Center

From March 4 to March 13. [Picture by Mayank Austen Soofi] Spring Fever, the annual literary festival by Penguin Books India, is taking place at the Amphitheatre at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, from March 4 to March 13. Time:…

City Monument - Jantar Mantar, Opposite Park Hotel

City Monument – Jantar Mantar, Opposite Park Hotel

Check the time. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Formally Delhi’s largest pissoir, this 18th century tongue-red solar observatory underwent refurbishment that includes installation of public toilets. Built in the early 1700s by the founder of Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai…