City Library – Advaita Kala’s Books, Nizamuddin East
A vanishing world. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One warm evening The Delhi Walla knocked at the door of Advaita Kala, the author of Almost Single. Like her novel’s protagonist, Ms Kala, is single. In her early 30s,…
Photo Essay – The Ninth Symphony Continues, Deer Park
The music of a tree. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Life is a series of disappointments. And then you see something grand and noble, which surpasses life. A few months ago, The Delhi Walla came across a giant…
City Hangout – Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Near ITO Crossing
People of the world. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] For anyone curious about the world, its civilization and its people, this is a trip more affecting than your grandfather’s stacks of National Geographic magazines. Set up by cartoonist…
City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, India Habitat Center
Delhi’s free soul. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening, The Delhi Walla sighted his most beloved Delhiite – author Arundhati Roy. She was in India Habitat Center, a giant cultural complex in central Delhi that host book…
City Culture – The Sufi Music Crisis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
The struggle for the soul of qawwali. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Dama dam mast qalandar. Qawwali, Islam’s sacred Sufi music offered in the shrines of the Indian subcontinent, is facing a moment of unease. It is best…
City Moment – BMW Studio, Scindia House
The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was one evening taking a stroll in Scindia House, a commercial block in Outer Circle, Connaught Place, the city’s Colonial-era bazaar. The lane is lined with…
City Monument – Karbala Graveyard, BK Dutt Colony
The gloomy getaway. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The graveyard is dead. The last person was buried in 1985. Karbala, the Shiite burial ground in BK Dutt Colony, central Delhi, is reserved exclusively for the funeral of tazias,…
Mission Delhi – Abhay Singh, Connaught Place
One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] His shoulders droop and his belt is clasped loosely around his waist. The Delhi Walla meets Abhay Singh, 86, in Outer Circle, Connaught Place,…
City Food – Julia Child Bakes Blueberry Muffins in BK Dutt Colony
The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of BK Dutt Colony, a quiet neighbourhood in central Delhi. Having an unending curiosity for authentic cuisines, Ms Child runs Eat and Dust,…
Photo Essay – Akshaya Tritya Wedding, Noida
The portrait of a marriage. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] On May 6, 2011, Delhi saw thousands of weddings. It was Akshaya Tritiya, a lucky day in the Hindu calendar for people to get gold, silver and brides….
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