City Library – Advaita Kala’s Books, Nizamuddin East Library by The Delhi Walla - May 30, 2011May 30, 20112 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, she lives in a two-room apartment in Nizamuddin East, central Delhi. Her flatmates: a four-burner gas range, a double-door Godrej refrigerator, an Apple Mac laptop, a Bose iPod dock and a private library, which consist of about 30 books. “Well, I’ve more than 2,000 books, but they are at my parents’ home in Gurgaon,” Ms Kala says, referring to Delhi’s satellite town. The novelist had been living with her parents before she moved to Nizamuddin East in December 2010. The books that
Photo Essay – The Ninth Symphony Continues, Deer Park Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - May 27, 2011May 27, 20112 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 pilkhan tree, ficus virens, in Deer Park, Safdarjang Enclave (click here to see the photos). The tree was a forest. Its thick branches were covered with dry dead leaves; many had fallen on the ground. A few buds were growing on the upper branches. The spectacle of both death and the new-born life sharing the same space was dramatic, like the final movement of Beethoven’s ninth symphony. The other morning I visited the tree again. Life had been regained. It was glowing
City Hangout – Shankar’s International Dolls Museum, Near ITO Crossing Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - May 25, 2011May 25, 20111 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 K. Shankar Pillai (1902-1989), the Shankar's International Dolls Museum has one of the world's largest collections of dolls – over 60,000. Black, white, and brown; Bulgarian, Cuban, and Indian; walk past more than 160 glass cases and feel like Gulliver who is washed ashore during a shipwreck and awakens in a land with people one-twelfth of his size. Meet the Kabuki dancer of Kyoto, Flamenco dancer of Barcelona, and the Jazz trumpeter of Harlem. Watch the Siberian hunter traveling on a sledge,
City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, India Habitat Center General by The Delhi Walla - May 22, 2011May 22, 20119 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 launches, art exhibitions and high-brow theater dramas. Ms Roy was walking alone towards the amphitheater. She was wearing a long sarong-like skirt, which seemed originally to be a silk saree. A wide golden silk border ran along the skirt. Upward, the author of The God of Small Things was in a black sleeveless top, topped with a black see-through cotton jacket, which had elbow-length sleeves. The frills consisted of a blue bangle, two finger rings (one was very large), a minimalistic necklace
City Culture – The Sufi Music Crisis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Culture Faith by The Delhi Walla - May 20, 2011May 20, 20112 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 reflected in the gentle discord between the two leading qawwal families in Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, one of Sufism’s most important pilgrim centres. The rivalry illustrates how the 750-year-old tradition that strives to bring divine rapture to listeners is struggling to adapt to a secular world. At 84, Meraj Ahmed Nizami, the patriarch of Nizami Khusro Bandhu family, is one of the few classical qawwals left in India. “He renders Persian Sufi verses most fluently in the old tarz, or melodies,” says Farida
City Moment – BMW Studio, Scindia House Moments by The Delhi Walla - May 19, 2011May 19, 20114 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 travel offices, paan stalls, a KFC outlet and a car showroom called BMW Studio, where I witnessed an incredible sight. A few passersby had gathered outside the showroom’s glass window. More people were inside, standing around a large car on display. There was silence. A warning sign was painted on the floor. Please do not touch the car. The onlookers looked overwhelmed. It was as if the showroom was a temple and the car model was the God. Gesturing towards it, a sales assistant was
City Monument – Karbala Graveyard, BK Dutt Colony Monuments by The Delhi Walla - May 18, 2011May 18, 20112 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, the ritual coffins of Imam Husain Ibn Ali, the prophet’s grandson. Every year on the 10th day of Muharram, Shiite mourners from Shahjahanabad, Mehrauli and Nizamuddin gather here to commemorate the martyrdom of Husain, who was killed in a battle at Karbala, in modern-day Iraq. Named after the town where Husain was buried, the Karbala ground is brown and arid; the graves, few and far from each other, appear like half-marooned ships in a placid ocean. Some tombs are covered with green, red
Mission Delhi – Abhay Singh, Connaught Place Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - May 14, 2011May 14, 20114 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, the city’s Colonial-era commercial district. It is early morning and the office commuters still haven’t invaded the streets. Mr Singh is carrying a leather bag on his back. A Sikh, his turban is pale brown, his beard is white and his shoes are polished black. “Where are you going?” I ask. “To Golf Links. I work with the Red Cross Society,” Mr Singh says, referring to the voluntary humanitarian organization. He has been living in Delhi for 50 years. He grew up in
City Food – Julia Child Bakes Blueberry Muffins in BK Dutt Colony Julia Child's Delhi by The Delhi Walla - May 11, 2011May 11, 20110 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, a blog on food adventures in India. The escapades are primarily confined to Old Delhi, where she spends her time tasting the dishes, chatting with vendors and getting the recipes. In fact, Ms Child goes to the Walled City so often that most food vendors in the area have gotten used to the sight of her walking down the lanes with her notebook and camera. They know her, she knows them. Once she stopped by the Old & Famous Jalebi Walla in
Photo Essay – Akshaya Tritya Wedding, Noida Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - May 10, 2011May 10, 20112 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. The Delhi Walla chronicled one such wedding, in Noida, the town across the Yamuna. Moments before the garland ceremony, the bride complained of nervousness and the groom betrayed a nervous energy. Later, amid the Vedic chants, as they exchanged vows in front of the holy fire, they both looked happy. The bride The groom Mother of the bride (in yellow) Mother of the groom (in yellow) People of the bride The bride's vanity The wedding mood Reunions Long time no see The bride's bua The bride's cousins Look, the bride! The groom's evening Bring the bride Brothers