City Food – Litti Chokha, Around Town

City Food – Litti Chokha, Around Town

Delhi’s best-kept secret. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If Bihar were a country, Delhi should be its capital and litti chokha its national dish. The capital is home to a large migrant population from Bihar, but… ‘Just what…

City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Pragati Maidan

City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Pragati Maidan

Delhi’s principal mischief-maker. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening, The Delhi Walla sighted his most beloved Delhiite – author Arundhati Roy. She was in hall number 11, Pragati Maidan, a sprawling complex in central Delhi that was…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – X, Indian Coffee House

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – X, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the tenth meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…

City Moment – Sadia Dehlvi’s The Sufi Courtyard, Nizamuddin East

City Moment – Sadia Dehlvi’s The Sufi Courtyard, Nizamuddin East

The author with her new book. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla entered the home of author Sadia Dehlvi in Nizamuddin East. The house was all happiness. Ms Dehlvi’s publisher HarperCollins India had just…

Photo Essay – The Juice Sellers, Near Jagat Cinema

Photo Essay – The Juice Sellers, Near Jagat Cinema

Life of street vendors. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everyday in the summer, sugar cane juice sellers Harsh and Ishwar can be seen walking through the back-lanes of Shahjahanabad. The Delhi Walla met them behind the building of…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – IX, Indian Coffee House

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – IX, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the ninth meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…

Mission Delhi – Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Connaught Lane

Mission Delhi – Rakesh Kumar Mishra, Connaught Lane

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sitting on his patch of the pavement, he takes a sip of the chai, and again looks at the blur of people walking in front…

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Turkman Gate

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Turkman Gate

Searching for the stylish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla saw this man one morning at Turkman Gate, one of the five surviving gateways built to protect the Mughal-era Shahjahanabad. He was in a white shirt,…

City Hangout – National Zoological Park, Mathura Road

City Hangout – National Zoological Park, Mathura Road

Into the wild. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Situated between Purana Qila and Mathura Road, National Zoological Park has 75 species of animals, birds and reptiles. The area is wooded. Squirrels hop across trees with slanting branches. Tired…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – VIII, Indian Coffee House

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – VIII, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the eighth meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…