City Food – Rooh Afza, Shahjahanabad
Old Delhi’s national drink. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is not a cola and it is not endorsed by Shah Rukh Khan – it has no brand ambassador. It also lacks ready-to-drink convenience. Most people born after…
City Travel – Musée d’Orsay, Paris
The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla is spending his days in Paris walking down the streets, stopping at cafes for a 1 euro coffee and browsing for English-language novels…
City Travel – Jardin du Palais Royal, Paris
The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A family is having baguette and cheese. A middle-aged woman is jogging with her dog. A girl is kissing a boy. A young bride in white…
City Notice – The Delhi Proustians XXVIII, Paris
A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 28th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, will take place on 27 August 2012. Venue: Outside Shakespeare & Co…
City Monument – Qutub Minar Complex, Mehrauli
379 steps to heaven. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Size matters, sometimes adversely. Lightning has twice damaged the Qutub Minar, India’s tallest stone tower. This five-storeyed red and buff sandstone tower, with marble trimmings higher up, massaged the…
City Library – Akshay Pathak’s Books, Vasant Kunj
A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One humid afternoon The Delhi Walla knocked at the door of Akshay Pathak. In his 30s, Mr Pathak lives in an apartment in Vasant Kunj, a neighbourhood in south Delhi….
City Faith – Eid ul Fitr, Chitli Qabar Chowk
Praying in the street. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There were no women to be seen. (They probably remained inside their homes.) The men filled up the mosques and also the streets to perform the prayers of Eid…
City Reading – The Delhi Proustians XXVII, ITO Graveyard
A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 27th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…
City Travel – Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida
Delhi to Agra and back. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are no dhabas, no burger joints — not yet. Neither is there a rail crossing. You will not pass through a single town. The Yamuna Expressway takes…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Chandni Singh, Janakpuri & Reading
Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla arranged to meet poet Chandni Singh on the online video call service Skype. Ms Singh, who spent her “happy childhood years” in Delhi where she has…
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