City Faith – Urs, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah
Celebrating the saint’s death. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Urs ceremony, or the death anniversary, of Delhi’s 14th century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, starts on February 27 2013. It will end on March 3. Urs means…
City Hangout – BK Dutt Colony, Central Delhi
A cushioned world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the summer, the blooming flowers of the park’s Amaltas trees paint BK Dutt Colony a shade of gold. During the rest of the year, however, the park looks as…
City List – Authors-Localities, Around Town
Delhi by list. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Perhaps your most beloved author lives in your city. Perhaps it is almost impossible to meet her. Perhaps you are shy of coming face-to-face with her. Perhaps it is better…
City Books – Talking Delhi’s Red Light District, Chennai
The unmean streets. [Text and photos by The Hindu] In February 2013, as part of the The Hindu Lit for Life literature festival, The Delhi Walla was invited to Chennai to talk about his book Nobody Can Love You More:…
City Hangout – Cinemas, Around Town
Single screens and multiplexes. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The pink chandeliers are from Italy. The carved pillars are of wood. The LED screen displays the exact air-conditioned temperature inside the auditorium. The balcony seats—headrest included—are of velvet…
City Culture – De Bhasar, Tolstoy Marg
The philosophy of nonsense. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gadhe ke poot, yahan mat poot. [O, son of an ass, do not pee here.] The Delhi Walla saw this calligraphy by an unknown Bhasarian artist in Tolstoy Marg,…
City Monument – Mughal Masjid, Mehrauli
Unembellished beauty. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi’s most heartbreakingly beautiful mosque, it is inside the Qutub Minar complex. With three onion-shaped domes, the mosque is small, its two minarets look frail, and it faces a little walled…
Photo Essay – The Lady and Her Home, A Street
Life’s like that. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla sees this woman each time he walks down this street. She is always sitting or lying on this stretch of the pavement. Sometimes the area’s dogs share…
DNA Review – On Nobody Can Love You More
Life in a red light district. [By Varsha Naik] Varsha Naik of the Bombay-based DNA newspaper talked about Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, a book by The Delhi Walla. Click here to read it…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Anna Akhmatova, Tihar Jail
Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla arranged to meet poet Anna Akhmatova outside the highly-secured boundary wall of Tihar Jail in West Delhi. In her late 20s, Ms Akhmatova is wearing a…
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