City Moment – Birthday Woman and Marcel Proust, Nizmauddin East Moments by The Delhi Walla - April 12, 2013April 12, 20135 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla was sitting at the drawing room of a society hostess in Nizamuddin East when a young woman entered the house. She was wearing a peach-colored dress. She was carrying flowers. “You are looking radiant, madame,” I said. “It’s my birthday,” she said. “It’s surely not a gown?” I said. “No, it’s not a gown,” she said. “Where did you get it from?” I said. “Sarojini Nagar,” she said. She walked towards the curtains, stood still, looked movingly at the flowers and lowered her head to smell the blue carnations. The society hostess came forward and asked her to pose for her mobile phone camera. The woman bowed. “Did you celebrate the day? I said. “I
Delhi Metro – JLN Stadium Station, Near Lodhi Road Delhi Metro by The Delhi Walla - April 9, 2013April 9, 20130 Ghost of the games. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is 10 years since Delhi Metro Rail Corp. (DMRC) ran its first train. Most Delhiwallas have grown to think of Metro stations as places to push each other into rail coaches. The Jawaharlal Nehru (JLN) Stadium station in central Delhi is different. A cynic might mock it as a symbol of world-class Delhi. A diehard optimist might plug it as the perfect getaway from the pushy Delhiite. “Not many people come here,” says a guard. “It doesn’t see much crowd,” says the clerk at the token counter. But the station has been designed to handle great crowds. As seen on a display board: Extra-large staircases have been provided at all the five entry
The Friday Times Review – On Nobody Can Love You More The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - April 8, 2013April 9, 20131 Life in a red light district. [By Raza Rumi] Raza Rumi discussed Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, a book by The Delhi Walla in the Lahore-based weekly The Friday Times. Click here to read it on the magazine’s website, or see below. WRITING ABOUT the lives of "fallen women" is a problematic endeavor, especially in South Asia where the morality of the middle classes defines the views of the "educated". There is too much romance, tragedy or judgment in such writing. So for an English-language writer to humanize women (and increasingly men) who pursue sex work as a source of earning a livelihood is often quite difficult. Three years ago, when Mayank Austen Soofi told me about his
City Moment – The Bougainvillea Eater, Lodhi Road Moments by The Delhi Walla - April 3, 2013April 3, 20132 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla saw bougainvillea vines on Lodhi Road. The pink flowers were falling down on the pavement. Underneath, a man was performing his prayers. His coloured costume consisted of various pieces of different clothes sewn together. One papery bougainvillea settled on the man’s cap. After finishing his prayers, the man sat cross-legged on the pavement. He picked a bougainvillea from the ground and ate it. He picked another bougainvillea, and another. It was a beautiful moment. The taste of flowers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
City List – Mughal Kings, First to Last Delhi by List General by The Delhi Walla - April 2, 2013June 30, 20152 Delhi by list. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The Mughal dynasty gave 19 rulers to Hindustan. It was the fifth, Shah Jahan, who established his capital in Delhi. The Delhi Walla gives you the entire list of Mughal rulers, from Babur, the first Mughal, to Zafar, the last. 1. Babur b. 1483, r. 1526-1530 2. Humayun b. 1508, r. 1530-1539 and 1555-1556 3. Akbar b. 1542, r. 1556-1605 4. Jahangir (Prince Salim) b. 1569, r. 1605-1627 5. Shah Jahan (Prince Khurram) 1592-1666, r. 1627-1658 6. Aurangzeb (Alamgir I) b. 1618, r. 1658-1707 7. Azam Shah 1653-1707, r. 1707 8. Shah Alam Bahadur Shah I (Muazzam) b. 1643, r. 1707-1712 9. Azim Ush-Shan 1664-1712, r. 1712 10. Jahandar Shah (Muizuddin) b. 1661, r. 1712-1713 11. Farrukhsiyar b. 1683, r. 1713-1719 12. Rafi Ud-Darajat 1699-1719, r. 1719 13. Shah Jahan II 1696-1747, r. 1719 14. Muhammad Shah (Roshan Akhtar) b. 1702, r. 1719-1748 15.