The Delhi Walla Books – The Guardian on the Boxed Set The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - August 13, 2013August 13, 20136 Among the world’s best quirky guidebooks. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The UK-based The Guardian daily calls The Delhi Walla books as one of “the best quirky guidebooks from around the world.” Writing in the newspaper, London-based literary walker Henry Eliot says: The Delhi Walla is Delhi's most idiosyncratic and eccentric website," writes author William Dalrymple. The man behind the sprawling blog is Mayank Austen Soofi... who has produced these four Delhi Walla books covering the best monuments, food, hangouts and people in the city. These beautifully designed paeans to the city delve into places most international travel guides don't reach, from the Agrasen ki Baoli step well, a stunning ancient water source at the heart of a busy financial district, to the best
Mission Delhi – Ashok Kumar, Near Sai Baba Temple Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 11, 2013August 13, 20133 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He blows a whistle. A few men materialize from here and there. “Each one of you is a maderchodh (motherfucker),” he says. The Delhi Walla meets Ashok Kumar one monsoon evening at a traffic light near South Delhi’s Sai Baba temple. In his 30s, Mr Kumar is wearing goggles. His T-shirt and shorts makes him look like an evening jogger but he is barefoot. He has a backpack and a bicycle. The latter is decorated with his large-sized photographs. A wooden club is fitted around his waist. He is carrying an empty mineral water bottle and a strange-looking apparatus made from a sheet of black rubber, which he
City Faith – The Eid People, Old Delhi Faith by The Delhi Walla - August 9, 2013August 9, 20135 The morning crowd. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There were no women but there were many little girls – along with their fathers -- on way to the Jama Masjid to offer prayers. It was the morning of Eid and The Delhi Walla was in Old Delhi. I was making my way through people who were heading towards the grand Mughal-era mosque. In Matia Mahal, I spotted a man with a grey beard and a purple balloon. He was walking close to a boy who was dressed in an electric red kurta; another boy was in a shining green jacket. Nearby, an auto-rickshaw driver was sitting in his auto rickshaw. Instead of the mandatory grey uniform, he wore a silk
City Notice – On Pradip Krishen’s New Book General by The Delhi Walla - August 8, 2013August 8, 20130 The jungle trees of Central India. Pradip Krishen, the author of Trees of Delhi, is ready with a new book, entitled The Jungle Trees of Central India: A Field Guide. Browse through the images below and order a copy from Penguin India. Mr Krishen's new offering 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
City Culture – De Bhasar, Sujan Singh Park Culture by The Delhi Walla - August 7, 2013August 7, 20131 The philosophy of nonsense. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Smoking Zone The Delhi Walla saw this calligraphy by an unknown Bhasarian artist on the boundary wall of Sujan Singh Park, an exclusive residential apartment in Central Delhi. It was drawn along with the illustration of a smoldering cigarette. This is the ninth instance that I have come face-to-face with De Bhasar movement in Delhi. (Click here to view the first exhibit.) According to Wikipedia, De Bhasar or Bhasarism is a cultural movement that began in Nantes, France, during the post 9/11 Gulf War, reaching a tipping point between 2007 to 2009. The movement involves graphic designs and literature, which concentrates its anti-sentimental politics by rejecting aesthetic birth-control measures through anti-catholic works.
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Sanchita Guha, Appetite German Bakery Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - August 5, 2013April 25, 20151 The Proustian self-introspection. [By The Delhi Proustians] The Proust Questionnaire represents a form of interview that owes its structure to answers given by French novelist Marcel Proust, the author of In Search of Lost Time, at two birthday parties that he attended at ages 13 and 20 in the late 19th century. In 2013, The Delhi Proustians takes Les confidences de salon (Drawing room confessions) around the city to explore people’s lives, thoughts, values and experiences. This series involves interviews across Delhi and is conducted by writers Manika Dhama and Mayank Austen Soofi. For the fifth instalment in the series Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire, editor and journalist Sanchita Guha made confessions to Mayank Austen Soofi. We met at Appetite German Bakery in Paharganj. Your favorite virtue
New in Town – Boxed Set, The Delhi Walla Books The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - August 2, 2013August 2, 20137 The lovely claustrophobia. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In 2010, HarperCollins India published The Delhi Walla volumes, a series of four guidebooks on Delhi -- on the city's monuments, food and drinks, hangouts and its people. Three years later, HarperCollins India re-issues the books in a boxed set. The original price of each book is Rs 199. But the boxed set is priced – not Rs 796 – but Rs 599. One side of the slipcase shows the stone tower of Qutub Minar in Mehrauli; the other side displays the dargah of sufi ascetic Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The Book Review, a literary journal, reviewed The Delhi Walla books, saying: The four books clearly cater not just to the tourist but also to the
City List – Prohibited Items, Delhi Metro Delhi by List by The Delhi Walla - August 1, 20133 Delhi by list. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] According to the Delhi Metro Railway (Prohibition of Carriage of Large-sized Luggage, Carriage of Offensive and Dangerous Goods in the Metro Railway, Travelling of Persons Suffering From Infectious and Contagious Diseases in the Metro Railway and Value, Period of Validity and Such Other Particulars Indicated in the Ticket Issued by the Metro Railway), Rules, 2002, the commuters are prohibited from carrying 20 items while traveling in the metro train. 1. No goods other than a small baggage containing personal belongings not exceeding 60 cm * 45 cm * 25 cm in size and 45 kg in weight 2. Explosive substances, which possess risk of explosion, or fire, or both 3. Gases, compressed, liquefied, or dissolved under pressure 4. Petroleum and