Mission Delhi – Shanti Devi, Hauz Khas Village

Mission Delhi – Shanti Devi, Hauz Khas Village

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Many people, including the gardeners of the adjacent Deer Park, are addicted to her ginger-flavoured chai. Indeed, Shanti Devi’s tea is one of the best…

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Keerti Singh, Jamia Millia Islamia

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Keerti Singh, Jamia Millia Islamia

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…

City Food – Julia Child Makes Pho in BK Dutt Colony

City Food – Julia Child Makes Pho in BK Dutt Colony

The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of BK Dutt Colony, a quiet middle-class neighbourhood in central Delhi, next-door to the posh Jor Bagh. In her 30s, writer Victoria Burrows…

The Delhi Walla Special - Pride & Prejudice, Part II

The Delhi Walla Special – Pride & Prejudice, Part II

The Jane Austen classic revisited. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Once upon a time in distant wet England, there lived a family of five daughters, each of them waiting to meet a single man in possession of a…

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Tilak Nagar

City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Tilak Nagar

Searching for the stylish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla saw this young man on a street in the western neighbourhood of Tilak Nagar. He was selling apples. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled…

City Monument - Restored Ruin, Humayun's Tomb

City Monument – Restored Ruin, Humayun’s Tomb

A silver lining. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The restoration work on the Mughal emperor Humayun’s tomb in Delhi ended in September 2013. “It took us six years and 200,000 man-days of painstaking work by craftsmen,” says Ratish…

City Hangout - Modern Tea House, Haveli Azam Khan

City Hangout – Modern Tea House, Haveli Azam Khan

A sip of the Walled City. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The tea stalls in Mughal-era Old Delhi serve very milky and sweet chai. Modern Tea House, on Haveli Azam Khan, a congested alley off the Chitli Qabar…

City Moment – The Kitchen Concert, Nizamuddin East

City Moment – The Kitchen Concert, Nizamuddin East

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla was at a third-floor apartment in Nizamuddin East when a young man entered the kitchen. He was wearing a blue kurta and a white…

Delhi Metro - Trainspotting, Around Town

Delhi Metro – Trainspotting, Around Town

The scenic tracks. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla has found the most picturesque spot from where to watch the majesty of the Delhi Metro. It lies in the little-known Aastha Kunj, in south Delhi. Visited…

Coming Soon – Paperback Edition, Nobody Can Love You More

Coming Soon – Paperback Edition, Nobody Can Love You More

Sold out. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi; the above photo is by Unknown] Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, a book by The Delhi Walla, was recently published by Penguin India. Priced at…