Atget’s Corner – 291-295, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 29, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 291 to 295. 291. Matia
City Hangout – Ganga Dhaba, Jawaharlal Nehru University Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 2014June 28, 20141 The revolutionary outpost. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is like a welcoming jungle — except for the guerrilla ants that are constantly invading your clothes. The gentle slopes are shaded with neem and keekar trees, and the air echoes with the wistful cries of peacocks, squirrels and cuckoos. There are ketchup-stained rocks to sit on. The snacks are dirt cheap and the talk apparently so radical that it could topple the system. Founded by tea vendor Tejveer Singh in 1985, the Ganga Dhaba in the semi-wild campus of Delhi’s politically charged Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is legendary for honing the world views of its students. Open daily from 4pm-2.30am, it is here that PhD scholars, civil service aspirants and
Atget’s Corner – 286-290, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 286 to 290. 286. Tughlaqabad
Atget’s Corner – 281-285, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 27, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 281 to 285. 281. Hauz
City Moment – The Last Great Qawwal, Hazrat Nizamuddin’s Dargah Moments by The Delhi Walla - June 27, 2014June 27, 20141 The remarkable Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the few classical qawwals left in India, he is the last great living qawwal of Delhi. One morning in the courtyard of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s dargah, The Delhi Walla chances upon the legendary Meraj Ahmed Nizami. The elderly man is offering a qawwali. His voice is barely audible. It is a rare sight – the scholar-artist has drastically reduced his public appearances due to his frail health. Mr Nizami’s stature as a classical Sufi singer is matched only by late qawwals such as Aziz Warsi of Hyderabad and Murli Qawwal of Lucknow. (I have written here about Mr Nizami.) A couple of ten rupee notes are lying on his harmonium along with
Atget’s Corner – 276-280, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 26, 2014June 26, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 276 to 280. 276. Sarvpriya
Julia Child in Delhi – Santosh Rani Makes Karhi Pakoda, DLF Park Place Julia Child's Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 25, 2014June 25, 20141 The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of Gurgaon’s DLF Park Place, an address so exclusive that it has its own helipad. Fortunately Santosh Rani has no respect for her neighborhood’s expat-friendly coldness. Loving and welcoming, the quiet-mannered matriarch presides over her family in a 30th floor apartment. Her balcony looks to a panoramic view of the Aravalis, her drawing-room walls are decked with photographs of Venice and her kitchen is unconsciously Punjabi. Born a few months before the independence, Ms Rani grew up in Amritsar, Punjab. Her most abiding memory of that town is of her mother Swarajvati and her kitchen. “It is very difficult to pinpoint Chaiji’s best dish,” she says,
Atget’s Corner – 271-275, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 24, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 271 to 275. 271. Daryaganj 272.
Atget’s Corner – 266-270, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 20, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur's paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 266 to 270. 266. Kailash
City Landmark – Aleksandr Pushkin, Mandi House Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - June 20, 2014June 20, 20142 The Russian abroad. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Moscow-born Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin seems at home in Delhi. The Russian poet’s statue stands high on one side of central Delhi's Mandi House traffic square. The statue is so discreetly situated that unless you are not actively looking for Pushkin, you will not be able to spot him. Resting on a nearby bench, mechanic Abdul Qadir says that Puskin was installed here in 1933. India was a British colony then. Why would the English choose a Russian and ignore their poets? “This Roosi must have have done something good for them,” says Mr Qadir. Pushkin died in 1837. Almost 150 years later he became responsible for the international success of a Delhi