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