Atget’s Corner – 576-580, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - November 19, 2014November 19, 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 576 to 580. 576. Connaught Place 577.
City Hangout – Traffic Training Park, Baba Kharak Singh Marg Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - November 16, 2014November 19, 20146 An unusual garden. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi despises traffic rules because hardly any Delhiwalla visits the Traffic Training Park. Situated on central Delhi’s Baba Kharak Singh Marg, it is an unusual garden. Instead of flowers and ponds, there are roads, pavements, traffic lights, zebra crossings, and even a yellow bus stand. Set up in 1964, the park also has a foot-over bridge. There are five of these traffic parks in the capital. The others are in Roshanara Bagh, Punjabi Bagh, Pragati Maidan and at Bal Bhawan on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. The Delhi Traffic Police recommend law-abiding citizens to “visit these parks to learn about traffic rules and road safety norms in a practical and theoretical manner.” One placard in the park says,
The Ridge Magazine Review – On Nobody Can Love You More The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - November 13, 2014November 13, 20140 Life in a red light district. [By Nigel Tan] Nigel Tan of the Singapore-based The Ridge Magazine talked about Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, a book by The Delhi Walla. Click here to read it on the magazine’s website, or see below. PUBLISHED IN late 2012, Nobody Can Love You More is like an anthology of heartbreaking poetry by Indian writer and photojournalist Mayank Austen Soofi, who is widely known for his blog, The Delhi Walla (www.thedelhiwalla.com). In this foray into Delhi’s darker side, Soofi documents his 3-year long investigative journey into GB Road, the largest red light district in Delhi, which is notorious for its trade and its prevalence of crime and violence that go with the
City Sighting – Dan Brown, Siri Fort General by The Delhi Walla - November 11, 2014November 12, 20142 The worst-selling debacle. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sharp at 7.05 pm 10 November 2014, renowned writer Dan Brown staggered into south Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium with the swagger of a man whose six novels are circulating across the world in 52 languages and 200 million print copies. As he had probably anticipated, a large collection of his mostly college-going fans filled the hall, which has a capacity of more than a thousand people. But this crowd (with due to respect to designer Ritu Kumar who was enthroned on the first row) must have barely impressed Mr Brown. After all, he was fresh from a talk last week in a Persian gulf state where his audience included Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed
City Monument – St Mary’s Catholic Church, SP Mukherjee Road Monuments by The Delhi Walla - November 10, 2014November 10, 20141 God’s lovely house. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If the British had made our land their lasting and loving home, then Delhi would have had as many British-period churches as there are Mughal-era tombs. The capital probably would have more than one gothic structure built in the style of St Mary’s Catholic Church. This old building may transport a wistful visitor straight to the heart of Europe. Here, you could as well be in a village in England. Or in Venice. But this is actually just a short walk away from the Red Fort. A church was built here in 1723 when Delhi was ruled by the colorful Mughal emperor Muhammad Shah. It was destroyed 16 years later following Nadir Shah’s invasion.
Atget’s Corner – 571-575, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - November 9, 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 571 to 575. 571. Jor Bagh 572.
Letter from Lahore – Delhi Dreaming, Pakistan Travel by The Delhi Walla - November 7, 2014November 7, 20142 An Indian in a post-Partition world. [Text and photos by Aanchal Malhotra] Lahore was wild today. The sky had suddenly turned dark and it felt like late evening though it was barely noon. Rain poured hard against my window pane. But before the unexpected arrival of the clouds my morning had been spent exploring the beautiful Wazir Khan Mosque with a friend. We parked our car outside the Dilli Darwaza and walked through the grand gateway that pointed to my beloved city of Delhi. The glorious sunshine of the subcontinent poured over us. As we walked to the mosque a strange feeling of déjà vu possessed me, like I’d been down these lanes before, the narrow uneven roads and dusty path. But
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – William Meredith, Jain Bird Hospital City Poetry by The Delhi Walla - November 5, 2014June 3, 20155 Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla arranged to meet American poet William Meredith at the Charity Birds Hospital in Chandni Chowk. Popularly known as the Jain Bird Hospital, the medical shelter receives 60 injured birds daily. It was established in 1930 by two brothers, Lala Sardari Mal Jain and Lala Ratan Lal Jain, who lived in Old Delhi’s Gali Guriyan street. The hospital originally consisted of a tin shed. Its present building was set up in 1957. Today, it is run by Pracheen Shri Agarwal Digambar Jain Panchayat, a council set up by the elders of this strictly-vegetarian community. The ailing birds are kept in numbered cages and are set free on recovery.
Atget’s Corner – 566-570, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - November 4, 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 566 to 570. 566. Connaught Place 567.
City Life – Waste Handlers, Bhopura Life by The Delhi Walla - November 3, 20141 Lives of rag pickers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ms Nisha used to wake up an hour before dawn, make breakfast for her family, and then start her workday. Accompanied by her four small children (she couldn’t leave them unattended at home), she would walk from house to house collecting garbage; her husband works in a small tailoring shop. Ms Nisha would return home by late afternoon to segregate the collection; her day always ending sooner than her work did. This was the 36-year-old ragpicker’s routine until one-and-a-half years ago. She still wakes up early to make the breakfast. And she is still a ragpicker. But she drops her children at school before heading to work, and she is home