City Food – Wimpy Burgers, Aurobindo Market Food by The Delhi Walla - June 30, 2015June 30, 20151 The taste of yesterday. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Until October 13 1996, when the golden arches were first raised in the city (in Basant Lok Market), we Delhiwallas were McDonald’s virgins. You can still make a return journey to your former chastity. A fast-food counter stands beside Radhey Shyama Chemist & Cosmetics in south Delhi’s Aurobindo Market. This is Wimpy. Yes, the same Wimpy that was also in N-Block Connaught Place (CP) where young Delhiites on red vinyl chairs brushed shoulders with foreign tourists--this outlet had found a mention in Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler’s classic West Asia on a Shoe String as a place for “good ‘lamb burgers’ for Rs 8 to Rs 16.” The 2015 edition of Wimpy in Aurobindo Market
Mission Delhi – Geeta Devi, Good Earth, Khan Market Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 29, 2015June 29, 20153 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] “Hello sir,” she warmly greets the man as he steps into the shop. Geeta Devi is probably Delhi’s only woman doorman. The Delhi Walla meets her one afternoon during her duty hours at the Good Earth luxury home décor store in Khan Market. Looking down at her grey kurta, Ms Devi says, “Our uniform changed recently. Earlier I used to wear a green kurta.” In her 40s, Ms Devi travels daily to work from her home in faraway Seelampur. Although she has to change three Metro trains to reach Khan Market, the long commute sits easy on her. Her voice is soft but brisk, and does not
Atget’s Corner – 831-835, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 2015June 28, 20151 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. Five randomly picked pictures from this collection are regularly 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 831 to 835. 831. Chanakyapuri 832. H. Nizamuddin East 833.
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Shibani Bedi, Kailash Colony Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 20150 The 85th death. [Text by Shibani Bedi; photo by Sonam Sharma] Here lies Shibani Bedi, sprawled between her achievements and regrets. Her most common refrain was: “I feel like a life less lived, lost in the universe, trapped in non-conformist conformity.” Perhaps the most unoriginal quip in the universe of all quips. Running against time, with aspirations mostly dwelling on the impractical, Ms Bedi, in her last days, lost herself to her universe within, so much so that the distinction between the real and the unreal gave the word ‘blurry’ a complex, the inferior kind in her case. She was known for talking to herself while walking with her Classic Mild in abandoned old streets late in the night. Miss Bedi was a good
Netherfield Ball – Colors of Life-15 Bash, India Habitat Center City Parties by The Delhi Walla - June 27, 2015June 27, 20151 The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Are rules beginning to relax? Delhi’s art world is opening to the idea of samosas with unlimited beer. One breezy evening The Delhi Walla attended the inaugural bash of Colors of Life-15, an art show held by Bhiku Ram Jain Foundation, at the Visual Arts Gallery in India Habitat Center. All of us in the gallery moved around carrying our respective samosas and beer bellies. One man carried his noisy baby. It was difficult to spot any famous face, though of course there was Ratan Kaul, the omnipresent society diva who is seen in every noteworthy party that takes place in this town (I have written about her here). The most curious moment of
Delhi Archives – Gay Delhi, Around Town Delhi Archives by The Delhi Walla - June 27, 20150 [Digging out old stories from The Delhi Walla] In December 2013, India’s Supreme Court pronounced that gay sex is illegal. It has been a long journey for gay people in Delhi and across the country. “Looking for chubby bottoms.” “Looking for good-looking, straight-acting guys.” “Looking for discreet friendship and fun.” “Looking for a real and honest man.” “Looking for sex with hairy men.” On a recent Sunday morning, these were the status messages of five of the 131 people in Delhi who were cruising for men on the international gay dating website Guys4men.com, popularly called PlanetRomeo. Started in Germany in 2002, PlanetRomeo’s impact on the lives of homosexual men in India’s big cities started much earlier than the Delhi high court verdict in 2009
City Moment – The Little Girl’s Hijab, Jamia Nagar Moments by The Delhi Walla - June 26, 2015June 26, 20152 The remarkable Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The little girl could hardly be ten. The Delhi Walla saw her in a bazaar in Jamia Nagar. Her head was covered with a black scarf. She was with her family. They were looking longingly at a roadside stall. It stocked veils for women. The stall owner picked up a small black hijab with a decorative rose on the side and placed it on the little girl’s head. She blushed. A woman helped adjust the hijab on the little head. The girl looked excited. There were murmurs of praise. The hijab was a perfect fit. And then the stall owner took one end of the hijab and wrapped it around the
City Life – Love Letters, Scrap Dealer’s Home, Old Delhi Life by The Delhi Walla - June 25, 2015January 11, 20174 Life in mails. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon, in a raddiwala’s (scrap dealer’s) home in Old Delhi, The Delhi Walla discovered a polythene bag filled with letters and picture postcards. The envelopes had the addresses of New York, Allahabad, Geneva, Dar es Salaam, Bombay, Moscow and Delhi. There were dozens of letters spanning the period from the 1940s to the 1980s. Each was marked with the date on which it was received and the date on which a response was sent (but a New Year greeting card that bore the signature of the Dalai Lama was undated). Picking up a letter, I randomly read a few lines: “I still have all the bank work to do. You too have to
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Sheema Mookherjee, Kanha Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - June 24, 20151 The 84th death. [Text by Sheema Mookherjee; photo by Jhampan Mookerjee] Sheema Mookherjee was found departed on a planter’s chair in her verandah at Kanha, Madhya Pradesh. The forest spirits had come and collected her soul. She had just finished a breakfast of kodo (millet) roti and green chutney made with garlic shoots from her garden. The harvested mohua flowers were lying drying in the sun around her sprawling verandah, emitting a heady sugary fragrance in the air. Ms Mookherjee has been living in her Kanha jungle home for the past few decades, ever since she gave up her publishing job in Delhi. She was known for her eccentric produce from her organic farm – ancient grains, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, mahua... Along with
City Notice – Intern Wanted for The Delhi Walla Website General by The Delhi Walla - June 23, 2015June 23, 20151 Seeking assistance for special projects. [Text by Mayank Austen Soofi; photo by Marina Bang] The Delhi Walla is (willingly) spending too much of his time with Marcel Proust. It leaves him with not enough hours to do all he wants to do. So, The Delhi Walla is looking to hire an intern. The intern will help with the website and special projects. The prospective intern: You should be extroverted bibliophile with a great curiosity about the world. You should be able to approach and chat to strangers. Flair with photography will be noted. So would dexterity with computers. You should be conscientious and serious. And you should be able to work independently. Send a 200-word description and resume to mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.