City Library – Anjani Kumar’s Books Sequel, Jor Bagh Library by The Delhi Walla - July 31, 2015July 31, 20150 A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla has often flicked books from other people’s homes. So it was quite astounding to know that there are people doing the exact opposite. Readers will remember the library of Anjani Kumar—it was featured on this website’s ‘City Library’ series. A security guard in central Delhi’s Jor Bagh, Mr Kumar owns half a dozen books. He had told me -- “These books are as precious to me as my job.” The other evening I was walking in Jor Bagh when Mr Kumar waved at me and took out two new-looking books from his cabin. He said, “A lady came today. She gifted me these books.” I later learned that the aforementioned lady happened
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Megha Shankar Seth, Alaknanda, Delhi Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 31, 2015July 31, 20150 The 93rd death. [By Megha Shankar Seth] Megha Shankar Seth died today while travelling to work just after she received a phone call from her mother-in-law professing her love and gratitude for being a wonderful daughter-in-law and being a better cook than her and her daughter combined. She has left her GOQII and her bottle of water with mint-infused water for the health conscious World Bank employee who might sit at her place post September. Ms Shankar Seth lived her life forever trying to follow a routine of homecooked food and intense workouts but she failed miserably each time a new kind of biryani was brought to the office by a colleague or a new joint opened up in Connaught Place (not that Wenger’s
Metro Observed – Inside the Coaches-2, Delhi Subway Delhi Metro by The Delhi Walla - July 30, 2015July 30, 20153 Life in the Metro. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She was probably around twenty (see the photo above). She wore a purple sari with silver-colored designs that seemed to be patterned after flowers and leaves. Her arms were covered with purple bangles. She must be a newly-married woman. The Delhi Walla saw her in a coach on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro. The woman's head was veiled with the end of her sari. She was seated between an elderly woman and a young man. One of her hands was holding the veil in place, the other rested on her lap. Initially, the woman’s face was completely hidden behind her sari. But later, when the train was somewhere between
City Hangouts – Javed Khan’s Old Swiss Watches, New Markazi Market Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - July 29, 2015July 29, 20151 Place of time. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] 9711052575 – This is his mobile phone number. Call him now. The extremely frail Javed Husain Khan sells second-hand Swiss watches—for a bargain. The Delhi Walla wrote about him way back in 2012. I’m again reminding you of this watchman because he has moved his stall. It’s no longer a street-side shack in central Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. It’s now a cutesy hole-in-the-wall in New Markazi Market, a basement lane of small shops in the same neighborhood. At Mr Khan’s, as I wrote earlier, you get old hand-wound Swiss watches for cheap. He has almost every Swiss brand – Nino, Henri Sandoz, Titoni, Favre-leuba, Titus, Roamer... and yes, if he really really likes
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Zara Wazir Ali, Lahore, Pakistan Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 29, 20150 The 92nd death. [By Zara Wazir Ali] Death is not an alien thought to my over-obsessive brain. And what I have learned from life is that death brings out vulnerability, being a moment of utter honesty, it will make me unable to keep up any pretenses, so I preserve my obituary to be my final pretense. It should be a personal and hidden yet curious affair. Only one thought remains: I was born alone, I shall die alone, none shall mourn. Thus my death should be an utter secret: One that makes my beloved wonder about my whereabouts years after I am gone. And they ask themselves with worry and wonder about the whereabouts of the unrealistic girl who lived in a world
City Landmark – Mahatta & Co, Connaught Place Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - July 28, 20150 The original photoshop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Not a moment to spare. A constant stream of customers through the door. Some wanting to get their portrait done, others their photos developed. Some inquire about cameras. Maharani Gayatri Devi and painter M.F. Husain have been seen here. This is Mahatta & Co., the legendary photo studio in M Block, Connaught Place. That was how it used to be in the 1980s. This year (2015), Mahatta & Co. turns hundred. The founder, Amar Nath, died 30 years ago. His son Madan was the most famous of the Mahattas; he died last year. Madan’s sons—Pavan and Pankaj —run the show now. They will release a hundredth anniversary commemorative book this August; they will also
City Season – Evening Sky, Daryaganj Nature by The Delhi Walla - July 27, 2015July 27, 20152 The monsoon clouds. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi sky is noted for its impenetrable grayness. One recent evening the ongoing rainy season briefly interfered with that constancy of character. Perhaps you too noticed it if you happened to be in the area around that time. Just as the day was beginning to end, the city sky over the old neighbourhood of Daryaganj showed up an artwork of rare beauty. The dark rainy clouds of the season dissipated a little and revealed patches of clear blue. The departing sun lost no opportunity to make its presence felt. Receding for miles on either side of the Netaji Subhash Road, the sky, however, did not keep even a small proportion of the
Delhi Proustians – First Look, William Carter’s Annotated Edition of Marcel Proust’s 2nd Volume Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - July 26, 2015July 26, 20150 In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla has seen the cover. And it’s utterly beautiful. I’m talking of the much-awaited annotated English translation of the second volume of À la recherche du temps perdu—that great novel by Paris writer Marcel Proust that completely changes the life of anybody who dares to read all its seven volumes. In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower will come out in October 2015. It follows the excellently annotated Swann’s Way, the first volume of Recherche. We English-language readers, of course, know the French page-turner by either of its two titles—In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past. In the Shadow... is part of an ambitious
Netherfield Ball – French Ambassador’s Cocktail Reception, Nyaya Marg City Parties by The Delhi Walla - July 25, 2015July 25, 20151 The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] What they all are always interested in is the course of the Balkan war. Yet, these diplomats do need little diversions now and then to indulge in non-confrontational dialogues with members of the peacetime society. One evening French ambassador, François Richier, hosted a cocktail reception at his residence on Nyaya Marg. The pretext was the launch of Ghosts of Calcutta, a novel by Sébastien Ortiz, the Consul General of France in Kolkata, West Bengal. The guests were picked from the highest levels of Delhi’s social circle. Rajkumari Anita Singh of the royal house of Kapurthala looked resplendent in her golden sari and elaborately coiffed hair. Her family’s kingdom is history but Ms Singh continues
Delhi Metro – Last Points, Around Town Delhi Metro by The Delhi Walla - July 24, 2015July 24, 20154 The ends of the lines. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All good stories must come to an end. But not always. In the case of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, it’s not clear where it all culminates. You could argue that there is no end of the line, because it’s one of the fastest expanding Metro networks in the world, carrying 2.4 million commuters daily. Actually, there are terminal stations, but the tracks always extend further as a silent promise of things to come. The rapid transit system has taken the city beyond its borders, into the neighbouring states. Slices of these states, though part of the National Capital Region (NCR) map, appeared wearyingly distant in the days before the Delhi Metro. Since