Our Self-Written Obituaries – Mugdha Ahluwalia, Mansarovar Park, Delhi Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 22, 2016February 22, 20161 The 112th death. [Text by Mugdha Ahluwalia; photo by Kulbir Ahluwalia] She was an engineer by studying, an MBA by studying more, and a skilled Human Resource professional for an MNC by placement. More importantly she was a poet by birth without any published material. She was also a self-acclaimed habitual writer, truly a teller of various tales, an ardent talker and a avid reader (to show off). In addition, she was thoughtfully philosophical in reality and she was spicily sarcastic. She was also an obsessive mobile phone photographer, a dedicated movie watcher, an optimistic dreamer, and a futurist thinker. She was never a tourist, always a traveler. Mugdha Ahluwalia had always wondered what brought night? Did the dreams call it or the
City Moment – A Fallen Bicycle on Thomas Mann’s Beach, Venice Moments by The Delhi Walla - February 21, 2016February 21, 20162 The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is everywhere. Even the wet sea is looking like the sky. It is evening. The Delhi Walla is on the beach in Lido, a narrow island in Venice that was the setting of Thomas Mann’s unhappy novel Death in Venice. The universe is quiet. The waves of the Adriatic Sea are making gentle splashing sounds. The country of Croatia lies on the other side of the sea. They say that it takes five hours to reach there on the boat. An abandoned building stands a few yards away from the beach. It has minarets and a dome. This is Hotel Excelsior; it is closed for the season, and will re-open in
Atget’s Corner – 901-905, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - February 20, 2016February 20, 20160 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 901 to 905. 901. Connaught Lane 902. Cathedral Church
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Nina Subramani, Madras Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 19, 20160 The 111th death. [Text and photo by by Nina Subramani] For Nina Subramani, 24 hours was more than enough to never be busy-she always had the time to do laundry, work, play, cook, make love, stare at trees, walk with her dog, make art with her daughter, respond to mails and pings, texts and messages, have endless cups of chai alone and together, talk on the phone, hold hands, walk to the beach, skype and write this obituary. Our Self-Written Obituaries invites people to write their obituary in 200 words. The idea is to share with the world how you will like to be remembered after you are gone. (May you live a long life, of course!) Please mail me your self-obit at
Home Sweet Home – Elena Ferrrazzi’s Home, Venice Ghetto Delhi Homes by The Delhi Walla - February 19, 2016February 19, 20160 Inside the walls. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The kitchen range has a microwave oven, upon which sits a toaster. Boxes of herbs and sugar and salt are arranged in a row. Strainers and ladles hang from hooks. There is also a supper table. One evening The Delhi Walla enters the third-floor apartment of Elena Ferrrazzi, a Maths teacher in an elementary school in Venice. Ms Ferrazzi lives with her two daughters, Giulia and Lisa. Their home has two large halls and four rooms. The kitchen also doubles up as a drawing room. It looks like any other cozy home. Even so, this place is extraordinary. Not because it is a 500-year-old building, but because the other side of the kitchen wall
City Monument – The Barbed Wire & The Holocaust Panels, Venice Ghetto Monuments by The Delhi Walla - February 18, 2016February 18, 20162 The tragedy of being the world's first ghetto. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The barbed wire on the top of the wall is broken at places. It stretches out against a cloud-filled sky. The unpainted brick wall marks the boundary of one of the most immoral ideas ever conceived by men. The Delhi Walla is at Campo del Ghetto Novo, one of the two squares in the Jewish ghetto in Venice. This little island gave the world its first officially segregated quarter to confine a persecuted minority community into a limited space. Indeed, the term ‘ghetto’ is derived from this ghetto. In March 2016, the historic district completes 500 years. The so-named Most Serene Republic of Venice declared on 29
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ryan Frantz, Bangalore Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 17, 2016February 17, 20160 The 110th death. [Text by Ryan; photo by Ryan Figueiredo] It was an overcast morning in February in Delhi. And, ignoring all dictates of common sense (and several well publicised research reports), Ryan Frantz pulled out his mobile to reply a text message on his phone while walking furiously on Africa Avenue towards Deer Park. A few seconds later, he died from a high-impact collision with a lamppost. Standing at 6 feet, 4 inches, it was cruel irony that one of Mr Frantz’s nicknames happened to be ‘Lamppost'. Delhi Police have issued a traffic advisory on avoiding Africa Avenue and have suggested alternate travel routes. The road has been sealed off after the news of the incident went viral and attracted flower-bouquet-placing and candle-burning
City Landmark – Lodhi Colony Art Installation, Mehar Chand Market Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - February 17, 20163 Public reviews of a public display. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Public art, so common in world cities, has been slowly finding its space in Delhi, a huge metropolis that swallows up all puny efforts. Nonetheless, any art touches the lives of those who look upon it, stirring something inside them, and here it’s no different. The city had been hosting a two-month-long street art festival that ends mid-February. The St+art Delhi festival, say its organizers, “aims to change the city’s landscape with art in public spaces through mediums such as murals, installations, performances, workshops, talks, screenings”. As part of this festival, Australian artist Reko Rennie created a mural in about 10 days with help from acclaimed sign-painter Kafeel and his team.
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Padmaja Iyengar, Hyderabad Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 16, 2016February 16, 20160 The 109th death. [Text by Padmaja Iyengar; photo by Wonderbook of Records International] A Riff-Raff’s Epitaph I sit down to write my epitaph, In a few words; not a paragraph. I try putting some words on paper, But they vanish like water vapour! I then tried to analyze, And came to realize, That I’m just a riff-raff, Undeserving of an epitaph. Amidst a growth of unruly weed, My epitaph shall thus aptly read: “Here lies a silly, stupid riff-raff, Who doesn’t need an epitaph” Our Self-Written Obituaries invites people to write their obituary in 200 words. The idea is to share with the world how you will like to be remembered after you are gone. (May you live a long life, of course!) Please mail me your self-obit at mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com.
City Faith – Shylock’s Synagogue, Venice Ghetto Faith by The Delhi Walla - February 16, 2016February 16, 20162 Inside Shakespeare's temple. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] More than four centuries ago, he must have stood week after week under this same chandelier to pray within these same walls. His unfaithful daughter must have stood in the women’s gallery upstairs. This is Shylock’s synagogue. The Delhi Walla is in the Jewish ghetto of Venice, Italy. The world’s first ghetto is marking its 500th anniversary this year. This is also the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare whose character Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, is probably the world’s most famous Venetian. The fact-checkers might object that Shylock never really existed, and that the playwright of The Merchant of Venice never ever visited Venice. But then they forgot to check the power