Our Self-Written Obituaries – Simran Brar, Vasant Kunj

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Simran Brar, Vasant Kunj

The 119th death. [Text and photo by Simran Brar; the picture selfie shows the author with her grandmother] The hazardous cocktail of unabashed laughter, untiring idiocy and boundless adventure took Simran Brar’s life one unremarkable April morning. She had been…

City Landmark - Faqir Chand and Sons, Khan Market

City Landmark – Faqir Chand and Sons, Khan Market

Not just another bookshop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Historian Romila Thapar has visited this old family run bookshop in Khan Market. Author Gita Mehta talked of it in her book Snakes And Ladders: Glimpses Of Modern India….

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ajin K Thomas, Malappuram, Kerala

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ajin K Thomas, Malappuram, Kerala

The 118th death. [Text by Ajin K Thomas; photo by Shebin Benson] Writer Ajin K Thomas was found dead on the banks of the Punnapuzha River in Malappuram, with a paperback edition of The God of Small Things lying on…

Atget’s Corner – 911-915, Delhi Photos

Atget’s Corner – 911-915, Delhi Photos

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,…

Julia Child in Delhi – Sakina Mehta Makes Bohra Biryani, Greater Kailash Enclave Part-I

Julia Child in Delhi – Sakina Mehta Makes Bohra Biryani, Greater Kailash Enclave Part-I

The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of South Delhi’s Greater Kailash Enclave Part-I. In her mid-80s, Sakina Mehta finds happiness in listening to birdsongs. She divides her time between…

City Nature - Blue Trees, Maharshi Raman Road

City Nature – Blue Trees, Maharshi Raman Road

Impressionism in Delhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a melancholy sight. The flowers are falling noiselessly from the trees on their own volition. One evening The Delhi Walla comes across a few trees in bloom on Central…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Laila Tyabji, Tommy Hilfiger outlet in Gurgaon

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Laila Tyabji, Tommy Hilfiger outlet in Gurgaon

The 117th death. [By Laila Tyabji] The unidentified body found in the Tommy Hilfiger outlet at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon has now been identified as 68 year old Laila Tyabji, Founder and Chairperson of Dastkar. The body, found in…

City Travel - The Ancient Jewish Ghetto, Venice

City Travel – The Ancient Jewish Ghetto, Venice

The world’s first ghetto. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Butchers and blacksmiths, fortune-tellers and beggars, carpet sellers and cobblers, chickens and children… all of this made more frenzied by the great milling crowds. It could be Old Delhi….

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ashutosh Tripathi, The Book Shop

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ashutosh Tripathi, The Book Shop

The 116th death. [By Ashutosh Tripathi] “Goodbye and God bless!” This seemingly simple text message, on a normal working April day, from his long-standing girlfriend, K, apparently took Ashutosh Tripathi’s life. Mr Tripathi struggled with tears through the day and…

City List - The Everlasting Jews of Delhi, Jewish Cemetery

City List – The Everlasting Jews of Delhi, Jewish Cemetery

A Capital heritage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Capital’s only Jewish cemetery is walking distance from the Khan Market Metro station. It is a serene corner of Delhi, and 42 Jews rest here in peace. This is…