City Moment – The Magical Man Spotted at Artist Dayanita Singh’s Talk, Italian Cultural Center Moments by The Delhi Walla - September 16, 2016September 16, 20165 The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was alone and he was the first to arrive. One evening The Delhi Walla saw this quiet elderly man at the Italian Cultural Center on Chandragupta Marg. Artist Dayanita Singh was to talk on the book as a museum. The man spent a long time in the lobby. The walls were decked with framed posters. While Ms Singh was arranging her books and fiddling with her laptop inside the hall, the man patiently stood in front of each frame and spent a long time looking at the illustrations. Finally, he entered the hall. It was empty except for Ms Singh and a few early birds. The man sat on a back row. The
City Faith – The Ballad for the Eid Goats, Old Delhi Faith by The Delhi Walla - September 12, 2016September 13, 20162 The gifts of sacrifice. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They all will die. The goats, as well as the occasional camels and buffaloes. The Delhi Walla spent a week walking in the Islamic parts of the Walled City, which is preparing to get ready for Eid ul Zuha, or Bakra Eid, in which animals are sacrificed to commemorate the legend of a devout man’s complete surrender to his God. Every household in certain parts of Old Delhi have at least one goat tied in the courtyard. These creatures are presently the center of attraction. Children kiss them and the elders affectionately feed them with gular grass. On the morning of Eid, the lungi-clad butchers will visit every home. Rest in peace 1a. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Tanima Saha, Lutyens’s Delhi Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - September 12, 2016September 12, 20161 The 133rd death. [Text by Tanima Saha; photo by Christopher Gardner] Tanima Saha was found dead in her Lutyens's Delhi residence earlier today by a bunch of schoolboys. Every morning on their way to school the boys would throw stones at Ms Saha's window blinds to annoy the old lady and she would yell at them. Unaccustomed to going to school without hearing Ms Saha scream at them and with their curiosity piqued, the boys sneaked into her house through her kitchen window. Ms Saha was found dead sitting in her armchair with her kajal-ed eyes wide open (she had once famously told a friend that she would never be found dead without kajal). She is believed to have died of a heart
Atget’s Corner – 951-955, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - September 11, 2016September 11, 20162 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 1,00,000 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 951 to 955. 951. Huda City Center 952. Ghaffar
City Landmark – H&M Takes Over New Book Depot and ED Galgotia & Sons Booksellers, Connaught Place Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - September 7, 2016September 7, 20163 The new boss. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hennes and Mauritz have moved into New Book Depot and ED Galgotia & Sons Booksellers. On August 25 2016, the Swedish clothing multinational H&M opened its largest gleaming outlet in Delhi in that very white-washed corner of D-block in Connaught Place that used to house the aforementioned bookstores, both of which were tucked next to each other, and had shut down one after the other. The New Book Depot, famous for its collection of Penguin classics, was started by a French couple in 1925. It shut shop in 2012. Its last owner, Rakesh Chandra, was famous for his fierce individuality. He occasionally got into tiffs with customers who showed “disrespect” to his
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Neha Sharma, Dwarka, Delhi Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - September 7, 2016September 7, 20160 The 132nd death. [Text by Neha Sharma; photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] There were just two things Neha Sharma was sure about in life. One--she could eat pancakes everyday for every meal. Second--someday, she would be one of the oldest people alive. The first was obvious to her friends, when she, who could not even make a decent cup of tea, doled out pancakes (with a generous helping of butter and nutella) like a dream. She realised the second thing the day she had a bad accident. The brakes of the auto-rickshaw she was travelling in failed and it hit a bus. The auto was broken, the driver injured, but she escaped without a scratch. That she was in love with a
Netherfield Ball – ‘International fame’ Poetess Ana Dehlavi Casts a Magical Spell on Her Birthday Celebrations, Ghalib Academy City Parties by The Delhi Walla - September 6, 2016September 6, 20162 The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sometimes the wide world has space enough only for one person. This evening our rich plenteous earth seems to have been created only for Ana Dehlavi. The Delhi Walla is at Ghalib Academy in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti to celebrate the birth anniversary of Ms Dehlavi, the poet who lives in the riverside neighborhood of Lakshmi Nagar. A special soiree of Urdu poetry has been hosted in her honor. A giant candle is set on the stage waiting to be lit, while a giant banner welcomes everyone “on the occasion of the birthday of international fame shaira [poetess] Ms Ana Dehlavi.” Shimmering in a dark blue lehenga, Ms Dehlavi is beyond years. Nobody knows
City Library – Yunus Jaffery’s Books, Ganj Mir Khan Library by The Delhi Walla - September 5, 2016September 5, 20162 A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One morning The Delhi Walla enters the library of the city’s great Persian scholar S.M. Yunus Jaffery at his home in the congested Walled City neighborhood of Ganj Mir Khan. Mr Jaffery is not to be seen. He died a week ago due to complications arising out of a delicate surgery. He was 86. Mr Jaffery’s home--a private world of courtyards, terraces and balconies--shelters the families of his various nephews. His books and papers are confined to three rooms. The late scholar had retired as the head of the Persian department at Delhi University’s Zakir Husain College and spent his long years immersed in reading and writing. Though he never married, he remained
Atget’s Corner – 946-950, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - September 3, 2016September 3, 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 1,00,000 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 946 to 950. 946. Chawri Bazar 947. Shaheen Bagh 948.
City Moment – Author Gillian Wright’s Snacking Secrets Exposed, H. Nizamuddin West Moments by The Delhi Walla - September 2, 2016September 2, 20160 The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She seems so familiar. Who can she be? Must be somebody famous. Suddenly, the heart stops. Isn’t she that writer?! One evening The Delhi Walla spots Gillian Wright on a lane in Nizamuddin West. She is wearing a blue kurta and a white shalwar. A bag is slung around her shoulders. People like Ms Wright are spotted in books and newspapers. What is she doing here? Why is she walking amid the common people? I come closer to her. Ms Wright stops and says smilingly, “I live just down this lane." Ms Wright is holding a white polythene packet. It has apples. Her other hand is holding a small pack of Dairy Milk chocolate buttons and