City Style – Jaya Jaitly’s Sari Closet, Hazrat Nizamuddin East
Style in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She lives in a world of handwoven saris. Even the blinds of her drawing room are, well, saris (see second last picture at the bottom). One afternoon, The Delhi…
Netherfield Ball – Alika and Akbar’s Jane Austen Wedding on Aunt Jane’s 200th Death Anniversary, India Habitat Center
We love you Aunt Jane. [The Delhi Walla special; all photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The decorously subversive chronicler of England’s drawing rooms died on 18 July, 1817. In Sufism, the death anniversary is celebrated, not mourned. So, as we…
The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Amir Khusro, b. Patiali, Uttar Pradesh, 1253-1325
The definitive directory of famous Delhiites. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] At 72, the maker of Hindustani classical music lost interest in the world. Poet Amir Khusro, the 14th century courtier to seven kings, was in mourning after…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Shehla Nawab, Tees Hazari Court
Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She writes in verse though her field is ‘criminal matters’. Shehla Nawab works as a lawyer and lives as a poet. The Delhi Walla meets her one afternoon at…
City Monument – Najaf Khan’s Tomb, Near Lodhi Road Railway Station
Tomb without the dome. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] What if Humayun’s Tomb didn’t have a dome — just the stone plinth on which it stands? To see what it would look like, just head to Najaf Khan’s…
City Obituary – Dinesh Chandra Grover, the Legendary Hindi Publisher of Allahabad
The passing of an age. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is sitting against a mostly-empty bookshelf. The upper reaches of the walls are lined with framed portraits of Hindi writers. This dimly-lit musty space seems to have…
City Hangout – Riverside Ghat, Yamuna Bazaar
Remember the river. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The evening sky is clear blue. The water is moving serenely. A handful of young men are sitting on the edge of the river. Two women are standing a few…
Mission Delhi – Soumya Singh, Auto Rickshaw
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Soumya Singh has big black eyes and a sunny smile. She doesn’t seem to be weighed down by life. It could be because she is…
City Food – White Rasgulla, Amar Colony
The taste of light sweetness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every time The Delhi Walla visits an artsy home in this city and happen to fall in love with some exquisite table or chair, it turns out that…
City Life – A Room in the Red Light, GB Road
The world of a sex worker. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The room is smaller than the kitchen of an average DDA (Delhi Development Authority) flat. The walls are painted pale purple. A small ceiling fan hangs down…
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