Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Vidya Singh, Ghaziabad City Poetry by The Delhi Walla - January 11, 20180 Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So many of us dream of becoming writers. Mostly it just remains a dream. But not in Vidya Singh’s case. Last year, this 77-year-old poet became the author of Raabta — a collection of Hindi poems that she composed over a lifetime while performing the roles of a wife, mother and grandmother. The 50-page paperback has a sunset-soaked leafless tree on its cover. Curiously, no price is mentioned anywhere. Turns out it’s not for sale. “We, her children, got together to publish Mummy’s books,” explains Anita, her daughter. These days the poet lives with Anita at her home in Ghaziabad. The family printed a hundred copies. Half of them were given away at
Mission Delhi – Mohit Jain, Balbir Nagar Extension Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 11, 2018January 11, 20182 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The neighbours are sniggering. Even his parents sometimes wonder…. Wondering why their grown-up son has crammed so many novels and poetry books into his tiny room here in the east Delhi locality of Balbir Nagar Extension (near Loni Road). And not just any books. The Delhi Walla is talking about great authors like Marquez, Pessoa and Ishiguro that absolutely nobody within walking distance would be reading. (Or even heard of.) As he tells us. “I know they’re laughing at me!” smiles Mohit Jain, 27. He seems just a bit uncomfortable as we talk, here in his windowless book-lined bedroom in a neighbourhood without bookshops, which makes this room even more