City Hangout - 'Harijan Camp', Right Behind Meharchand Market

City Hangout – ‘Harijan Camp’, Right Behind Meharchand Market

The hidden world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hardly surprising, is it, that the Smart Set has a soft spot for Meharchand Market. Who wouldn’t be tempted by those captivating silver bracelets and handcrafted artifacts, adding a little…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Srajan Bhatnagar, Noida

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Srajan Bhatnagar, Noida

The 186th death. [Text and photos sent by Srajan Bhatnagar] As the Metro carriage drew into the shed, retired for the night, the cleaners saw the dead body of 23 year old Srajan Bhatnagar, still standing, still holding the overhead…

City Moment - The Dance of a Woman, Appetite German Bakery

City Moment – The Dance of a Woman, Appetite German Bakery

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla spots a foreign woman sitting in a Central Delhi café. She is dressed in a long gown, blue ear danglers and a bucket hat. Her…

City Landmark - The Airport Angels, Airport Metro Station

City Landmark – The Airport Angels, Airport Metro Station

Travelling statues. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Public art in Delhi sometimes find me scratching the head. The sculptures at the Mandi House crossing are so abstract that The Delhi Walla just don’t get them. Equally puzzling are…

City Library - Retired Diplomat TCA Raghavan's Books, CR Park

City Library – Retired Diplomat TCA Raghavan’s Books, CR Park

A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla kinda knows what diplomats do for a living. But what happens after they retire? In the case of TCA Raghavan, he’s managed to write two books so…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Aksa Ashraf, Somewhere in Kashmir, the Clichéd Paradise

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Aksa Ashraf, Somewhere in Kashmir, the Clichéd Paradise

The 185th death. [Text and photos sent by Aksa Ashraf] Death finally took Aksa Ashraf. Nobody knew how? She endured herself as much as she could and survived through and through at many phases of being herself. She had died…

City Food - Rishabh Bhai's Veg Biryani, Anand Vihar

City Food – Rishabh Bhai’s Veg Biryani, Anand Vihar

An unusual adaptation. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Over The Delhi Walla‘s many expeditions into Delhi drawing rooms, not an evening passes without having to witness yet another heated debate on the relative merits of Delhi biryani versus…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Kanchana Amilani, Kalutara North, Sri Lanka

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Kanchana Amilani, Kalutara North, Sri Lanka

The 184th death. [Text and photos sent by Kanchana Amilani] On 3.3.2018 Kanchana Amilani was accidentally electrocuted. Her niece discovered the body lying on the stomach in a small room of Kanchana’s Kaluthara North home. The book “My Family and…

Home Sweet Home - Indira Dayal's Terrace Garden, Anand Niketan

Home Sweet Home – Indira Dayal’s Terrace Garden, Anand Niketan

Life on the summit. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Winters in Delhi approximate the life of a butterfly. The moment you’ve developed a working relationship with woolens and heaters, it’s all over. This is more or less how…

City Life - People of a Desolate Patch, Near National Science Centre

City Life – People of a Desolate Patch, Near National Science Centre

Hidden living. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s a fine example of how an urban expanse that looks desolate can be lush with life. At first glance, there’s not much going on around here. Tucked away between the…