City Monument – Corona-Era Jama Masjid, Old Delhi Monuments by The Delhi Walla - July 31, 20200 The edifice these days. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The gigantic courtyard is empty. So empty that even the customary pigeons are not there — remember how they would always be seen flying from the courtyard to the central dome, and back? The iconic Jama Masjid monument in Old Delhi is feeling absolutely surreal these days. Like most monuments, and most places of worship, it was closed for months due to the coronavirus. The pandemic is still raging on but the Mughal-era mosque has re-opened. On this late morning, it is so quiet here that you could hear your own breathing. Tomorrow’s historians might look back upon these times as a defining moment that altered the course of the world. But the
Mission Delhi – Veena Mathur, Sector 51 Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - July 31, 20200 Homecoming dress. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Wow, she speaks such free-flowing Hindi! Now, this might sound like an awkward compliment in the Hindi-speaking Delhi region. But then Hindi is not Veena’s first language. “Main Tamil Nadu ki hoon,” she says, giving away her origins in Hindi. This afternoon Veena is chatting on WhatsApp video from the isolation of her ground-floor home in Gurgaon’s Sector 51 in the Greater Delhi Region, which she shares with her husband and their two daughters. During the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, Veena, 39, launched a multi-lingual YouTube channel called Gurugram Sisters, which basically consists of the dance and song performances etc. of two young sisters. “They are my daughters, Shivli and Aditri,” reveals Veena, effortlessly switching into an
City Obituary – Shabrati Nihari, Shop, Haveli Azam Khan Food Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - July 31, 20200 Death of a landmark. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Bloggers have blogged about it. Instagrammers have instagrammed about it. Heritage-minded walking tours too would stop by for quick feasts and photo opportunities. And now it is gone. Hazi Shabrati Nihari Shop is history. The iconic eatery near Old Delhi’s Haveli Azam Khan was famous for its signature meat stew — it would be cooked overnight and served fresh in the early morning. It has been replaced by a grocery that opened last Friday. The shop stays within the family, but the business has changed. It all happened because of.... you guess it—coronavirus pandemic! “We remained shut during the long lockdown,” says Mohammad Shuaib Ilyas, the grandson of Hazi Shabrati, the late founder