City Landmark – The So-Called “Mayank Austen Soofi’s Attic”, Hauz Khas Village Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - January 31, 2021January 31, 20211 A new AirBnB destination. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a small room, just enough for one person to co-habit with some books—ok, many books. Its window enjoyed a direct view of Emperor Feroze Shah Tughlak’s Tomb. I spent years in this attic in Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. There I realised my dream of becoming a published author. There I wrote all the four “alternative city guides” of my The Delhi Walla series. There I wrote my second book, Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District. There I began my newspaper career by writing city pieces for the now-defunct Outlook City Limits. There I have written hundreds and hundreds of long and small City Life dispatches
City Hangout – Cafe Karvaan, Abul Fazal Part 1 Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - January 29, 2021January 29, 20210 The river-side haven. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is it Volga or Thames, Nile or Seine? What is this watery world? With bits of dry land jutting out here and there, the landscape looks like a vast archipelago. This is Yamuna, and it is still Delhi. The river slices through the Capital, travelling from Haryana to UP. Most Delhiites, however, experience it as a bridge to be crossed. For a long time, the term ‘Yamuna-paar’ condescendingly denoted the neighbourhoods on the allegedly wrong side of the river. Indeed, the Yamuna in Delhi makes its presence felt most forcefully during the monsoon, when it floods over its banks, managing to reach the news headlines. Or when it becomes so polluted that it forms
Mission Delhi – Lal Babu, On the Road Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 28, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s freezing at the moment, around 8.30 pm. “You should see the roads at midnight, when it’s totally foggy,” mutters auto rickshaw driver Lal Babu, on his way to drop a passenger in Connaught Place. He says he will stay on the road for a few more hours before going back to his rented quarter in Mahipalpur. Responding to a request, Mr Babu, who is in his 40s, agrees to share his impressions about what his family must be doing back home, in his village in Bihar. “Shrimati Sheetal Devi must be having her dinner. She is my wife. In the village, the day ends earlier
Mission Delhi – Bhoora, Turkman Gate Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 27, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Histories and havelis, kebabs and tikkis, bazars and lanes. People flock to Old Delhi from all over for these attractions. But nobody comes here to hang out with one of its most beautiful elements: Bhoora, the dog. He is the living landmark of Turkman Gate, one of the only four surviving of the original 14 gateways of the Mughal-era Walled City. Bhoora is among the many strays in the area, but stands out for his shaggy bhoora (brown) coat and his quiet nature. He is very well-behaved, never barks, never chases the cats, and brings out the best from every creature here, including the humans. This
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – A Poem Written During the Metro Commute, Vikaspuri City Poetry by The Delhi Walla - January 24, 20210 Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] She is an engineer in a Noida-based multinational, but has been working from her home in Vikaspuri since March last year, because of you-know-what. But Jyoti Vij Ahuja is also a writer, who exploited the pandemic by compiling her short stories into a self-published e-book, Marital Bliss & Other Things. Ms Ahuja, 39, wrote these stories during her two-hour daily metro trip from home to work and back, she says in a WhatsApp video chat. The now-suspended commute was the most creative aspect of her day—it would give her ideas for prose and also for occasional poetry. “Looking at strangers’ faces, I would try to imagine the stories behind them.” Her writing pad was a
Atget’s Corner – 1176-1180, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - January 22, 20210 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 1176 to 1180. 1176. A Candle of Remembrance...
Mission Delhi – Shankar Kumar Shah, Mehrauli Road Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 22, 2021January 22, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s late morning and he is quietly arranging his cart, here on Gurgaon's Mehrauli Road in the Greater Delhi Region. He is picking up each orange, one by one, from inside a carton, and stacking it upon a decoratively arranged layer of those same oranges in a manner as concentratively as one building a house of cards. Shankar Kumar Shah, 19, is a fruit seller. He is also a graduate student. “I’m in first year BA in Political Science.” Mr Shah is a new arrival to the so-called Millennium City. He left his village in Supaul, Bihar, six months ago. Ideally, he should have stayed back to
City Life – Ramrati in the Pandemic, Connaught Place Life by The Delhi Walla - January 21, 20210 The living landmark returns. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here she is. “I came back one or one-and-a-half months ago.” For years, Ramrati’s morning routine stayed the same: reading aloud passages from the sacred Ramcharitmanas, her upper-half rocking back and forth with the rhythm and emotions of the epic’s Awadhi verses. On the side-lane that connects Barakhamba Road to Kasturba Gandhi Marg, in Delhi’s Connaught Place, she was a living landmark. Clothed in either a sari or a gown, she would be seen sitting cross-legged on the elevated footpath from 9 to 11am, with the hardbound on her lap or on a wooden book-stand. Office-goers would walk past her. A few might glance at her, some slowing down momentarily, moved by her
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Dhruv Sangari-Bilal Chishty, Jangpura Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 18, 20210 The parlour confession. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is special. Not only for being an acclaimed Sufi musician but because he is our living link to the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Dhruv Sangari-Bilal Chishty trained under the wings of that late Qawwali legend between 1995 and 1997. These days, due to the ongoing pandemic, it’s rare to see Mr Chishty on stage. Like so many artistes, he has been forced to cut down on live performances. Whatever, he was sporty enough to become a part of the Proust Questionnaire series, in which folks from diverse backgrounds are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, so as to explore the lives, thoughts, values and experiences of fellow citizens. In his
Mission Delhi – Pooran Chandra Melkani, Paharganj Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 18, 2021January 18, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lamps are off. Tables are empty. Old posters on the wall are showing photos of Buddha and Benares, palak paneer and vegetable burger, etc. A white glow is emanating from a soft drinks refrigerator in the corner. This was a popular eatery in Delhi’s backpackers-friendly hotel district of Paharganj, mostly teeming with foreign tourists. It’s been closed since the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in late March last year. A yellowing flyer on the cash counter says: “Due to Covid-19 emergency, this restaurant will temporarily interrupt the buffet breakfast. Also, salads and untoasted breads will be unavailable. This is a precaution taken for your own safety. Inconvenience is regretted.” Now, a