City Life – Peacock Sighting, Mausam Bhawan & Elsewhere Life by The Delhi Walla - May 11, 20230 In search of beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Wow, this one’s costume more dazzling than even Rihanna’s oversized hooded camellia covered Valentino cape at the Met Galla red carpet. Conservation architect Ratish Nanda just spotted the super-stylish stunner trespassing outside his office window in Delhi’s picturesque Sunder Nursery. Strutting in such an exquisite golden-blue cape, each strand of the long train sparkling into a separate strand of light. The trespasser is a peacock, the cape is its long feathery tail shimmering under the noonday sun. Sunder Nursery is Jamna-paar from Mayur Vihar, which they say is in east Delhi. Mayur Vihar is actually the whole of Delhi, plus Noida, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram. Because mayur, the peacock, is sighted in
City Food – “Hate Sherbet”, Somewhere in Delhi Food by The Delhi Walla - May 11, 20230 A drink with an odd name. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The noon is white hot, and the tempting stall on the rutty pave is hawking more than one kind of cool summertime sherbet. The cloth banner behind gives two names: Mohabbat-e-Sherbet and—believe it or not—Nafrat-e-Sherbet. Mohabbat translates to love, nafrat is hate. This has to be the first-ever sighting of Nafrat (ki Sherbet) in the city. Though Mohabbat isn’t very old either—it majorly started popping up in the market alleys only some years back, soon spreading across the entire megapolis. In Ghaziabad, a Mohabbat stall stands at the Mohan Nagar crossing. In Gurugram, at least five Mohabbats are thriving in Sadar Bazar. A typical glass of Mohabbat consists of