City Life – Republic Day Parade, Old Delhi Life Walks by The Delhi Walla - January 25, 20250 Walled City's national tradition. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Chapar-chapar, chapar-chapar—the footstep sounds would reverberate all through the night of 25th January on the street outside his home in Mohalla Qabristan. An endless multitude of people would be on their way to watch the great parade, which would be due to begin in the morning. This is how Old Delhi businessman Fareed Mirza remembers the Republic Day of his childhood. Most of us place the annual Republic Day parade of 26th January merely to the short stretch along New Delhi’s Rajpath avenue (now Kartava Path), where it marches through an audience comprising of our republic’s top VVIPs—this is the part of the parade that has been beamed live year after year on
Mission Delhi – Gulzar, Central Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 24, 20251 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky this cold morning is pitch blue. The young boy is walking with a man in white kurta pajamas, here on a central Delhi roadside. The man has a bushy white beard, his eyes are hidden behind thick black glasses, and he is walking hesitantly along the rough path, each step an act of deliberation. The boy is walking faster, but stops after every few moments for the man to catch up with him. At times, he walks back to the man, holds his hand, and silently escorts him forward. Soon they enter an underground subway, slowly walking down the dusty stairs littered with cigarette
Mission Delhi – Shanti Devi, Indirapuram Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 23, 20250 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] We all start by being young. If we are lucky enough to live long, then at some point in our life, strangers on the streets start to address us as “uncle” or “aunty.” The ruder among these strangers might even call us “bhudda” or “bhudiya.” And here in zila Ghaziabad’s Indirapuram Sector 2, a roadside eatery calls itself Budhiya Dhaba. The modest establishment is administered by a… well, the woman says she is the “budhiya” of Budhiya Dhaba. The friendly lady is as endearing as an affectionate relative one might meet in a family wedding. She actually goes by the name of Shanti Devi. Shrugging at the unusual
City Landmark – Jain Book Center, Connaught Place Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - January 22, 20250 Cave of classics. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Have you been to this little-known bibliophilic haven? It is in Connaught Place—the graveyard of some of Delhi’s greatest bookshops. Indeed, this particular haven is located close to what used to be Bookworm—that shop’s super-kind assistants would sell books on credit, never embarrassing the buyer with payment reminders. It is also close to what used to be New Book Depot—that shop’s owner would unhesitatingly scold customers for daring to turn the pages of his books a tad carelessly. It is also close to what used to be ED Galgotia & Sons—that shop’s blue seal is often sighted on the opening pages of old mildewed books fished out weekly at Delhi’s Sunday Book Bazar. Unlike
City Landmark – Jagat Cinema, Old Delhi Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - January 21, 20250 Inside a long-shut landmark [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the crowded bazar, a deserted building. Inside this silenced building, a strange sort of diffused luminosity. A scratchy wall is glowing in insipid gold. Otherwise not much to be seen. Gradually, eyes adjust to the darkness. A staircase emerges, bending slowly smoothly along its upwards spiral. The staircase’s baluster is stylish. So is the metallic handrail. Old Delhi’s Jagat cinema has been shut for years. This afternoon, by a freak chance, the entrance was open, making it possible to step into the darkened lobby—and into the vacant ticket counter, into the manager’s bare room, and up the stairs into the empty balcony. Nowhere else in the city might anyone experience a sight as
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Goldman, Connaught Place Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 20, 20250 Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Always in a golden-coloured costume, every exposed part of his body painted in that colour, he calls himself a “Goldman Statue (Artist)” He daily performs in Connaught Place, mostly standing still as if he were a statue, a donation box beside him. This evening, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your favourite virtue. Talent to make people laugh. What do you appreciate the most in your friends? A friend should never be a dagabaz (betrayer). My friends betrayed me. Your favourite occupation. Acting. What would be your greatest misfortune? To love somebody. If not yourself, who would you be? If
City Neighbourhood – Kona, Old Delhi Regions Walks by The Delhi Walla - January 18, 20250 The Walled City encyclopedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Straight, short and lean, the gali quickly hits an impasse, ending into a doorway veiled by a flashy red curtain. The short gali deserves to be recorded—because it's there!—and because every big and small Walled City lane commands a unique personality. One lane near Turkman Gate Bazar for instance is shorter than even this lane, called Gali Nal Wali (already chronicled on this page). This lane though has been denied the formal status of a gali. It is simply referred to as Kona. Kona means corner, and the lane indeed lies in a corner of Haveli Azam Khan Chowk. A pedestrian-friendly intersection, the chowk is like New York City—it never sleeps, energised by
City Landmark – Dosa Coffee/Central News Agency, Connaught Place Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - January 17, 20250 Manmohan Singh's haunt. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Shelves gone. Desks gone. Cupboards gone. Newspapers gone. Those fat file folders gone. And oh, the magical back-room with its stacks of old New Yorker magazines too gone. The place is unrecognisable. It is instead looking slick with scores of neatly arranged tables and chairs, and is buzzing this afternoon with cooks, waiters, diners. Here’s how cities change. One landmark at a time. The P-block address in Connaught Place housed one of Delhi’s oldest companies distributing newspapers and magazines across the country. The place has today transformed into a brightly lit outlet of a Kolkata-based restaurant chain. The air is smelling of some aromatic hunger-inducing spice. The restaurant opened about two months ago, informs Anshu
City Neighbourhood – Gali Kalyanpura, Old Delhi Regions Walks by The Delhi Walla - January 17, 20250 The Walled City encyclopedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mohammed Tahir is an unusual type of healer. He is said to help rid people of their inner djinns and bhoot. The healer’s hoarding (hand-painted by Walled City’s iconic Shakeel Artist) is hanging at the mouth of the lane—a long, very long lane. This cold gloomy evening, nobody being accosted in Old Delhi’s Gali Kalyanpura has any gyan to offer on the story behind its name. The easygoing chap at M.S. Mobile Communication suggests badgering the street’s elderly folk. But the elderly face at the facing stationery shop says that those who would have known a story or two are lying buried in Dilli Gate Qabristan. Whatever, the first part of
City Obituary – Salim Tea Stall, Matia Mahal Bazar Hangouts Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - January 15, 20250 Death of a chai khana. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some places go away discreetly, making no fuss. One day they are here among us. Next day, gone. Their presence is stitched so seamlessly into the fabric of our everyday world, that it takes some time to be aware of their absence. The long-time Salim Tea Stall—more like a tea house— shut down unnoticed some months ago, It was located in Old Delhi’s Matia Mahal Bazar, close to the monumental Jama Masjid, a very touristy area. Almost every eatery and guest house here, every stall and shop, is so concentratedly curated for the tourists that a great part of the stretch has nothing spiritually common with the more inward galis