Our Self-Written Obituaries – Devraj Singh Kalsi, Calcutta

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Devraj Singh Kalsi, Calcutta

The 108th death. [Text by Devraj Singh Kalsi; photo by Preeti Kalsi] TV channels ran the story of Devraj Singh Kalsi’s death on prime time. Editors found an unusual human-interest angle in his bizarre pop-off. Travelling by Rajdhani Express from…

City Notice - Basant Panchmi, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya's Dargah

City Notice – Basant Panchmi, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah

The yellow season. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Listen, be there at the dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya sharp at 4.30 pm, 13 February. The short-lived season of Sufi Basant starts from that great shrine exactly that instant….

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Soumya Vilekar, Pune

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Soumya Vilekar, Pune

The 107th death. [Text by Soumya Vilekar; photo by Anjanika Vilekar] Soumya Vilekar’s poem echoed in the distant corners of the huge conference hall. It was a special moment when the Nobel Prize laureates were being applauded and felicitated. This…

Netherfield Ball – Remembering Intizar Hussain, Oxford Bookstore

Netherfield Ball – Remembering Intizar Hussain, Oxford Bookstore

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There were more people at his remembrance meet than when he was here in flesh and blood last winter. One evening The Delhi Walla was at the Oxford Book Store…

City Obituary – Historian Ramachandra Guha On Rohtas, The Samosa Man of St Stephen's College

City Obituary – Historian Ramachandra Guha On Rohtas, The Samosa Man of St Stephen’s College

Rohtas, died February 2, 2016. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] India’s most prestigious college, which traces its origins to the late 19th century, has lost an important element of its legend. Rohtas, the man who had been selling…

Photo Essay - The Chitli Qabar Urban Art Installation, Old Delhi

Photo Essay – The Chitli Qabar Urban Art Installation, Old Delhi

A temporary art exhibit. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Old Quarter of Delhi is known for many wonders. The art of spitting noisily has been cultivated to a high form here. Many tourists, of course, come to…

City Season - The Magical February Evening Sky, Central Delhi

City Season – The Magical February Evening Sky, Central Delhi

Too beautiful to last. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] At last. Finally. Despite all odds. But who could have believed it? One cold evening the sky of the world’s most polluted city opened up. It gently reminded the…

City Moment – Curious Festive Offering, Hazrat Turkman Shah's Shrine

City Moment – Curious Festive Offering, Hazrat Turkman Shah’s Shrine

The incredible Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The street glowed with bright lights. The qawwals were offering sacred songs on an improvised stage made of wooden cots. A bunch of elderly notables were on another such…

Mission Delhi – The Man With No Name, Osama Dhaba

Mission Delhi – The Man With No Name, Osama Dhaba

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The most remarkable thing about him is his face. It bears astounding resemblance to the dying face of Delhi’s last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar….

City Walk – Nicholson Cemetery, Near Kashmere Gate

City Walk – Nicholson Cemetery, Near Kashmere Gate

Strolling among the forgotten. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The track fades into thorny vines. It re-emerges a few steps later and pass by a small grave. The inscription is not immediately discernible. Some of the engraved alphabets…