Netherfield Ball – Afifa Fareed Weds Abdul Haseeb, Old Delhi

Netherfield Ball – Afifa Fareed Weds Abdul Haseeb, Old Delhi

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The guests arrived at the Mahavir Vatika ground in Old Delhi’s Daryaganj in cabs, auto-rickshaws, and bikes. Some came from miles away, from Jasola, and even from Ghaziabad. It was…

Netherfield Ball – The Indian Embarrassment in Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon's Drawing Room Party, South Delhi

Netherfield Ball – The Indian Embarrassment in Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon’s Drawing Room Party, South Delhi

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s something The Delhi Walla always wanted to know: What on earth happens in the glamourous parties thrown by foreign diplomats in their exclusive residences? To find out, I reckoned…

Netherfield Ball – Studying the Origins of Sharmila Tagore's Charisma, Prithviraj Road

Netherfield Ball – Studying the Origins of Sharmila Tagore’s Charisma, Prithviraj Road

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is an undisputed truth that the rich and the famous live in a world different from ours. One winter afternoon The Delhi Walla sneaked inside a gated bungalow in…

Netherfield Ball – The Story Behind Meru Gokhale's No-Show at Chiki Sarkar's Launch of Perumal Murugan's Book, India Islamic Center

Netherfield Ball – The Story Behind Meru Gokhale’s No-Show at Chiki Sarkar’s Launch of Perumal Murugan’s Book, India Islamic Center

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a cold smoggy evening at the bleak India Islamic Center and we are growing attached to an intellectual’s grey braid. The Delhi Walla is at the launch of Perumal…

Netherfield Ball – The Super-Duper Crowded Show at Arundhati Roy’s New York Book Launch, Brooklyn Academy of Music

Netherfield Ball – The Super-Duper Crowded Show at Arundhati Roy’s New York Book Launch, Brooklyn Academy of Music

The party secrets. [Photos by Paulsta Wong; text by Mayank Austen Soofi] As an Arundhati Roy fan, The Delhi Walla went last year to the faraway South Indian town of Ayemenem, the setting of her first novel, The God of…

Netherfield Ball – 'Thought Leader' Gurcharan Das Surprises True Proustains by Posing as a Proustian in Aaanchal Malhotra's Book Launch , India International Centre

Netherfield Ball – ‘Thought Leader’ Gurcharan Das Surprises True Proustains by Posing as a Proustian in Aaanchal Malhotra’s Book Launch , India International Centre

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Socialite Shweta Bachchan-Nanda, who appeared on the cover of the latest Vogue, came in white. Alas, nobody noticed her entry though she looked tolerable (see the second-last photo below). One…

Netherfield Ball - Alika and Akbar's Jane Austen Wedding on Aunt Jane's 200th Death Anniversary, India Habitat Center

Netherfield Ball – Alika and Akbar’s Jane Austen Wedding on Aunt Jane’s 200th Death Anniversary, India Habitat Center

We love you Aunt Jane. [The Delhi Walla special; all photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The decorously subversive chronicler of England’s drawing rooms died on 18 July, 1817. In Sufism, the death anniversary is celebrated, not mourned. So, as we…

Netherfield Ball – Spotting Laila Tyabji, Salma Sultan and Other Divas in Sadia Dehlvi's Birthday Celebrations, Central Delhi

Netherfield Ball – Spotting Laila Tyabji, Salma Sultan and Other Divas in Sadia Dehlvi’s Birthday Celebrations, Central Delhi

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Society women never accumulate years. The solidity of this universal truth stands severely strained this evening. Author Sadia Dehlvi is celebrating her birthday. She claims she is turning sixty. The…

Netherfield Ball – Arundhati Roy's Book Launch, Union Chapel's Bar, London

Netherfield Ball – Arundhati Roy’s Book Launch, Union Chapel’s Bar, London

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is in white. One rainy evening The Delhi Walla is at Union Chapel’s bar attending the launch of Arundhati Roy’s novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The bar is…

Netherfield Ball – Spotting Retired Justice Leila Seth in Her Memorial Meeting, India International Center

Netherfield Ball – Spotting Retired Justice Leila Seth in Her Memorial Meeting, India International Center

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The women were dressed in subdued but elegant saris. The men, too, looked dignified. There were many famous faces. One evening The Delhi Walla attended the memorial meeting of Retired…