Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Aarti Talwar, Somewhere in Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Besides having a day-job in the corporate world, Aarti Talwar is the co-founder of The Dandelion Collective, a book club that completes a year this October. She agreed to become a part of…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Zahid Ali Khan, Somewhere in Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] He joined the All India Radio as an Urdu news reader in March, 1965. He retired in April, 1999. He hasn’t retired from hyperactive life. At 86, he flits around the city everyday…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Muhammed Saleem, Connaught Lane
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] A glass cabinet containing dozens of keys forms the backdrop of his pavement kiosk. Key maker Muhammed Saleem have been manning this modest Connaught Lane landmark for decades. A while ago, this afternoon,…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Geetanjali Shree, Lodhi Garden
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] It is easy to bump into her. Hint: she is often sighted in Lodhi Garden (see photos). Geetanjali Shree, the author of five short story collections and five novels—Mai, Hamara Shahar Us Baras,…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Ritu Ahuja, Somewhere in Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This muggy evening in a public park, she is immersed in a Jonas Jonasson novel. A climate policy professional, Ritu Ahuja agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series in which…
City Food – Proust’s Paape, Diamond Bakery
Proust for Old Delhi. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Seven volumes, 3,000 pages, 1.5 million words. Naturally nobody has time for In Search of Lost Time. Why read the novel anyways when you can live it, and so…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Umama Khan, Pahari Imli
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] She gets up at 6. She goes to sleep at 11. Despite her day in her Pahari Imli home being so hectic—looking after husband, Shahnawaz, daughters Aaima and Rizah, and month-old son Mustafa—homemaker…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Irish Ambassador Brendan Ward, Bloomsday Special!
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Thálatta! Thálatta! It’s June 16, the date on which the entire Ulysses is set. The novel by James Joyce is considered among the literature’s greatest modernist masterpieces. Today, Ulysses fans worldwide will celebrate…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Anant Kumar, Sunday Book Bazar
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a truth universally acknowledged that the greatest place to shop for all kinds of books in the entire Delhi region is at the Sunday Book Market. For decades the bazar unfolded…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Rajesh Kumar, Indian Coffee House
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Buzzy, affordable, unpretentious, class-transcending, iconic, and unique to the megapolis. The Indian Coffee House, established in 1957, at Mohan Singh Place. A living landmark here is the cheery-chatty head bearer Rajesh Kumar, a…
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