The beautiful Delhi instant. One evening, one scorching Sunday evening, The Delhi Walla was at the weekly book bazaar in Daryaganj. It was getting dark and a little less hot. The market for second-hand books was no longer crowded. The shoppers had returned home. The exhausted sellers...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. One evening The Delhi Walla was sitting at the drawing room of a society hostess in Nizamuddin East when a young woman entered the house. She was wearing a peach-colored dress. She was carrying flowers. “You are looking radiant, madame,” I said. “It’s...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. One evening The Delhi Walla saw bougainvillea vines on Lodhi Road. The pink flowers were falling down on the pavement. Underneath, a man was performing his prayers. His coloured costume consisted of various pieces of different clothes sewn together. One papery bougainvillea settled...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. The approach of summer in Delhi is heralded by semal flowers (silk cotton; bombax linn). They start growing when their large stout trees are still leafless. The bare branches are clothed with pulpy red flowers, which, after growing too heavy, fall on the...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. It is later afternoon. The Delhi Walla is in the tomb of poet Mirza Ghalib. It is in Central Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti, which is home to the dargah of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Until a few years ago, the tomb was visible...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. It is about noon. The Delhi Walla enters the home of Haji Miyan and his brother Amir Dehlvi. They live in Matia Mahal, a congested neighbourhood in the Walled City. I’m carrying a copy of my new book, Nobody Can Love You More:...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. It is late morning. The Delhi Walla is browsing for second-hand books in the weekly book bazaar of Daryaganj. Each Sunday the mile-long footpath between Delite cinema and the Daryaganj footbridge (which no longer exists) disappears under the maal. The maal being the...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. It is evening. The Delhi Walla is in the ruins of Bijay Mandal in south Delhi. The remains of a 14th century palace, it is rarely visited by tourists. Captive to wild grass, the monument stands on a height. The roof has an...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. One evening The Delhi Walla was on the pedestrian bridge built across the Ghazipur Road in east Delhi. It was twilight, the hour of commuters. Below, the road swarmed with the green and red buses of Delhi Transport Corporation. Above, puffs of grey-white...
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The beautiful Delhi instant. One afternoon The Delhi Walla was walking on the circular road built around the India Gate maidan. Just after crossing the turning to Shahjahanan Road, I saw a woman riding a scooter. Dressed in a burqa, she was without helmet. I quickly hailed...
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