City Travel - Into the Homeland of Arundhati Roy's 'The God of Small Things', Kerala

City Travel – Into the Homeland of Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’, Kerala

Small things of utmost happiness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] July in Ayemenem is not a hot, brooding month. The days are not long, though they continue to be humid. The river does not seem to shrink at…

City Travel - The Ancient Jewish Ghetto, Venice

City Travel – The Ancient Jewish Ghetto, Venice

The world’s first ghetto. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Butchers and blacksmiths, fortune-tellers and beggars, carpet sellers and cobblers, chickens and children… all of this made more frenzied by the great milling crowds. It could be Old Delhi….

Letter From The Venice Ghetto - Lucio De Capitani's Readings, Parco Savorgnan

Letter From The Venice Ghetto – Lucio De Capitani’s Readings, Parco Savorgnan

On the world’s first ghetto. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is a scholar of the world’s first ghetto—the ancient Jewish ghetto of Venice is observing its 500th anniversary this year. One late morning The Delhi Walla meets…

Letter from Yangon - Bahadur Shah Zafar's Tomb, Near Shwedagon Pagoda

Letter from Yangon – Bahadur Shah Zafar’s Tomb, Near Shwedagon Pagoda

The last Mughal’s grave. [Text and photos by Florian Morin] The tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar, Delhi’s last Mughal emperor, is just a few hundred meters away from the Shwedagon Pagoda, the most sacred stupa in Myanmar (formerly known as…

City Travel - Puraini Village, 100 Miles from Delhi

City Travel – Puraini Village, 100 Miles from Delhi

A perfect world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tall rose bushes grow in every house. Walls are painted with most brilliant colors. A well is overgrown with wild grass. The Delhi Walla is in Puraini, a village about…

City Travel - Taj Hotel, Ajmer

City Travel – Taj Hotel, Ajmer

The best Taj property. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is called the Taj Hotel but it does not belong to the famous Taj Group of Hotels. Actually, it is not a hotel, just an eatery. And it…

City Travel – Sufi World, Ajmer

City Travel – Sufi World, Ajmer

Glimpses of a sacred space. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] An elderly pilgrim from Rajkot in Gujarat lovingly offers a rose petal to the lips of his wife. Nearby, rose petals are placed on an unknown person’s grave….

Letter from Paris - La Hune is Closing, Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Letter from Paris – La Hune is Closing, Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Death of a bookshop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Stop the clocks. Silence the pianos. The double-storey La Hune is to shut down permanently. Tucked in the heart of the most beautiful part of Paris, it is one…

Letter from Venice - Country Postcards, Near Adriatic Sea

Letter from Venice – Country Postcards, Near Adriatic Sea

The Italian nature. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Have you ever cycled through a daydream? The Delhi Walla did. I’m in Venice. One morning I left it for its surrounding country. The day was made of a blue…

Letter from Venice - A home in Venezia, Calle delle Canne

Letter from Venice – A home in Venezia, Calle delle Canne

Inside a Venetian home. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The first floor window usually remains open during the day. A pedestrian walking on the street outside just have to crane his neck upwards to have a glimpse of…