Email: mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com
Phone: 0091-9818-3616-19
On The Delhi Walla
The blogger is a devotee of Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Author Arundhati Roy
The New Yorker on The Delhi Walla
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-delhi-wallas-visions-of-a-possibly-vanishing-india
“Soofi says that Proust is his favorite writer, and his project has, over the years, taken on an increasingly Proustian quality. He has been passing in and out of the same neighborhoods for more than a decade, documenting the minutest social and cultural changes… “–The New Yorker
The New Review, The Guardian, UK
“… Mayank Austen Soofi is street-spiritual as well as funny, engaging and wise.”
GQ India
With 2,748 posts (plus over 19,500 images on Instagram), it (The Delhi Walla) features the Delhi you should see, the Delhi that you never see, the Delhi that lies forgotten and sometimes even the Delhi that will come to be.
The Caravan
“The Delhi Walla is one of the city’s best-known flâneurs.”
Time Out Delhi
“The Delhi Walla is a one-man encyclopedia of the city.”
The Guardian
“The Delhi Walla is a celebration of the food, culture and books of India’s capital.”
Biography of The Delhi Walla
Since 2007, Mayank Austen Soofi has been collecting hundreds of stories taking place in Delhi, through writing and photography, for his acclaimed website The Delhi Walla. Every day, Mayank walks around the city with his camera and notebook to track down the part of extraordinary that exists in the seemingly mundane aspects of urban lives. By exploring and documenting the streets, buildings, houses, cuisines, traditions and people of Delhi, his work is also an attempt to give the megalopolis an intimate voice, and to capture the passing of time in this otherwise restlessly changing city.
Mayank is also a daily columnist for Hindustan Times newspaper, and the author of ‘Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District’ (published by Penguin) and the four-volume ‘The Delhi Walla’ guidebooks (HarperCollins).
Mayank Austen Soofi compulsively publishes texts and photos on his website, Facebook and Instagram. Follow him:
http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thedelhiwalla/
https://www.facebook.com/mayankaustensoofi
Write to mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com
Lonely Planet Discover India
“The Delhi Walla shows an offbeat view of Delhi.”
National Geographic Traveler
“The Delhi Walla is an excellent resource for ‘alternative’ Delhi.”
CNNGo
“The Delhi Walla spends his time in Delhi’s most obscure streets looking for endangered chaiwallahs making tea or other cultural touchstones.”
Author Khushwant Singh
“The Delhi Walla has the knack of bringing out the unusual from the usual, and presenting the city in a different light.”
The Rough Guide to Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra
“The Delhi Walla is an excellent Delhi website with news and views about the city.”
The Independent
“The Delhi Walla is the most compelling guide to India’s capital.”
DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Delhi
“The Delhi Walla is a great website for offbeat views of the city.”
The Wall Street Journal
“The Delhi Walla is one of the most insightful guides on life — and food — in India’s capital.”
Historian William Dalrymple
“The Delhi Walla is Delhi’s most idiosyncratic and eccentric website, and reflects a real love of this great but under-loved and underrated city.”
Mail Today
“Perhaps the most compelling and attractive Indian blog is The Delhi Walla blog run by Mayank Austen Soofi.”
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Old Delhi
Recent Comments
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I really enjoy reading your articles.
Your pictures are great too.
Do you know of any other good blogs or websites about life in Delhi?
Visit on above link n get information about “dilli”
I really enjoy reading your articles.
Your pictures are great too being far away frm delhi dnt feel lke i want to more pic about historical place’s and razia sultan real grave and sme hng out’s
Hi. Just wanted to draw your attention to a post almost exactly one year ago: CP goes grassy – http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2010/07/11/dateline-connaught-place-cp-goes-grassy/
The grass went bare in a couple of weeks, just as we expected. But now, NDMC is actually tearing out the peat and putting in concrete. The CWG waste continues!
you have done well to cover chittoprosad’s exhibition at the delhi art gallery.
but the fact that his book of sketches is being sold for Rs. 600 (200 times the printed price) should have been highlighted.
it is plain ironical and against the very values the man himself stood for.
When my friend pointed out the above to the lady behind the counter she remarked that chittoprosad had failed to market himself.
really?! and is this how they are marketing him by disrespecting what he stood for?!
his art was for the masses and should not be reduced to a coffee-table elite-pleasing commodity, to say the least!
Don’t know how I stumbled upon your site and was engrossed in the Mission Delhi portfolios here. Accept my heartfelt congratulations on bringing out this other facet of Delhi.
Hope to see more. Let me know if there is a way to connect and be a part of your effort.
Best wishes.
I enjoy your articles, great pics,you have done well to cover Delhi Art Gallery, hoping to see more.
I enjoy reading your articles, most of them anyway! I would like to especially mention your recent piece on an old lady of Old Delh – I have not read anything better than that in journalism, or even in more serious writing. It was so moving! You have a talent and consciousness of your own. I also love your photography, for example, the few but wonderful shots of women of Delhi. Cheers!
hiii mayank
saw ur website its awesum..
i also saw u on fox history channel i really like ur website n ur collection of pics
but u have not mentioned 1 more beautiful place in new delhi i.e delhi war cemetry..
do visit there this place is awesum especially the pahari over there… u can also c its pic over facebook there’s a community by its name..
i hope u have a gr8 tym der
respected mayank
i watched that show it happens only in india and became fan of yours frm dat time. i am a photoholic .i just searched for gud photographs. i request u to focus on the skyscrapers of delhi on some of ur albums.i will love to do work with u
Hi Soofi,
The pictures posted on this site are out of the world. Feels so good to see Delhi from your eyes…
Heartfelt Congratulations!
Pls keep me posted on new articles…
Regards,
HSR
I have fallen in love with Delhi all over again, after a brief period of disgust.
Well Nice attempt.. But how come Delhi is city of Arundati Roy??
Hello Mayank
Loved your post on the Bougainvillea….a bloom that I instantly connect with memories of my childhood. Thanks.
While going through your post, I remembered a large space of scrubland that lies between the edge of Delhi and Gurgaon that has a stupendous growth of wild bougainvillae in a myriad of colours. ( There is a narrow “pukka” road that runs through it) It has been a few years since I used that route and hopefully, it has not be developed. ( I said HOPEFULLY !) Maybe you could take a look .
Mayank: the petals of boungainvillea flowers are not big, colorful structures most easily seen. Those structures are modified leaves and are called bracts. Three bracts enclose one, two, or three flowers, usually white or yellow in color.
hey MASoofi, wassup love ur site da way u presented delhi.
Have seen u in some program on FOX history cant rmembr da name, only one thing came up in ma mind while seeing u tat is dont u think u act kind of girlish or smthin like gay.( dont get offended)
Have you abandoned Twitter?
Hi Mayank,
I read your blog while in Delhi and it helped me explore the city better. Whenever my non Indian friends travel to India I recommend your blog to know the hidden gems of the city.
Keep up the good work!!
Is there any chance I can borrow half a day of yours to visit Old Delhi in January 2012?
Hello,
I propose you to have a look at this:
http://youtu.be/0mLvts7BOZc
If somebody can transfer to the Delhi Sufi Festival organisers, it will be nice..!
Thousand thanks…
Haroun Teboul.
Wonderful your works soofi..i love it.
keep it up.
MT now has little stalls near the monastery selling spicy skewered buff and glass noodle soup through the cold season. Check it out.
Wow, its a small world. The certain Abdul Khaliq you mention in this article, http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2011/12/08/city-food-habshi-halwa-ballimaran/ was my grandfather. His full name was Sheikh Abdul Khaliq. We have a thriving business in Karachi, Pakistan to this date! Not sure how I can place this comment on that article, doesn’t show any place to post a comment.
Hi from my end,
Can we email about a proposition with your blog? This is regarding a posting for a wonderful travel interest group that I want to help, http://www.facebook.com/TheWanderers . I will do my part of promoting your blog to our community (Over 20,000 members).
Looking for your reply
Regards,
Abhijit
Hi from K.L.
I enjoy reading your posts. I’m coming to Delhi for the first time on Saturday. Looking forward to the sceneries so beautifully captured by you here. I have 1 question, is the book ‘Devdas’ in English easily available in Delhi, and where can I get hold of one? I’ve watched the film (with SRK in it) and thought it must be more interesting reading it.
Thanks 🙂
Is there any way to get a dozen copies of your Portraits book? Would like to pick them up at the end of the month when I am traveling through Delhi from Jodhpur to the US. A friend would
like them to give
to participants at her writing workshop planned for Jodhpur next year.
Love your books!
Thanks, Micky
This is a great site that provide good info about delhi.
Love you photos.
I am a professional photographer and I just started a project called PROMOTING INDIA. This project does not require any financial support but it does need to be shared with people around the world.
Please visit the link below which explains how you can support this project.
Also you can post this link on your website for people to easily access it.
Link: http://www.nynjphoto.com/attractions-in-india/
Hey, there seems to be something wrong with your subscription link. I can’t seem to subscribe. Please help. x
Hello
I am a photographer based in Delhi, I have my exhibition “shades of Dili” going on in India Habitat Centre Lodhi Road New Delhi where I was trying to show delhi in a different way.
I would like to invite you guys for that.
You can contact me @ 8800205757
Regards
Mukesh Khugsal
Hi!
Is there anything that you could share about Qutub Minar with us?
Something that’s not usually written in books or sites?
Looking forward to your reply.
Thanks
Sana
In 1988, I was on visit to India and offered ‘Fateha’ at the mazar of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia. I understand his disciple Hazrat Amir Khusru also lies buried in the same vicinity. But I was not aware of this earlier. I still regret my ignorance. Please inform me more on the subject.
hey i just luv this site!!!!really wonderful info.
i’m actually looking forward for some andhra food places in and around south delhi apart from andhra pradesh bhavan canteen.
reply would be very helpful to me.
poppadum-mehrauli
Spice water trail- GK 1
then obviously you have andhra bhavan in Ashoka road.
your site is amazing, I never though Delhi could be so special but it is through your lens. Great Work.
Awesome website, I’m so happy to have found this! You have a lot of stories on Arundhati Roy. Would you know when and where her next appearance or book signing is? Her novel The God of Small Things is my favorite and I would love to have my book signed!
can you please let me know if in delhi there any walking tour with street kids like same as Salam Balak Trust did that ? I am very thank full if you suggest something like that
hey mayank!
so this is actually the first time i’ve checked out your blog and it’s awesome.
i’ve only lived in Delhi for four years, but it’s the city i love most.
and it’s so hard to explain why, what can i say, its the history found suddenly in the middle of a street, the forgotten tombs in the middle of some park, friendly chaiwallahs with fantastical stories you can listen to while waiting for the rain to let up.
walking in nizamuddin east, decided to walk through the nursery, and at the very end there’s a wall with construction that i walk through, and suddenly around a corner is humayun’s tomb, that rich color of sandstone against the too blue sky and gravel the color of fire.
that’s what i love about delhi, and naturally, i’ve had trouble explaining that to friends.
that’s why im so glad about your blog, i can just show it to people and say: this. this exactly is why i love this city.
croissant aux amande
pedant that I am, but also in the interest of Temps Perdu and accuracy, it’s croissant aux (plural)armandes…
But lovely , tempting photographs
add ur twitter handler here
you do make Delhi desirable through your unique perspective… next time someone asks me why Delhi? i’ll direct them to your site..
Cheers,
P
This has just been released and had great reviews…the short filmed extract is fascinating,
Chris
Cambridge, UK
September 10, 2012
Massive Proust audiobook coming this fall
by Nick Davies
Hopefully the next version of Remembrance of Things Past will find a way to evoke the scent of madeleines.
Naxos AudioBooks has finished recording the audio for Marcel Proust’s notriously long novel, Remembrance of Things Past. Originally published in France between 1913-1927 in seven volumes as A la recherche du temps perdu, the first translation to English was done by Charles K. Scott-Moncrieff in 1922; in 1981, Terence Kilmartin re-translated it under the more accurate title, In Search of Lost Time, but it’s the original Scott-Moncrieff version and title that Naxos has decided to use for its audiobook.
There is an existing audiobook of Remembrance of Things Past, recorded between 1996-2000, but it is an abridged version that spans 36 CDs, whereas the new one clocks in at 120 discs that take 153 hours to get through. Recording the full, unabridged text took classical actor Neville Jason—winner of a diction prize from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art—45 days to complete. He also did the earlier recording, and spoke to the New York Times about the difference in recording the two:
These things sort of take over in ways you didn’t expect. This second time, it seemed such a massive task that I put it off for years. But once I started, it wasn’t so daunting: it’s just a question of keeping going. As an actor, I approach it like a play. It’s a performance, really — a sort of one-man show.
Watch Jason discussing the book here:
The last volume in the audiobook, Time Regained, is due out October 29.
Nick Davies is a publicist at Melville House.
Tags
AudiobooksMarcel ProustRemembrance of Things Past
Hi Mayank .. i got to read your article :
http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2011/08/25/mission-delhi-%E2%80%93-pm-sahay-connaught-place/
I am just curious .. any idea if Mr. Sahay still comes to CP? or where he is now and what’s his and his family’s condition? Any way that I or some other interested folks can help him out?
Please do update me even if the answer is that you don’t know.
I see him often in CP, and I don’t bother him. He is usually seen in evenings.
http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/2011/08/25/mission-delhi-%E2%80%93-pm-sahay-connaught-place/
is there a way we can help mr sahay?
what can be done? has anyone come forward for assistance?
Hi, Just came across article about Mr Sahay. And after lot of google, i came across your blog. thanks for posting it. Its really nice that you brought him into notice to a large number of people in web community. But sad thing is that, you did not provide his contact so people can help him or offer him a comfortable job.
I would like to contact him. It will be really great of you can provide his contact details. I dont live in delhi so its difficult for me to trace him remotely.
Regards,
Raj
Hello Mr. Delhiwalla, ur website is very interesting and informative i really like ur work its great and inspiring..sach mein agar kisi ko Dilli ke bare mein janana hai to aapki website sabse acha zaria hai..do u hv facebook account ?
I love all the sections in your blog: the writing and the photography.
But “the Julia Child’s” section has been gone for a long time. I do hope you revive it soon. Please!
Dude respect. It’s amazing how you have been able to paint our very own Delhi in such a beautiful way. Just ordered your book I am sure it’s going to be spectacular.
I have read your columns in HTCity. Are you the same guy? Always found your write-ups very interesting.
i thank you for the article on Nainital, the town i belong and must say that you have written the inside of the changes in the town. As India and its consumption pattern is changing, these classic model towns and place are changing as well but there exists a lots of Policy Failure and lobbying by localities itself in this. I am a phd scholar in kumaun university here and is soon venturing a forum in the town to work on social economic ecological issues. I can just try and lets see, how it takes future course…
thanking you once again!
regards,
You have travelled well and long, may your journey be restful
re: akshardham, surely you meant photography not allowed instead of photography now allowed?
Corrected. Thank you.
Hi!
I had seen your earlier blogs on Delhi, but was not aware of the blog on the Proustian reading sessions. I attended the XIth meeting on Fenruary 27, 2012. Good to see that the idea has taken on! As I have now begun writing the monograph, I shall certainly include it.
I did not say, however that I had n’t read Proust; I said I was no authority on the subject. Perhaps you could correct that?
Since you include visitors in your account of these sessions, it will be nice if they receive a small notice when the accounts are aired.
All best,
I think you need to revamp your website a bit. Have you thought about it? The contents must remain the same. Just design and navigation need to be improved…Just a suggestion.