City Monument - Mubarak Shah Sayyid’s Tomb, Kotla Mubarakpur

The elusive memorial. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is true only up to a point. It is late afternoon and The Delhi Walla is walking along the alleys of south Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur village for more than…

Netherfield Ball – Wicked Babble on Narayani Gupta, Laila Tyabji and Meru Gokhale at TCA Raghavan’s Book Launch , India International Center

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is supremely enigmatic, and since she is a diva, she never allows herself to be photographed. You may Google for a clear portrait of her face and you shall…

City Nature - The Grand Pilkhan Tree, Feroz Shah Kotla Ruins

The season’s great gift. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Our hapless world is caught in the middle of future-shaping events of profound significance. In such a time, do we have the luxury to pause and look for hints…

Atget’s Corner – 1016-1020, Delhi Photos

The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds,…

City Life - 'Friends Forever' of Arab Sarai General Store, H. Nizamuddin Basti

Real world friends. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] To outsiders, Nizamuddin Basti in central Delhi is most famous for the Sufi shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The more knowing among us may also point to the tomb of…

City Food - Numberwalli Kulfi, Turkman Gate

Cold games. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Why are Delhiwallas always running scared of Delhi’s summer? After all, it is in these hot dusty months that the city comes into its own. We temporarily get rid of all…

City Landmark - The Extinct Regal Cinema, Connaught Place

Of the golden age of movies. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nobody was surprised. Regal’s closure was widely expected. Delhi’s colonial-era single-screen theatre that faces the park above Palika Bazaar Parking in Connaught Place finally shut down in…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Priyanka Haldipur, Bangalore

The 142nd death. [Text by Priyanka Haldipur; photo by Gautam Sabba] Priyanka Haldipur, a corporate communications professional by day, and Jar Jar Binks by night, passed on a somewhat drizzly June morning. She died of cardiac arrest after reading a…

City Food - Lallan's Chai, Galli Choori Wallan, Old Delhi

The best chai shack. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The only displeasing thing about Delhi’s pavement chai stalls is that the chai happens to be too milky, too sugary — to some of us at least. That problem…

City Moment - He & She & Their Short Illustrated Story, Khan Market's Café Turtle

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was sitting opposite her across a table. She was with iced cappuccino. He was with yogurt and muesli parfait. One afternoon The Delhi Walla was at Café Turtle in…