City Library – Namita Gokhale’s Books, Safdarjung Development Area

A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The books are everywhere, including under her bed. One afternoon The Delhi Walla visits Namita Gokhale at her home in South Delhi’s poetically named neighborhood of Safdarjung Development Area. “I…

Photo Essay - The Rebirth of an Old House, Old Delhi

Time regained. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In Delhi, there is a place called Old Delhi. In Old Delhi, there are many, many narrow alleys, so narrow that the sun never penetrates into them. One such narrow lane…

Mission Delhi – Monet Lalparvul, Café Turtle, Khan Market

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is that brief lull before the storm. It is Saturday morning and Café Turtle in Khan Market is empty. Except for her. She is…

City Faith - Phool Waalon Ki Sair Festival, Mehrauli

The October occasion. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This festival with late-Mughal origins carries a flavour of the fast-fading Nehruvian legacy. Phool Waalon Ki Sair, or the procession of the flower bearers, is one of those annual rituals…

City Moment - Facebook Betrayal and Redemption at the Reading of The God of Small Things, Caara Café, British Council

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There is only The Delhi Walla. It is evening and I’m at Caara Café inside British Council to attend a discussion of Arundhati Roy’s first novel, The God of Small…

Atget’s Corner – 966-970, 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 Faith - Durga's Leftover Paris, Matri Mandir, Safdarjang Enclave

The goddess of the Paris Opera. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s France. It’s Paris. It’s Palais Garnier. Or. It’s India. It’s Delhi. It’s Matri Mandir. One day after the conclusion of Durga Puja, The Delhi Walla enters…

City Landmark - The Oriental Fruit Mart, Connaught Place

The souvenir of the old CP. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everything—except the fruits, the cookies, the protein chocolates and the wasabi peas—looks straight out of a time warp. The wood panelling, the display cabinets, even the floor,…

City Moment – Yoga Homage to Emperor Muhammad Shah, Lodhi Gardens

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is the short story of one woman and four men. One evening The Delhi Walla sees Miss Fatima, Mr Suhail Ansari, Mr Mohan, Mr Kaushal Suryavanshi and Mr Anil…

City News - The Magnificent and Much-Loved 'Tribal Tree' of Alliance Française is No More, Lodhi Estate

The passing of an era. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In a world that appears to be striving for a race to the bottom, it was the epitome of stateliness and dignity. Now, it has left this world….