City Food - Milk Cake, Kucha Ghasi Ram

Sweeten the senses. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some mysteries should never be solved. Why ask how the sticky, gooey milk cake is made? Why ruin the romance by disclosing that this luscious mithai, which looks like beehive…

City Obituary - Anil Arora of The Bookworm in Connaught Place is Dead

Death of a bookseller. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Anil Arora, the owner of The Bookworm in Delhi’s Connaught Place, died on 9 August 2016. He was 74. The reason of his death is not known. Mr Arora’s…

Mapping National Museum – The God of Wealth, 2nd Century AD

The one percenter. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The man without the shirt is dressed in an expression of great content on his face. He has an arresting moustache and a huge belly. He is Kuber, the Hindu…

Netherfield Ball – Retired Chief Justice Leila Seth, The Empress of Delhi's Book Launches

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One person almost always seen at Delhi’s book launches is novelist Vikram Seth’s mother, Leila Seth. A retired High Court justice as well as a memoirist, this graceful woman is…

Mission Delhi – Mohammed Saleem, Dargah Sabri, Daryaganj

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is looking very tired. One afternoon The Delhi Walla meets Mohammed Saleem at the small mosque in Dargah Sabir, a Sufi shrine in Daryaganj….

100 Things To Do Before You Quit Delhi – Hang Out Amid Chirag Dilli's Anonymous Tombs, Near Greater Kailash

The perfect Delhi experience. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Green grass is growing over one grave. A black cat is sitting on another. And the grey monsoon sky has fallen into another one—actually fresh rainwater has collected over…

City Notice - A Godin & Co., The Piano Shop of Connaught Place, is Gone!

Lost to past. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A great Colonial-era icon of Connaught Place is lost to history. One late night, The Delhi Walla discovered that A Godin & Co., the capital’s legendary piano shop, is gone….

City Landmark - The Ashok Hotel, Central Delhi

The power and the glory. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is exactly what a sprightly 60-year-old should be—a blend of gravitas and energy. The Ashok hotel in New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri area, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in…

Atget’s Corner – 936-940, 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 Nature - The Dream Sky of a Nightmare City, Mainly East Delhi

The heavenly view. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A freak occurrence, this was unthinkable in one of the world’s most polluted cities. One evening The Delhi Walla saw an incredible sight near the Oberoi Hotel flyover. The normally…