City Life - Street Vendors, Around Town

The god of small sellers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] For this hawker of mouth fresheners, her world is a tiny portion of the pavement in the capital’s Prabhu Market near central Delhi’s Sewa Nagar railway crossing. The…

City Moment – The Satanic Verses, Shahjahanabad

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is late morning. The Delhi Walla is browsing for second-hand books in the weekly book bazaar of Daryaganj. Each Sunday the mile-long footpath between Delite cinema and the…

City Notice - The Delhi Proustians XXXIII, GB Road

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 33rd meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, will take place on 19 November 2012. Venue: Kotha No. 300, GB…

City Life – The Wedding Reception, Daryaganj

The Old Delhi society. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The guests arrived at the Mahavir Vatika ground in Old Delhi’s Daryaganj in cabs, in auto-rickshaws, and in buses. Some came from a distance of ten miles, from Gaffar…

City Food - Mutton Burra, Jama Masjid's Karim

Carnivore’s lust. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Probably the most iconic and long-lasting (and clichéd) culinary landmark of Delhi is Karim’s restaurant, originally set up in the Walled City, but now with several franchises all over. The most…

Photo Essay - The Pee Men, Around Town

The wall’s account. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They come in one by one. These silent Delhi men. From morning to midnight. Some are tall with fierce eyes. Some are short. Some are fat. Some are Hindus. Some…

City Hangout – Wild Life, Lodhi Gardens

Rats, ducks, dogs, birds of our oasis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lodhi Gardens is a land of Very Important People and very showy lovers — as any regular visitor will testify. Also, according to figures provided to…

City Notice – On Arundhati Roy

Delhi’s most famous mischief-maker. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Author Arundhati Roy, Delhi’s greatest living badmash, is working on a new novel. The Delhi Walla got the news from the website Publishing Perspectives. Here is the complete text: November 12, 2012….

Mission Delhi – Ram Dulare, Parliament Street

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sitting beside a basket filled with lemons, he is twirling up his white mustache. The Delhi Walla meets Ram Dulare, 81, on Parliament Street. He…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians XXXII, Delite Cinema

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 32nd meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…