Merry Christmas – Organ Music, Cathedral Church of Redemption General by The Delhi Walla - December 24, 20070 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.Listing to pipe organ in the Sunday service.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]It is just another Sunday morning in the Cathedral Church of Redemption. The deacon reaches the sermon's end. The 12 choir members, up there in the organ loft, quickly open their spiraled hymnbooks. Organist Mrs. Samuel, her back to the altar and eyes on the sheets, presses the keys. The music begins. The singing voices are fragile, but the teakwood organ's sound is as steady and dignified as the stones of this 75-year-old cathedral.Mahatma Gandhi has been here. One of the only two Delhi churches (the other is St James Church in
Delhi for Children – Teddy Bears in Shining India General by The Delhi Walla - December 16, 20073 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.Build-a-Bear Workshop for rich people's children.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]This is part of a special series for readers with children. Click here for National Rail MuseumBuying a teddy bear is nothing novel. Building one certainly is. US-based Build-a-Bear Workshop recently opened its first Delhi outlet at Shopper's Stop in Raja Garden. Here kids can customize a stuffed toy of their choice. That is you make your own bear – starting from choosing its size, colour and voice, to fattening it up and even dressing it in fancy clothes– all in 35 minutes.Bread, not bear; Outside Raja Garden MallThe showroom, which has pug marks
City Trends – Tea Rooms in Delhi General by The Delhi Walla - December 10, 20073 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.[High Tea at Cha Bar, Oxford Book Store, Connaught Place]From New Delhi's Chai-bars to Old Delhi's Chai-khanas.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Most Delhi wallas are tea lovers but only within home. Outside, they talk like coffee connoisseurs. That may be changing. No longer is this humble drink confined to grimy dhabas and JNU addas, or locked behind the counters of 5-star hotel lounges. Chai is becoming cool. Tea bars are the new hotspots. The brewed beverage has started infusing into the milky layer of the Delhi social scene.Whilst the tea ceremony is costly enough to be trendy it’s not too pricey to be unattainable.
City Secret – The New Jumbo Point General by The Delhi Walla - December 8, 2007November 9, 20104 A new watering hole for plane watchers. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] I’m standing in the middle of the railway track. The Rewari Passenger will not be coming for another half hour. But I can listen to a distant roar. It’s a shrill sound gradually picking up speed. Hear, hear. It is approaching fast. It is getting thicker. It is close. Closer. It is right here. Above me. Grrrrrrrrr. Above us. Grrrrrrrrr. We look up. Me. Villagers. MBA students (from a local management institute). The kulfi walla. The chaat walla. We all see a giant steel ship floating up in the air. Magnificent scene. Wah wah. All quiet now. The airplane has disappeared into the darkening sky. So has the roar.
Delhi Events + Delhi Classifieds General by The Delhi Walla - December 4, 20072 GO STRAIGHT TO STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.STRIKINGLY BEAUTIFUL. Embassy official new to Delhi. European. In early 40s. Have lived in Capetown and NYC. Warm, cultured. Reads Economist. Jazz enthusiast. Seeks a like-minded older man for sharing quality time. ba.dona@yahoo.comPAYING GUEST ACCOMADATION, NIZAMUDDIN EAST. Exotic park-facing apartment of a Delhi author, books, music, conversations, evening soirées, Mughlai cuisine, central location, tranquil street near Humayun's Tomb, homely comforts. Weekly/daily basis. Rs. 2000/day. 098110 88079; sufiapa@gmail.com.
Culture – Anita Desai in Town General by The Delhi Walla - December 3, 20072 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.The venerable novelist visits her old city.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi. The pictures cannot be reproduced anywhere without his permission.]The other evening a tiny slice of Delhi’s reading people gathered in the garden auditorium of Triveni Kala Sangam at Tansen Marg. Anita Desai was in town to discuss her work with fellow novelist Rana Dasgupta. The event, organized by Random House India, unrolled in the usual pleasant manner. Mr. Dasgupta’s queries were intelligent; Ms. Desai’s responses were thoughtful; and there was applause at the end.No doubt it was a special occasion. A rare public sighting of Ms. Desai. With her gentle voice, tender
Weekend Getaway – Pragpur, Himachal Pradesh General by The Delhi Walla - December 1, 20071 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.Taking a break in the Himalayan foothills.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi who visited Pragpur in September, 2007]Once a year this sleepy hamlet in the Kangra Valley comes alive-violently. Men here like to flatten each other like pancakes. Best known as India 's first 'heritage village' (stone-cobbled streets, gabled roofs, and fruit-heavy trees), not many visit the Pragpur annual wrestling tournament in September. I did.My night train from Delhi was delayed. By then it was all uproar at the Judge's Court Hotel where I was booked. The tournament was to start in two hours, and the Himachal Pradesh governor-the chief guest-had still not arrived.
Diary – Living in Jangpura Extension General by The Delhi Walla - November 27, 20077 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.House hunting in Delhi’s middle-class neighbourhood.[Text by Lesley E. The author runs the blogsite Bombay Boy. Picture by Mayank Austen Soofi]In August, 2006, I moved to Jangpura Extension. So many people I know love Jangpura Extension. I wanted to love it too. So what if the legendary Om Hotel serves awful oily glop. And so what if the equally legendary ham sandwich of Novelty Stores is of a type that only those with very low standards would call the best in Delhi. (The pudina chutney they serve with it is God-like.) Its numerous parks are full of gorgeous stray dogs and huge cats, all lovingly
Photo Essay – Turkish Delight in Delhi General by The Delhi Walla - November 22, 20075 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.When Konya’s whirling dervishes came to town.[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Sufis of Delhi get their high through qawwalis. In Turkey, they whirl around. Here in Nizamuddin’s tomb they clap, sing, shout, smile, jump, and wave. There in Rumi’s shrine, they quietly spin themselves into a trance.The other day the whirling dervishes came to the India International Center (IIC) where the open-air theater was packed with society ladies, retired bureaucrats, and goras of the expatriate community. Finally, a chance to see those white-robed performers you only see on National Geographic covers. And they were the real thing. Straight from Turkey. The troupe was sent
Special Report – New Stars in Delhi Theater General by The Delhi Walla - November 18, 20072 GO STRAIGHT TO CITY CLASSIFIEDS & CITY EVENTSGO STRAIGHT TO MORE STORIESContact mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com for ad enquiries.[Clockwise from left: Aditee Biswas, Rudra Deep Chakrabarti, Amitesh Grover and Sankar Venkateswaran]The emerging heroes of Mandi House.[Text and picture by Mayank Austen Soofi]A quick way to get noticed, even in the backslapping small world of Mandi House theatre, is to shock the audience. Reinterpret the classics, preferably heretically. Broach controversial themes (incest always helps). Ask questions, skip answers. Kick up dust. Stage acts that not many understand. Be post-post-postmodern. Indeed it is customary for the new generation, whose primary duty is to be ambitious, bold and different, to undergo this ritual. All this hard work,sometimes, concludes in stage thunder, strobe lightning, and glowing Sunday