Mission Delhi – Mushirul Hasan, JNU Campus Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 30, 2009September 19, 20146 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Four months after finishing his term as the Vice Chancellor of Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University, Professor Mushirul Hasan, 60, is scheming for the afternoon. Sitting in his wife’s study, surrounded by books that he wrote, India’s leading historian is talking to a friend on phone. The Delhi Walla overhears him saying, “Let's meet at 2pm... India International Center…” While Prof. Hasan has been in Jamia for 30 years, he has lived miles away in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). His wife, Zoya, a JNU professor, has an official residence here - amid trees, rocks and hillocks. In mornings, peacocks visit their garden. For the professor, this
Photo Essay – Season’s Greetings, Bhikaji Cama Place Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - December 29, 2009May 23, 20100 Lest we forget. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tuesday, December 29th, 2009. A cold, windy evening. Bhikaji Cama traffic light. A street performer. The little girl is barefoot. Please wish her a happy New Year. Wish her too
City Cinemas – SRS, JAM, BIG, MMX, G3S Culture General Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - December 28, 2009May 23, 20104 The PVRisation of film halls. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] DU, DUSU, CP, SN, DDLJ, GK1, RTI, SRK, SEZ, HC, SC, PMO, K3G… intimidated by acronyms and abbreviations? Try reading the schedule of city’s cinema halls in the newspaper. Rather than films, you will be more fascinated by the names of the theaters. DT in Shalimar Bagh. M4U and JAM in Ghazibad. PVR in Naraina. M2K in Rohini. WIT? That is: What is this? Delhi has 99 screens in 56 cinemas, out of which 17 are multiplexes. So, imagine the plight of an SRK fan looking for a film at, say, EDM’s PVR. Don’t know what EDM is? It’s the East Delhi Mall, Anand Vihar. SRK stands for superstar Shah Rukh Khan. Don't
City Faith – Muharram & Christmas Culture Faith by The Delhi Walla - December 25, 2009May 23, 20108 Mourning and celebrating. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is December 24th, 2009. Late night. A few people — some of them historians, diplomats, designers, actors — are driving to Nizamuddin East, a neighbourhood near Humayun’s Tomb. The same night, a larger crowd, more varied, is heading to an address in Lodhi Road, a highway near Humayun’s Tomb. The former will attend a soazkhwani majlis. The latter will attend a midnight mass. At author Sadia Dehlvi’s apartment. At the Centenary Methodist Church. The occasion is Muharram. The occasion is Christmas. Some are in skullcaps. Some are in Santa caps. They will mourn. They will celebrate. They will commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. They will commemorate the birth of
Mission Delhi – Satnam Singh Juneja, Pratap Street Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 24, 2009September 19, 201410 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] In a neighbourhood where most houses are small and over-crowded, Satnam Singh Juneja is the master of an eight-room address. All his walls are painted blue. But the home is unkempt. The bed sheet is crumpled. The dining table is dusty. In the courtyard, a Bajaj scooter stands rusting and an ancient spinbike looks defunct. “Being alone, I don’t take much interest in cleaning and upkeep,” the 69-year-old Sikh says. “For instance, I don’t mind going to bed even if I’m in a pant-shirt.” Mr Juneja has been living in Pratap Street, a narrow lane in Daryaganj, for more than 40 years. A retired official of the
City Monument – Agrasen ki Baoli, Hailey Road Monuments by The Delhi Walla - December 22, 2009January 14, 20158 The well of solitude. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid the business towers and residential apartments of the Colonial-era Connaught Place, this 14th century baoli or ancient step-well, is flanked on both sides by niches, chambers and passageways, and the 104 stone steps descending into the well’s dried-up base, have three levels. It is not certain who built it, though some credit it to a king called Agrasen; hence the name. As you enter, you will see a mosque on one side. Initially, you will hear the cooing of hundreds of pigeons. But as you walk down the stairs, the silence deepens, the city skyline disappears and the daylight fades away. This was a reservoir, as well as a summer refuge,
City Faith – Ramayan Paath, Sahibabad Faith by The Delhi Walla - December 20, 2009July 29, 20218 Finding peace in the Hindu epic. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pushpa Singh’s living room in Vasundhara Valley Apartment Society has been turned into a temple. She and her husband, Kshetra Pal, are hosting Ramayan Paath, a continuous reading session of Ramcharitmanas, a Hindu epic on Lord Ram. Written in Avdhi, a Hindi-language dialect, it was composed by the 16th century saint-poet Tulsi Das. Living in a gated residential complex in Sahibabad, a Delhi suburb, the 63-year-old bridge player sent SMS-invites to friends, neighbours and also to the security guards of her ‘apartment society’. A priest was hired for a new pair of dhoti, kurta and 101 rupees. The Ramayan Paath is an important event in the Singhs’ social calendar. Mrs Singh’s
Mission Delhi – Shankar, Matia Mahal Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 17, 2009September 19, 201411 One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Matia Mahal Bazaar. Midnight. Shutters down. Looking up at the delicate latticework of Old Delhi balconies, he suddenly turns back and stands facing the Jama Masjid. “It’s awe-inspiring,” says Shankar, looking at South Asia’s biggest mosque, built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan. “It’s more a symbol of power than spirituality and yet, when I go inside, I feel calm,” he says, requesting that his family name not be used for this portrait. As someone who has seen Vienna, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Budapest, Benares, Lahore, Ladakh, Isfahan, Kashkar, Samarkand, Shanghai, Srinagar, Marrakech, Damascus, Beirut and Ankara, Shankar says, “There are a million cities in Delhi… that’s what
City Living – So Many Delhis General Life by The Delhi Walla - December 17, 2009May 23, 20102 It's too varied. [Text and picture by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi may be a city but it is as varied as any country. “We have many Delhis,” says Rakhshanda Jalil, the author of Invisible City. “You’ve these oasis of privileges as well as places that are cramped and clamorous. A cordon sanitaire (quarantine line) divides the two.” Sometimes that divide comes in the form of railway tracks. It seperates the leafy Nizamuddin East, an upper crust colony, from the dusty Sarai Kale Khan, a low-income neighbourhood. They could as well be Monaco and Mogadishu. “I’m lucky to have a house here in Nizmuddin East,” says author Sadia Dehlvi, whose roof looks over to Humayun’s Tomb as well as the brick-and-cement skyline of Sarai
Photo Essay – Traffic Jam, Kasturba Gandhi Marg Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - December 16, 2009May 23, 20102 The carefree hours. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cop has surrendered. The traffic lights are not working. The scooters, cars and buses are not moving. You are no longer caring for your appointment. This must be the classic Delhi traffic jam. "Whether you live in the posh Sainik Farms or in Sultanpuri slums," says Ranjana Sengupta, the author of Delhi Metropolitan - The Making of a City, "You have to put up with jams and that's very democratic. It unites people from different walks of life into one common thread." During a major traffic snarl, the part of the city which is directly affected becomes civilized. Drivers stop blowing horns. The road becomes quiet. You could actually enjoy the 'spare' hours.