The Delhi Walla Books – Novelist Anuja Chauhan’s Review The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - December 6, 2010December 6, 20103 A bestselling author's verdict. [By Anuja Chauhan] They say one of the greatest simple joys you can experience is to become a tourist in your own city. Just two books have actually made me do that – the first is William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns - and the second is Mayank Austen Soofi’s The Delhi Walla series. As winter creeps in, and the urge to bunk work and wander through the city in the winter sun kicks in, you can have no better companion than these slim, extremely well researched and evocatively written volumes. They’re light enough for you to carry a pattal of hot, smoky, masala and nimbu sprinkled shakkarkandi in your other hand, and they don’t look at
City Landmark – People’s Publishing House, Connaught Place Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - December 4, 2010December 4, 20101 Marxism, Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Vladimir Ilyich Lenin has an arresting stare. Meet the Marxist revolutionary at a bookstore in the capitalistic Connaught Place, central Delhi’s premium shopping district. His portrait hangs close to a shelf stocked with bestselling trash such as Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Love Story. Opened in 1945, People’s Publishing House (PPH) in Marina Arcade, Outer Circle, is the Capital’s saddest bookshop. As storekeeper of an excessively flawed ideology, its signature collection consists of inexpensive books that were published in a country that no longer exists: Soviet Union, aka USSR. PPH has two more outlets in 5-E, Rani Jhansi Road and near Central Library, Jawaharlal Nehru University. The branch in Connaught Place
Photo Essay – Are Newspapers Dead? Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - December 2, 2010December 7, 20102 The ‘daily’ life in Delhi. [Edited text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Mizo woman was walking towards her home in Moti village near Dhaula in south Delhi when the men in a vehicle abducted her and took turns to rape her. The Capital was in for some fruity fun as Italian aperitif brand Campari launched its range of fruit-based drinks at Aqua, The Park. Taking on the MCD in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday, urban development minister Dr AK Walia asserted that the civic agency needs to speed up the process to regularize the five lakh (approximate) street vendors and squatters in the capital. Thousands of people danced, sang and cheered through the streets of Delhi on Sunday in a colourful
City Landmark – Delhi Photo Company, Janpath Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - December 1, 2010December 1, 20101 1937-2010. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The other afternoon The Delhi Walla was walking in Janpath, Connaught Place. Reaching in front of an old landmark, I stood with amazement and then I laughed. What used to be Delhi Photo Company was now a restaurant specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. Fresc Co opened on September 22 2010. In February 2009, I had stepped into Delhi Photo Company to chat with its owner and walk around its back area. I was happy that in this age of digicams, the photo studio was still surviving. The owner’s son was full of plans. He showed me the art gallery that he was building inside the studio to encourage young photographers. He pointed to the tables