City Season – Cold Weather Forecasting
Delhi ceases to be Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Evening. Early November. Very soon, the doors leading to the tomb of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya will close not at 10 pm, the usual time, but half an hour…
City Season – Signs of Winter, Connaught Place
Delhi’s cold wardrobe. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla is looking for signs of winter in Delhi’s colonial-era shopping district, Connaught Place. It is the second week of November. The city gets chilly, but only in…
City Moment – Bird Catcher, Bulbuli Khana
The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was one afternoon taking a stroll in a by-lane in Bulbuli Khana, a cramped neighbourhood in Old Delhi. The only public spaces that are wide and…
City Secret – The Body Re-builder, Mahipalpur
The desi way to mend broken bodies. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Good morning and…Brrrinng! Nas char gayi. Neck cramp is painful. Drive towards Indian Spinal Injuries Center at Vasant Kunj, south Delhi. Don’t stop there. Keep going…
Memo from Paharganj – Life After The Renovation
Reporting from the backpackers’ ghetto. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] How is Paharganj, Delhi’s backpackers’ ghetto, doing? Popular among budget tourists for its low-price hotels and cafes, the area’s Main Market underwent renovation in the run up to…
The Delhi Walla Books – They Are Bestsellers
5,000 copies sold. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla has got company. The other evening US President Barack Obama was sitting beside me. I mean Bob Woodward’s Obama’s Wars was placed next to my books, The…
Mission Delhi – Raghavendra Vanjre, Hauz Khas Village
One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Approaching the table where two new guests have seated, he looks curiously at the book one of them has placed beside the flower vase….
City Library – The Delhi Walla, Nizamuddin Basti
A vanishing world. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One day there will still be books, but they might not be in the printed form. In the series City Library, The Delhi Walla will make a record of the…
City Style – The Classy Delhiwalla, Janpath
Searching for the stylish. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla saw this woman in Janpath, the flea market in central Delhi’s Connaught Place. Wearing a white jumpsuit, white sandals, dark sunglasses and no make-up, she had…
Photo Essay – Blueline Buses, Around Town
They will be removed. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Till the 80s, the only city buses to rule Delhi’s roads were run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). In 1992, the bus service was privatised and Redline buses were…
Recent Comments