City Book – Nobody Can Love You More, YouTube Video The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - November 30, 2012November 30, 20125 A very short film. A Little Anarky Films tells the story behind The Delhi Walla's book Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi's Red Light District. Published by Viking Penguin, it is available in book stores and on shopping websites. You may watch the video here.
City Monument – Khair ul Manzil, Mathura Road Monuments by The Delhi Walla - November 28, 2012November 28, 20122 A bubble of serenity. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Its name means ‘The good destination’ in Arabic. The tranquil Khair ul Manzil masjid was built in 1561 by Maham Anga, the wet nurse and foster mother of Mughal emperor Akbar. The gateway of the mosque is of red sandstone, and the rest of the structure is of rubble. The center of the courtyard is ornamented with a wazoo pool for ablution. There is also a stone well. Two water pitchers are kept beside the pool for thirsty pigeons. The birds usually keep to the mosque’s dome. They have made their home in the double-storeyed cells, which line both sides of the courtyard. Five arched openings lead to the prayer hall. The
The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Meraj Ahmed Nizami, b. Nizamuddin Basti, 1927 Biographical Dictionary by The Delhi Walla - November 26, 2012November 26, 20124 The last great living qawwal. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In his eighties, Meraj Ahmed Nizami, the patriarch of Nizami Khusro Bandhu family, is one of the few classical qawwals left in India. He is one of Delhi's great living landmarks. “Meraj renders Persian Sufi verses most fluently in the old tarz, or melodies,” says Farida Ali, director of the Dargah of Hazrat Inayat Khan, which is in the same neighbourhood as Hazrat Nizamuddin’s shrine. Meraj’s family, who daily performs in Hazrat Nizamuddin’s dargah, has been performing qawwali, Islam’s sacred music, every Friday in Inayat Khan’s shrine for 40 years. “I have witnessed him creating a dynamic spiritual atmosphere of mystical haal (ecstasy),” Ms Ali says. The man who is considered a
City Notice – The Delhi Proustians XXXIII, GB Road Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - November 26, 2012April 17, 20131 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, was supposed to take place in GB Road red light area on 19 November 2012. However, it had to be cancelled due to a power failure. The meeting will now take place in the same place on November 26. Venue: Kotha No. 300, GB Road red light area. Time: 7 pm. Where Kotha no. 300, GB Road Nearest Metro Station New Delhi railway station Time 7 pm
City Secret – Sanskrit News Bulletins, Akashvani Bhawan General by The Delhi Walla - November 24, 20128 More than just news. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Iyam Akashvani. Samprati Vartaha Shruyantam. These are the first words you will hear every morning and evening if you tune in to Akashvani’s, or All India Radio’s (AIR’s), Sanskrit news. The announcement in Sanskrit goes, “This is Akashvani. You are now listening to the news.” Who is the announcer talking to? If you were to round up all the Sanskrit speakers in Delhi, or even the country, they might not fill up even one-fourth of the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. According to the 2001 census, the latest figures available, they number 14,135. More Indians speak regional languages like Dogri and Bodo than Sanskrit, one of the 22 official languages listed in the Constitution. Yet
City Book – Nobody Can Love You More, First Copy The Delhi Walla books by The Delhi Walla - November 21, 2012November 21, 201253 Like a dream. [Text by Mayank Austen Soofi; photos by Unknown] Hot off the press. On receiving the first copy of his new book, Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, The Delhi Walla hid it in an envelope and went through the day as if it was just another ordinary day. In the evening I took an auto-rickshaw to Khan Market and walked on the Front Lane with the world’s most beautiful secret in my hand. An hour later I left the market for Lodhi Gardens. There I stood under a lamp. After making sure that nobody was around, I took out the book from the envelope, kissed its cover and carefully put it back into the
City Life – Street Vendors, Around Town Life by The Delhi Walla - November 20, 2012November 20, 20121 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 property was passed down to 62-year-old Shanti from her husband, a vegetable vendor, who made it the site of his commerce in 1965. He died a decade ago. Ms Shanti’s two sons are also dead. Her assets consist only of a straw basket partially filled with sachets of Pass Pass and Satmola. Earning no more than about Rs 25 daily, Ms Shanti does not have the licence to hawk on this pavement or anywhere else. She has no document to prove that her
City Moment – The Satanic Verses, Shahjahanabad Moments by The Delhi Walla - November 19, 2012June 19, 20184 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 Daryaganj footbridge (which no longer exists) disappears under the maal. The maal being the seller-speak for novels, memoirs, whodunits, quiz books, classics, encyclopedias, coffee-table books, pulp fiction, foreign magazines and, sometimes, rare first editions. Nearing the end of the market, I stop by Muhammed Khaled’s stall and spot the following titles: Gorbachev: A Biography The End of Saddam Hussein Poor Economics Hit to Kill Surrender Is Not An Option Decent Work: Objectives & Strategies The Satanic Verses What! By Salman Rusdhie! According to a news report on BBC: “Many Muslims regard The Satanic Verses
City Notice – The Delhi Proustians XXXIII, GB Road Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - November 18, 2012April 17, 20132 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 Road red light area. Time: 7 pm. Where Kotha no. 300, GB Road Nearest Metro Station New Delhi railway station Time 7 pm
City Life – The Wedding Reception, Daryaganj Life by The Delhi Walla - November 17, 2012November 17, 20123 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 Manzil, from Seelampur, and from Ghaziabad. All the relatives of both families had been invited, quarrels between friends arranged, acquaintances long since lost sight of written to. From time to time one heard the greetings of salaam walekum and mubarakbad. Private cars would stop at the entrance and empty their loads. The women and their men would get off from all sides, rubbing knees and stretching arms. The ladies, wearing the mandatory dupatta or the veil, had put on dresses in the Old Delhi