City Food – Burger Trolleys, Connaught Place Food by The Delhi Walla - August 30, 2013August 30, 20131 The street junk. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is for all those of us who find happiness in cheap and delicious junk food. The Delhi Walla is not talking of the golden arches but of the humble burger trolleys that are seen across Connaught Place, the Colonial-era shopping district in central Delhi. Run by street vendors, these mobile snack-parlours sell not only burgers but also patties, sandwiches, kulchas and cream-rolls. A trolley is manned by its owner alone, though sometimes he might have an adolescent ‘helper’. The all-vegetarian menu is painted in red on the trolley itself. Some carts also display religious chants such as Jai Mata Di (Long live the holy mother). The trolley food is very easy on
City Landmark – Jackson’s Books, Paharganj Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - August 28, 2013August 28, 20132 Delhi’s most charming second-hand bookshop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Jackson's bookstore in central Delhi’s Paharganj sells novels and guidebooks at discount prices. This cramped shop has books in more than 10 languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean and Finnish. Founded in 1996 in Main Bazaar, the store is tucked between a serpentine alley and a tiled mosque. It is patronized by Paharganj’s foreign backpackers, which explains the abundance of Lonely Planet guides. The owner, Deepak Kumar Dilani, also buys used books from his customers. In this way he has built a collection so extensive that here you find imprints from across the world. The Delhi Walla is a devoted Jacksonite. My last purchase included Lonely
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Banil Singh Panwar, KG Marg Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - August 26, 2013August 26, 20132 The Proustian self-introspection. [By The Delhi Proustians] The Proust Questionnaire represents a form of interview that owes its structure to answers given by French novelist Marcel Proust, the author of In Search of Lost Time, at two birthday parties that he attended at ages 13 and 20 in the late 19th century. In 2013, The Delhi Proustians takes Les confidences de salon (Drawing room confessions) around the city to explore people’s lives, thoughts, values and experiences. This series involves interviews across Delhi and is conducted by writers Manika Dhama and Mayank Austen Soofi. For the sixth instalment in the series Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire, security guard and office receptionist Banil Singh Panwar made confessions to Mayank. We met at his work place, a highrise
City Monument – Chor Minar, Hauz Khas Enclave Monuments by The Delhi Walla - August 23, 2013August 23, 20133 The ghastly landmark. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The people of Delhi – at least their rulers -- have always been barbarians. The Chor Minar, meaning 'the tower of the thief', served to display the severed heads of alleged criminals. Situated in South Delhi’s upper crust Hauz Khas enclave, the round tower is believed to have come up during the Khijji era (1290–1320). Its thick wall of rubble has 225 circular holes where the heads were put up as exhibits. Today, crows and koels sit in these holes. Squirrels run up and down the tower. A circular garden is landscaped around the structure. This green space doubles up as a traffic roundabout. It is surrounded by bungalows -- The Delhi Walla can
City Hangout – Gole Park, Windsor Place Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - August 20, 2013August 21, 20133 A serene circle. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You can cross the entire Gole Park in Central Delhi’s Windsor Place in five minutes flat. It is a traffic roundabout. While there are the usual trees, flowers, grass and bird songs, there is no getting away from the city. You may clap a hand over your ears to shut out the traffic roar, but you will still see the towering Le Meridian hotel on one side, and hotel Shangri La on the other. The park is not perfect. There are bald patches on the lawn and a little bridge straddles a dry pond. Yet, this park soothes our senses. Though nothing like Safdarjang Enclave’s Deer Park or the North Campus ridge, the
Family Album – The Dehlvis, Nizamuddin East Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - August 19, 2013August 19, 20133 The Delhi coffee table. [Text and photos of photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In order to feel the intimate life of Delhiites, The Delhi Walla is going from house to house, requesting people to show their family photos. The project will never end. Here is the second instalment. This album belongs to the house of Dehlvis, who live in Nizamuddin East, close to Humayun's Tomb. Scenes of our loved ones 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Taslima Nasreen, Behind Regal Cinema City Poetry General by The Delhi Walla - August 18, 2013June 3, 20154 Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla arranged to meet Bengali poet Taslima Nasreen on the lane that runs behind the Regal Cinema building in the colonial-era Connaught Place. An exiled Bangladeshi citizen, Ms Nasreen lives in Europe. She is in India without a visa. In 2008, she was forced to leave this country following protests by Islamic extremists. On a secret visit to the capital, Ms Nasrin requests not to be photographed. Instead, she asks me to focus the lens on a young woman in yellow who is walking alone on the road. “I dedicate my poem to her,” she says before sharing it with us. Character You’re a girl and you’d better not forget that when you
City Book – Servants, Lucy Lethbridge General by The Delhi Walla - August 16, 2013August 16, 20131 A necessary book for Delhi. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] “A really good housemaid should never be able to be alone in a room with a table without giving it a good rub, or, if the room is occupied, without wishing to do so.” This advice in the 1853 manual Common Sense for Housewives sets the tone for a vivid and diverse report on a working class that “squeeze awkwardly into the big narrative of twentieth-century labour history.” Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain should be made a compulsory read for every Delhiwalla – Delhi, after all, is a city where the exploitation of domestic staff happens in every privileged home, regardless of its social and educational background. See rules for ayahs at
City Food – Nihari & Paya, Al Jawahar & Karim’s Food by The Delhi Walla - August 14, 2013August 14, 20133 Old Delhi’s power breakfast. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Fish cutlets from the steps of the Jama Masjid, meatballs from Kucha Pandit, kheer from Hauz Qazi, qalaqand from Ghantewala, jalebis from Bhangi ka Katra, parathas from Qutb Shahi... The Delhi Walla ran through this line in an old cookbook on Old Delhi. A food lover’s Old Delhi, or Shahjahanabad, is like a timeless novel that is being constantly discovered by new generations of readers. The Walled City adventures of a determined gourmand almost always starts with nihari and paya, the region’s signature delicacies. The landmark Karim’s restaurant near the Jama Masjid is a popular starting point. But its nihari is not authentic. A true version uses the upper thigh of
City Hangout – Mapping National Museum, Janpath Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - August 13, 2013August 13, 20130 Souvenirs of our past. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The National Museum in Central Delhi is a guide to India. Opened in 1960, it has 2, 00,000 exhibits -- the older dating back to 2500 BC and beyond. The bronze sculpture of a dancing girl from Mohenjadaro is traced to 2700 BC. A clay pot is traced to 2900 BC. There is a 5th century Shiva, a 6th century Buddha, a 9th century Chola Tripurantaka and a 16th century illustrated folio of Bustan. There is a lion throne of the king of Benares. There is a painting depicting Sufi ascetic Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya absorbed in a sitar recital of his disciple Amir Khusro. In a city marked by Islamic and