Mission Delhi – Sohan Singh, The Book Shop Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - January 31, 2014December 13, 20175 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is standing in front of the Indian fiction shelf. One cold evening, The Delhi Walla meets Sohan Singh at The Book Shop, a small establishment in Jor Bagh frequented by the capital’s who’s who, including novelists, bureaucrats and politicians — I once spotted Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia buying coffee-table books here. As a doorman since 1999, Mr Singh gives The Book Shop its distinctive character of quietude. The much-loved landmark was founded in 1970 by KD Singh. He passed away a few years ago, and his wife, the charming Nini KD Singh, is keeping his legacy alive. Of course, she is ably assisted by
Delhi Proustians – Marcel’s Dream, Venice Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 29, 2014January 30, 20144 Du côté de chez Proust. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In his novel In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust's narrator said, "When I went to Venice I found that my dream had become – incredibly, but quite simply – my address!" Proust visited Venice in 1900. The Delhi Walla is visiting it in 2014. Overwhelmed by the town’s old churches and grand houses, its gondolas and bridges, and especially by its Delhi-like streets, I resorted to Lost Time to reorient my feelings. And I discovered that Marcel was also taken in by the labyrinthine alleys of Venice. After dinner, I went out by myself, into the heart of the enchanted city where I found myself wandering in strange regions
City Travel – Old Delhi Streets, Venice Travel by The Delhi Walla - January 27, 2014January 28, 20141 A tale of two cities. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is just like the Old Quarter of Shahjahanabad. This one has many churches; that one has many mosques. Both are rich in pigeons. The Delhi Walla is in Venice. The Italian town has the same sort of narrow and self-contained streets that you find in Old Delhi, the ones which curve at soft angles and show new vistas on each turn. But there are a few differences between these two cities. In Old Delhi, we take pride in our masculine culture of spitting out saliva in public; we have also succeeded in establishing an irreverent attitude towards the bourgeois concepts of cleanliness and manners. Venice is not a radical place
Delhi Proustians – Bois de Boulogne, Paris Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 26, 2014January 26, 20140 Marcel Proust’s garden. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold grey morning The Delhi Walla walked into the woods of Bois de Boulogne, a park along the edge of 16th aggrandizement of Paris, one of the city’s wealthiest sections. Most of the trees were bare, except for a few tall varieties that had some leaves clinging on to their higher reaches. In 1881, novelist Marcel Proust had his first asthma attack after a walk in this garden. While walking, I picked up a yellow leaf from the ground and placed it inside my hardbound copy of Swann’s Way, the first volume of Proust’s novel In Search of Lost Time. The final pages of this volume are devoted to this park.
City Moment – The Kiss, Nehru Place Moments by The Delhi Walla - January 25, 2014January 25, 20144 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla came across a hijra in the office district of Nehru Place. She was wearing a white dupatta and pink suit, and she was with a man. They were walking down a corridor. Suddenly the pair stopped; the man held his companion close to him, and kissed on her cheek. She laughed, and coyly looked at him. He looked back at her. She blushed and hid her face in his chest, and again started to laugh. It was a beautiful moment. Love perhaps 1. 2. 3. 4.
Delhi Proustian – Le Swann, Rue de Constantinople Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 23, 2014January 23, 20142 A hotel for Proustians. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon in Paris The Delhi Walla entered Le Swann. This hotel in rue de Constantinople is named after Charles Swann, perhaps the most romantic/artistic/melancholic character in Marcel Proust's seven-volume novel In Search of Lost Time. The hotel is devoted to Proust and his world. The design is inspired from Lost Time. The dimly-lit lobby is decorated with various editions of his novel and with many books that are written on him. Passages from the novel adorn the walls of the hotel. A set of Lost Time’s leather-bound first edition is stacked inside a locked glass case. The tea lounge has a painting of Proust. Another painting presents the entire novel
City Food – Paratha & Other Snacks, Chandni Chowk Food by The Delhi Walla - January 22, 2014January 22, 20146 Our culinary heritage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The best sight in Delhi is of a heaped tray of mashed potato, chopped cauliflower, grated radish, shelled peas, scrambled paneer (cottage cheese); the best music, desi ghee sizzling in a blackened 20kg iron wok; the best taste, a flaky paratha fattened with khoya and accompanied with aloo mattar, seetaphal ki subzi, kele ki saunth, methi ki chutney, aam ka achaar and fiery-hot green chillies. And the best address in town is: Gali Paranthe Wali. You might disagree with this assertion, but the fame this street in Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk enjoys is indisputable. In January 2014 it gave its name to a Hindi movie. To be sure, Paranthe Wali Gali is no food
Delhi Proustian – Marcel Proust’s Tomb, Père Lachaise Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - January 20, 2014January 20, 20144 The Delhi Walla in Paris. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold January afternoon The Delhi Walla visited Marcel Proust in Père Lachaise, the cemetery in Paris that is home to some of the most distinguished citizens of France. I had first come here in 2012. That time I was in the middle of In Search of Lost Time, Proust's seven-volume novel. It is now 2014 and I’m re-reading the novel. The sky was covered with rain-filled clouds. The chestnuts trees were bare. The ground was wet and many graves were covered with green moss. I stood by my beloved novelist's tomb, which is also the final resting place of his father, mother and brother. Some pilgrims had left stones
City Moment – Friend’s Grave, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah Moments by The Delhi Walla - January 18, 20141 The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold midnight The Delhi Walla entered the dargah of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The courtyard was empty. The dome was lit up with strings of tiny electric bulbs. A few people were sitting around the tomb-chamber. An elderly fakir, wrapped in a blanket, was sleeping. One man was reading the Quran. Another pilgrim was standing against the tomb-chamber's locked door, and praying. I gently pulled aside the gorgeously colored curtain to have a glimpse of the tombstone inside -- here was Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, alone and without the customary flowers. The grave looked humane and vulnerable – like the resting place of a true friend. It was a beautiful moment.
City Monument – Cathedral Church of the Redemption, North Avenue Monuments by The Delhi Walla - January 16, 2014January 16, 20142 Memories of Venice. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The former Viceroy's Church, housed in the President's Estate in Lutyens' Delhi, is built of red sandstone and Burmese teak and was opened in 1931. The design, inspired by the 16th century church of Il Redentore in Venice, emphasizes the prominence of the central tower towards which the building rises in levels. The exterior is otherwise austere. However, all simplicity is forgotten once you enter the church. The interior is rich but not loud. The hushed dignity of the carpeted floor harmonises smoothly with the dazzling interplay of the arches. The small recessed openings in the sidewalls let in beams of sunlight that makes the otherwise dark nave feel mystical. The altar faces