City Landmark – Indian National Flag, Central Park Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - August 8, 2014August 8, 20141 People's republic of flagistan. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The largest in India, this national flag is larger than a badminton court. You can spot it from Kasturba Gandhi Marg, or from the samosa stand outside The Embassy restaurant, or even from inside the display window of Wenger’s pastry shop in Connaught Place (CP). The best front view is from Janpath. But perhaps you have already seen it on Facebook — in your friend’s selfie. Stitched by five tailors in east Delhi’s Jagriti Enclave, the tricolour in Central Park soars over the white arcades of colonial-era CP. In July 2014, the caretakers of the “monumental flag” resolved a tiff on the maintenance expenses, amounting to 60,000 rupees monthly. We will
Atget’s Corner – 416-420, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - August 8, 2014August 8, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 416 to 420. 416. Connaught Place 417.
Netherfield Ball – Bolbosh Website Launch, Oxford Bookstore City Parties by The Delhi Walla - August 6, 2014August 6, 20140 The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla attended the launch of literary website Bolbosh at the Oxford Bookstore in Connaught Place. Carefully unkempt writer Basharat Ali and painstakingly groomed Asiya Zahoor, the website's founder member, chatted on the stage. Ms Zahoor was playful with her white headscarf - a feminine privilege denied to Mr Ali. These two young people spoke awkwardly, sincerely, optimistically about the new online enterprise, “an archive of aesthetically rich and culturally significant literature from the Baramulla region (of Kashmir) written in languages such as Balti, Pahari, Ladakhi, Shina and Dorgi, Gujri and Kashmiri.” Since the focus was on conflict-ridden Kashmir, one had prepared oneself to hear stories of custodial deaths
City Food – Delhi’s First World-Famous Cookbook, Madhur Jaffrey’s Invitation to Indian Cooking Food by The Delhi Walla - August 5, 2014August 5, 20143 Mostly The Subtle, Spicy Cooking of Delhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] On the cover, dressed in an aubergine and red Kanjeevaram silk sari with a golden border, Madhur Jaffrey looks squarely at the potential buyer, her slender arms resting daintily on a chopping board. This was her first book. An Invitation to Indian Cooking turned 40 in 2013. With more than 200 recipes, it introduced Delhi cuisine to the West. Subtitled Classic Indian Dishes — Mostly The Subtle, Spicy Cooking of Delhi, it was hailed by The New York Times as “the final word on the subject...perhaps the best Indian cookbook available in English”. “It’s a classic,” says Pushpesh Pant, the Delhi-based author of India: The Cookbook, named by
Atget’s Corner – 411-415, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - August 4, 2014August 4, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 411 to 415. 411. Mathura Road 412.
Mission Delhi – Vikash, Nelson Mandela Marg Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 3, 2014August 3, 20140 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is hard to be optimistic about this city. One late afternoon on south Delhi’s Nelson Mandela Marg, The Delhi Walla comes across a street food seller. He is stationed under a peepal tree. He is roasting bhuttas, the ears of corn, on a bed of red-hot coal. And he is a child. “What’s your age, sir?” I ask. “Barah (12).” “Where do you live?” “Near the traffic light.” “Where’s your mother?” “She works in the apartments.” “Papa?” “Carpenter.” “Why don't you go to school?” “I’m a 5th standard student.” “What do you want to become in life?” He doesn’t respond to this query. Instead, he says, “My classes start at 7 am. I return home at
Atget’s Corner – 406-410, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - August 2, 20140 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Each day five randomly picked pictures from this collection will be put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 401 to 405. 406. Daryaganj 407. Lado
Letter Leaks – Author Ananya Vajpeyi Secretly Tried to Get Dr Ambedkar’s ‘Annihilation of Caste’ introduced by Arundhati Roy Banned General by The Delhi Walla - August 1, 2014September 18, 201430 We've got that e-mail. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla is in possession of a most explosive e-mail concerning author and academic Ananya Vajpeyi – she attacks author Arundhati Roy, but secretly, slyly. Ms Vajpeyi is the Delhi-based author of Righteous Republic: The Political Foundations Of Modern India. Ms Roy is a Delhi-based writer whose works are followed by millions of readers worldwide including myself. In March 2014, Ms Roy published The Doctor and the Saint, a long introduction to anti-caste leader Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s iconic essay The Annihilation of Caste. Next, author Akshay Pathak criticised Ms Roy's essay on a public website in unusually harsh words. Next, Ms Vajpayei sent a confidential e-mail to Mr Pathak in which she tipped him