City Landmark – Three Delhi Friends, Old Connaught Place
A Capital ritual. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is the story of three men in their mid-80s who meet every Sunday in Connaught Place for coffee. The rendezvous always lasts 2 hours, starting 10.30am. The friends have…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Supriya Chatterjee, Gurgaon
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…
City Food – Migrant’s Meal, Tagore Road
By the homeless, for the homeless. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s 9pm. The cart is barely visible in the dark. But the stack of lukewarm puris sits on it like a beacon, illuminated by the gas lamp….
City Book – Nobody Can Love You More, First Paperback Edition
On Delhi’s red light district. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Hot off the press. In February 2014, Penguin Books India published the first paperback edition of Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District, a book by The…
City Landmark – Ram Chander & Sons, Connaught Place
India’s oldest toy store. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The pillars outside the corridor have been repainted. The adjacent Odeon Cinema has been taken over by a multiplex chain. Elsewhere, most familiar landmarks have given way to junk…
City Travel – Views of Paris, Around Town
Made in France. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In Paris, The Delhi Walla spent many many hours in streets, gardens, bookstores, restaurants and graveyards. I also visited landmarks associated with the life and work of novelist Marcel Proust….
Delhi Proustians – Cemetery of Montparnasse, Paris
Searching for Proust’s people. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is the address of a number of people who were related to novelist Marcel Proust. The Delhi Walla is in the cemetery of Montparnasse, on the left bank…
City Faith – Hazrat Sarmad Shaheed’s Dargah, Near Jama Masjid
Old Delhi’s naked fakir. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Outside: a confusion of shoppers, beggars, biryani stalls and goats. Inside: stillness. Sandwiched between the imposing Jama Masjid and the chaotic Meena Bazaar, the Sufi shrine of Hazrat Sarmad…
City Travel – Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris
The heart of France. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Its bell tower is the oldest in the French capital. The Delhi Walla is in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, one of the oldest churches of Paris. The ancient abbey has been standing…
City Hangout – Sunday Used-Book Bazar, Daryaganj
Delhi’s biggest second-hand book market. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are two kinds of muggles in Delhi. Those who have been to the weekly used-book bazar at Daryaganj and those who haven’t. The first group doesn’t want…
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