City Monument – Jahaz Mahal, Mehrauli Monuments by The Delhi Walla - July 15, 20151 Marooned palace. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every year after the monsoons, this ravaged monument whose name means “ship palace” hosts music, dance and acting. It becomes the focal point of cultural activities marking Phoolwalon ki Sair, a festival in which floral tributes are paid to two premier Hindu and Muslim shrines in Mehrauli, a south Delhi region filled with monuments of almost every signifiant historical timeline. Some historians say Jahaz Mahal, built during the Lodhi period (1452-1526), was a mosque. Some think it was the residence of a holy man. Others believe it to be a serai (inn) that took in visiting pilgrims. Adjacent to Hauz-e-Shamsi, a water tank built by Sultan Iltumish, it could also have been a pleasure palace,
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pallavi Pundir, Dehradun Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 15, 2015July 15, 20150 The 89th death. [Text by Pallavi Pundir; photo by DN] And just like that, Pallavi Pundir--a magnanimous friend, an unpredictable daughter and a malicious sister--has died. It wasn't like her to pen her own obituary, for introspection was the least of her virtues. Yet, as if forewarned, she scribbled some notes just a few days before her death for those around her to put together in no specific order. There isn’t much to learn about her. She desperately wanted to be 70 years old so that her cold apathy towards the world would be generally disregarded or tediously accepted. She dreamt of living in a secluded hilly village with no public transport just so she would utilise her rusty Ladybird. Then there was