City List – The Indian Blood in William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns, On a Firangi’s Delhi Book
Native influences. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla knows of many Delhiwallas who first discovered the beauties of their city through William Dalrymple’s travel book City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi. There are also a…
City Travel – Taj Hotel, Ajmer
The best Taj property. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is called the Taj Hotel but it does not belong to the famous Taj Group of Hotels. Actually, it is not a hotel, just an eatery. And it…
City Faith – Ravan is Alive, Vasundhara Valley Apartments
The immortal life of the king of Lanka. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is the morning after Dusshera. The king of Lanka is again dead. Ravan was burned last night in the lawns of Vasundhara Valley Apartment,…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Shreya Roy, Omaha, USA
The 105th death. [Text by Shreya Roy; photo by Bodhisattwa Mondal] Shreya Roy was found dead on her freshly scrubbed bathroom floor. For her young age of 24, Ms Roy thought too much about clean bathrooms, clean white bed-sheets and…
City Life – Refugee Status, Majnu ka Tila
Live from Lhasa. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The way home may not be the way back. Tenzin Kunchok, 34, has never set foot in her homeland. “Maybe someday,” says Ms Kunchok, who co-runs a travel agency in…
City Landmark – Nini KD Singh’s The Bookshop, Jor Bagh Market & Khan Market
The portrait of a marriage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A lone customer steps in. Miles Davis is gently filling the hushed corners. The doorman stands erect at his post in a brown safari suit, and an elegant…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Anu Chopra, Ahmadabad
The 104th death. [Text and photo by Anu Chopra] Anu Chopra died of a major heart attack at her poker table in Ahmadabad, Gujarat. The evening had started brilliantly. Ms Chopra was winning one round after another. Eventually, she had…
City Monument – An Obscure Lodhi Tomb, Lado Sarai
The queen of the evening. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nobody knows who is buried here. It is not grand, but it is extremely exquisite. And you will see no tourists, no lovers, so typical of Delhi’s more…
City Style – The Message of the Dresses, India Fashion Week, Okhla
Searching for the stylish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All of these costumed people are looking awe-inspiring. Some look like the photo spreads of Vogue Paris. The Delhi Walla is in the National Small Industries Corporation Grounds in…
The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Chandan Singh, b. Tehri, Uttarakhand, 1930
Author Khushwant Singh’s longtime cook. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Chandan Singh, 85, has a kind of sculpted face that won’t look out of place in a room filled with death masks of Roman emperors who had lived…
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