Netherfield Ball – Zac O’Yeah’s Book Reception, Swedish Ambassador’s Residence, Nyaya Marg
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] More than one person in the party declared that the man in the black hat looked like Sir Elton John. But the pop icon spoke English in a pucca Indian…
City Moment – Remembering Qawwal and Scholar Meraj Ahmed Nizami at His Grave, Panj Peeran Qabristan
The remarkable Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The grave is unevenly covered with red roses. The Delhi Walla is standing by the resting place of Meraj Ahmed Nizami in Panj Peeran Qabristan. The patriarch of Nizami…
City Moment – Post-Performance Shyness, Galli Shiv Prasad Master
The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They were dancing to a Hindi film song from the 1980s–Mukka la muqabla laila. One night The Delhi Walla was in Galli Shiv Prasad Master, a dead-end street in…
Delhi Metro – The Wenger’s Man, Blue Line
Life in the Metro. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] 9 pm, Saturday night. The Delhi Walla is on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro. The train halts at Mandi House. The platform is almost empty. Only one…
The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Raghu Rai, b. Jhang, Pre-Partition Punjab, 1942
India’s great photographer.[ Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This year, Raghu Rai completed 50 years of photography. In December, Aleph India will publish his book Picturing Time: The Greatest Photographs of Raghu Rai. Born in Jhang village in…
City Style – The Man with the Peacock Feather, Urdu Bazaar
Searching for the stylish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His eyes were underlined strongly with black kaajal. His get-up included a white skullcap, and a necklace of green plastic beads. He had one leg; one of his two…
City Monument – William Daniell’s Drawings of Mughal Delhi, Around Town
Old views of an old city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Camels wandering around Humayun’s Tomb, an elephant standing by the mausoleum of Safdarjung, and deserted mansions in Old Delhi. Every place looks so quiet and serene, especially…
Photo Essay – The Night of the Lights, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah
Colors of Sufism. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Orange, purple and green. These were the colors of that magical night. The Delhi Walla was in the Dargah of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The shrine’s courtyard is always…
Mission Delhi – Sufi the Cat, Mehrauli
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Thumri singer is seated on her writing chair. The cat is seated on the Thumri singer’s lap. The Delhi Walla is in Vidya Rao’s…
100 Things to Do Before You Quit Delhi – Sky & People Watching, Indian Coffee House
The perfect Delhi experience. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky always changes its color. It’s just that many of us don’t ever notice it. There are so many things to do when you live in a big city like…
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