The Biographical Dictionary of Delhi – Gravedigger Allah Hu, b. Piplauti Village, 1930-2016
The definitive directory of great Delhiites. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was always seen in a green kurta, this lean man with deep-set eyes and a long beard. Allah Hu was a gravedigger at the Batla House…
City Style – A Woman from Kashmir, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
Searching for the stylish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She looked like the cover picture of a yellowing National Geographic magazine. One evening The Delhi Walla saw a woman in an eatery in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. She was…
The Delhi Proustians – Benoît Puttemans of Sotheby’s Paris Talks to The Delhi Walla on the Great Proust Auction
On Sotheby’s auction of Proust memorabilia. [By Mayank Austen Soofi; photo given by Sotheby’s / art digital studio] Imagine that your lover’s most intimate letters and private photographs are sold away. This is probably what the most devoted readers of…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Neha Taneja, Pusa Road
The 129th death. [Text by Neha Taneja; photo by Amit Taneja] It was raining hard. The earth was red and the air was filled with the fragrance of the wet soil. This was Neha Taneja’s last trip to the hills…
100 Things to Do Before You Quit Delhi – Stand Under Amaltas Trees at Midnight, Around Town
The perfect Delhi experience. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is blank. The road is empty. And the yellow flowers of the Amaltas are looking like visitors from some other world. As part of The Delhi Walla’s…
City Library – Dayanita Singh’s Books, Vasant Vihar
A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are bookshelves everywhere, even outside, just beside the door. One afternoon, The Delhi Walla steps inside Dayanita Singh’s studio. The internationally acclaimed author-photographer’s pad in south Delhi’s Vasant Vihar…
Photo Essay – Sakina Mehta’s Material Memories of Artist Tyeb Mehta, Greater Kailash-I
A wife’s legacy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The house is like a museum celebrating the life of Tyeb Mehta, one of contemporary India’s greatest painters. One afternoon The Delhi Walla entered the home of Sakina Mehta, the…
Home Sweet Home – Chandiwali Haveli, Katra Khushal Rai
A broken house. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The centuries-old Chandiwali Haveli in Old Delhi’s Katra Khushal Rai neighborhood is an extraordinary mansion. Though dilapidated, it is home to many families and is supremely picturesque. A beautiful door…
Netherfield Ball – The Ordeal of the Ambassador’s Beautiful Partner at the Israel National Day Celebrations, ITC Maurya Hotel
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A blue shade covered her bare shoulders. The delicate cloth languidly fell over her red gown. And her blue necklace resembled a late-night dream. The Israeli ambassador’s beautiful partner, the…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Preeti Saini, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
The 128th death. [Text by Preeti Saini; photo by Srija Sharma] She never looked nice. Preeti Saini looked like an art work, and art wasn’t supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something. Nobody was able…
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