City Life – A Room in the Red Light, GB Road Life by The Delhi Walla - June 30, 20170 The world of a sex worker. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The room is smaller than the kitchen of an average DDA (Delhi Development Authority) flat. The walls are painted pale purple. A small ceiling fan hangs down from the roof. A red plastic table cloth lies over a wooden stool, which has a bottle of coconut oil and a box filled with condoms. The Delhi Walla is in a room in the red light district of GB Road. There are five more rooms like this one in the establishment. GB Road, officially known as Shardhanand Marg, has about 20 buildings. Dark corridors with steep stone stairs lead to places like this one on the first and second floors. The shops downstairs
Atget’s Corner – 1036-1040, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 2017June 28, 20170 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 1,00,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Five randomly picked pictures from this collection are regularly put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 1036 to 1040. 1036. Beware, All of Us
City Life – Mirza Ghalib’s Love Signs, Ghalib Academy Life by The Delhi Walla - June 25, 2017June 25, 20170 Chairs of heart. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is evening and ghazal singer Athar Hussain Khan is rendering ‘Chupke Chupke’ to a packed audience. The Delhi Walla is at Ghalib Academy in Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti. The front row glitterati in the auditorium include Urdu poet and short story writer Nigar Azim. The great 19th century poet Mirza Ghalib, after whom the institution is named, is also present—as a painting. The balcony, however, is empty. In fact, it mostly remains without people even during the most coveted poetry sessions that are frequently hosted here to celebrate Ghalib’s legacy. I soon discover that my impression about the balcony was an illusion. These vacant seats are souvenirs to the memories of all
Photo Essay – Cooling Fan in Literature, Around Town Photo Essays by The Delhi Walla - June 22, 20170 Fan stories. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Before the AC, before the cooler, there was the fan. It is probably still hanging there in your room — look up and check. Or maybe you have a pedestal fan on the side table. These days, fans are rarely seen in modern offices; the air in these buildings remains cool and fresh through central air-conditioning systems instead. Even so, despite the increasing embrace of air-conditioners in our flats, fans continue to survive. This summer, The Delhi Walla travelled across Delhi looking for the whirling blades — on the streets, in shops, inside drawing rooms and, in one case, beside a tandoor. If a day comes when they become a rare sight, we can always have
City Library – The New York Times’s Ellen Barry’s Books, Jor Bagh Library by The Delhi Walla - June 21, 2017June 21, 20170 A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Never befriend a foreign correspondent. They always leave. Take Ellen Barry, the South Asia bureau chief of The New York Times. She arrived in our city four years ago and is now preparing to leave for London. The Delhi Walla reaches her Jor Bagh home one afternoon just on time, as she is beginning to discard the books she doesn’t plan to bring along to her new posting. Standing in front of a wall-length bookshelf in the drawing room, Ms Barry explains that her library lacks some of her most beloved books--she often ends up gifting friends the books she loves. Still, I snoop around her collection and spot a fair number of
City Hangout – Ramzan Nights, Old Delhi Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - June 19, 20170 The season's destination. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No secret is being leaked if The Delhi Walla tells you to head to Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid area one of these Ramzan nights. I go there every year in the holy month of fasting. There is a familiarity, and yet, there is a thrill — as if I'm experiencing this world for the first time. Since the eateries remain open until the morning prayers, it’s best to get there only after midnight. There is no knowing what you may come across. In my most recent excursion, I saw a man on a horse wading through an impossibly dense crowd. I also saw, amid sights of festive happiness, scene of absolutely wretched poverty.
Netherfield Ball – Spotting Laila Tyabji, Salma Sultan and Other Divas in Sadia Dehlvi’s Birthday Celebrations, Central Delhi City Parties by The Delhi Walla - June 17, 2017June 17, 20171 The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Society women never accumulate years. The solidity of this universal truth stands severely strained this evening. Author Sadia Dehlvi is celebrating her birthday. She claims she is turning sixty. The Delhi Walla has gained an invite into this intimate gathering of Ms Dehlvi's friends in a secluded Central Delhi bungalow. Former TV newsreader Salma Sultan's extravagant dress is lined with a lush golden lace. An elderly man bows his hefty frame before the beautiful woman and says he remembers watching her on TV during his childhood days. Ms Sultan utters no word and shows no expession. The notables among the select crowd includes dhrupad singer Wasifuddin Dagar, costume designer Himani Dehlvi, author Rakhshanda Jalil,
City Hangout – Rose Garden of England, Lodhi Gardens Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - June 16, 20170 Celebrating the English rose. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is possible to feel romantic about Delhi summer. Just hang out at the Rose Garden in Lodhi Gardens. This central Delhi park is famous for its tombs and trees, ducks and birds. Nobody so far has gone sentimental over its Rose Garden. “Few people beside the rose-fanciers bother to visit it,” said author Khushwant Singh of this secretive corner in The Sunset Club, a novel about longtime friends who meet every evening in Lodhi Gardens. Tucked on the park's north side, this is a fairy land of roses--from clichéd dark-red varieties to the most unearthly shades of white, which look like snow-flakes. The flowerbeds spread out like rays of sun with a
Atget’s Corner – 1031-1035, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - June 14, 20170 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 1,00,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Five randomly picked pictures from this collection are regularly put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 1031 to 1035. 1031. Hotel Taj Palace 1032. Chatta
Julia Child in Delhi – Author Rakshanda Jalil’s Marvellous Cook Bishen Singh Cooks His Famous Homely Poha, Central Delhi Julia Child's Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 9, 20172 The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Author Rakhshanda Jalil is famous for translating classic Urdu novels into English and for her writings on Delhi’s monuments. Even so, it is gross injustice to this beautiful woman that nobody knows her sparkling abilities as a baker—she makes absolutely fabulous baked Christmas pudding and fettuccini bread. But did The Delhi Walla tell you of her frail, beautiful mother Mehjabeen, who retired years ago as a librarian in Delhi Public School (Mathura Road branch) and is still fondly remembered by generations of ex-DPS students. There is barely any dish that the soft-spoken Mehjabeen doesn’t make brilliantly, and her khichda—a dish of dal and meat usually made in Muharram-is to