City Monument – Chor Minar, Hauz Khas Enclave Monuments by The Delhi Walla - February 28, 20180 Terrors of the past. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Right here in the terribly genteel Hauz Khas Enclave stands an ancient tower mainly noted for cruelty beyond the unspeakable. But The Delhi Walla will speak of it anyway. Hundreds of years ago those 225 holes in the Chor Minar displayed the severed heads of thieves. The idea cooked up by Khilji sultans was to serve stern notice to the surrounding community riddled with crime. I have no idea whether that purpose was served. Legend also tells us that when 8,000 Mongol troops were beheaded, their heads were piled in large mounds next to the Minar. Built around 1300, the monument is now consigned to the center of a traffic roundabout that usually remains quiet
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Vishab Thappa, Jammu Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 27, 20180 The 183rd death. [Text and photos sent by Vishab Thappa] They found him dead with a book of short stories by Sadat Hasan Manto on his chest. Vishab Thappa's body was cold when they touched him. He was reading Thanda Gosht before dying, it seems. Vishab Thappa, the writer of poems and some short stories left the word on the same day as he came. Sunday. He was born in Jammu on a chilly morning of December the fifth, blue with cold and he died in a story, far far away from home, in a hot April afternoon, blue with cold. He is survived by his scattered shards in his room, a wrist watch which has stopped at 6:45, a fountain pen, a
City Hangout – Best Stalls, Daryaganj’s Sunday Book Bazaar Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - February 25, 20180 Bibliophile's paradise. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Imagine Agra without the Taj. Well, a similar horror was recently experienced by Delhi’s booklovers for whom their city’s most cherished landmark is arguably the secondhand book bazaar held every Sunday in Daryaganj. Four weeks passed and the market didn’t open—ostensibly because of security complications arising out of the Republic Day parade and the ASEAN Summit. To great relief, the market finally reopened. The place lives. And yet, The Delhi Walla is suddenly confronted with the reality that what I had taken for granted might not last forever. So, when its Sunday, I urge you to spend some quality hours there. It’s a sight to see the footpath disappearing under the ‘maal’. The ‘maal‘ being the
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Divya Patpatia, Anand Vihar Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 23, 20180 The 182nd death. [Text and photos sent by Divya Patpatia] Divya Patpatia, a writer, mother, teacher, compulsive storyteller, and lawyer died at the age of 70, after dinner on her wedding anniversary. She died choking of excessive laughter, her lungs; victims of years of asthma couldn’t take being mocked by her happiness anymore. She died in the arms of her husband, forcefully reading to him lines from The Little Prince, her beloved companion of a lonely childhood in scary cantonments, also a gift to her husband as a teenager. She had got rid of the self-created limitations on her happiness convincing herself she wasn’t good enough. Memories of childhood abuse and fear had faded. She had worn all the sarees her
City Landmark – Metro Footbridge, Laxmi Nagar Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - February 22, 20180 The route to aspirations. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s no secret that Delhi can never get its fill of foot bridges. They’re all over the place, aren’t they? And specifically at Metro stations, where these spans quickly assume a character of their own. That long footbridge at Old Faridabad, for instance, has an escapist feel to it, as though the city is far, far away. Then, we have the bridge in east Delhi spanning the dreadfully clogged Vikas Marg at Laxmi Nagar Metro station. Here, in mid-afternoon, young romantics are huddled by the railings; while at some distance, three teenage girls furtively smoke a cigarette. But that’s not what this particular bridge is really all about. Its overall leitmotif is strictly commercial. All
City Food – Shambhu Nath’s Oriya Snacks, Hauz Khas Road Food by The Delhi Walla - February 21, 20181 The faraway flavour. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Even if you choose the superfast Purushottam Express it’ll take you a good two nights and one day from Delhi to reach the great Jagannath Temple of Puri in Odisha. Happily, there’s a shortcut. There’s another Jagannath Mandir right here on the Hauz Khas village road in South Delhi. And when you pop around on any given evening you might want to give the nearby snack stall a try for a truly authentic taste of Orissa. Just across the road from the temple, its super-crisp vadas are served a gravy dish of safed matar (white peas), along with unpeeled potatoes—just the way they do in Orissa--you’ll rarely spot this preparation elsewhere in this
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Q aka Srivatsan Manivannan, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 20, 20180 The 181st death. [Text and photos sent by Srivatsan Manivannan] I died. Death pleases me. I speak from the romantic afterlife, enjoying this divorce from the responsibilities of love. There exists no greater pain than of a life chained to agape - disgusting, heavy "divine" love. Love that removes hope from your sight and leaves you to settle in comfort; a love that is home. It is dangerous to spend too much time at home. You forget true desire, you forget desperation, the primary incentive for the heart. My name was an alphabet – Q. Not many people used it. I called myself ‘they’. I had no gender, my identity was always formed in opposition. I was kind because I was
Mission Delhi – Abdul Wajid, Todarmal Lane Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - February 19, 20180 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are different ways of owning a piece of the city, The Delhi Walla realises, while walking with Abdul Wajid — a 19-year-old college student — on Central Delhi’s Todarmal Lane. This is such a quiet place that it’s difficult to believe that the noisy Bengali Market is just a turning away. The lane’s bungalows with their closed gates and guard cabins add to the hushed atmosphere. The little park with its see-saws and swings is tucked on one side. It’s empty at the moment. And there is no one but us to see the evening sunlight so softly scattering through the tree leaves. “This road is very special,” says
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Taruna Khatri, Jodhpur Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 19, 2018February 19, 20180 The 180th death. [Text and photos sent by Taruna Khatri] She often looked at herself in the mirror and wondered if anyone knew she was a troubled child. Taruna Khatri, obnoxious and overly emotional, to be 21 in a week, died during a college trip. An architecture student (but a writer at heart), she slipped and drowned into the Ganga on Panchganga Ghat in Banaras while lighting a diya floating on the river. Ms Khatri passed away devoid of love, touch, connection and happiness. She went away not having achieved much, accounting to the perpetual state of frustration she dwelt in. Her final days were those of extreme dissatisfaction with herself and with everybody she knew. 'Detached' was her first
Julia Child in Delhi – Surinder Kumar Makes UP’s Matar ki Daal, Safdarjung Enclave Julia Child's Delhi by The Delhi Walla - February 17, 2018January 27, 20210 The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Theatre person and former Doordarshan news reader Sunit Tandon has one of the largest collections of western classical music CDs in Delhi. Not many know, until now, that he also has one of the city’s best home cooks specializing in the authentic cuisine of Uttar Pradesh (UP). If you ever plan a theft in Mr Tandon’s apartment in Safdarjung Enclave, skip his CDs and books and even the beautiful drawing room piano. Just steal the quiet Surinder Kumar. This gentleman will make you the city’s best UP-style arhar dal (with just that rumor-like hint of heeng). His sukhe aloo ki subzi is so delciously addictive you would like