City Monument – The Church of Epiphany, Civil Lines, Gurgaon Monuments by The Delhi Walla - June 30, 20180 A Colonial-era relic. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Certainly not, you can’t miss tomorrow’s service! What would people say? Especially Mrs Bennet and her five daughters, always so eager to gossip. The Church of Epiphany in Gurgaon is strongly evocative of those local parish churches in rural England that one imagines must be frequented by the kind of people who populate Jane Austen’s drawing room novels. Tucked in a corner of the quiet Civil Lines, the church celebrated its 150th anniversary in January last year. It was consecrated in 1866 by the Bishop of Calcutta for a handful of British officers serving in the district during that time—reveals a brief history inscribed in the church garden. A walk around the building gently unfolds
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Mohit Jain aka Rumi, Balbir Nagar Extension Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - June 29, 20181 The 201st death. [Text and photos sent by Mohit Jain] Dearest bookshelf, We have shared a bond so pristine and intimate. It was the most intimate moment that I spent with you. Your presence evoked a sense of belonging in my otherwise empty life. Each time, I felt alone, you have been a constant companion to fill in the lacks of my life. Without you, I could not have imagined pulling off this life. Dear mom and dad, I hope you did not cry when I died and I hope my funeral to be a celebration and not to be a crowd of suffering and mourning people. I wish none of you shed any tears. Dear friends, I requested that each of you bring
City Walk – Defence Colony Bylanes, South Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - June 28, 2018June 28, 20180 A stroll into a well-heeled neighborhood. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some localities boldly exhibit their life out into their bylanes, like the Old Gupta Colony in north Delhi. There you see ladies chatting on the street, grocers gossiping with barbers, kids on bicycles, and all sorts of domestic sounds streaming out from windows. Defence Colony in south Delhi is less showy. God knows it must have its share of boisterous life but that strictly stays within its bungalows and apartments—each as impenetrable as a citadel. A purposeless walk through DefCol, however, reveals its serene beauty, including cats slinking behind hooded cars and dogs snoozing under the guard cabins. Start the walk from the traffic circle tucked next to the DefCol Market.
Mission Delhi – Maria Wali, Mehediyan Qabristan Graveyard Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 27, 20180 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is 21 and set to make history. Maria Wali, an English Honours student in Delhi University and a “trained dialysis technician”, will become the first woman mutawalli, a custodian, of the Jamia Rahimia Dargah Hazrat Imam Shah Waliullah Mohaddis Dehlvi, a madrasa in Central Delhi. “My responsibilities shall include the (Islamic) seminary’s day to day administration... I’ll be like a caretaker... but you I have already done a bit of that when I would help Papa,” she says standing on the roof of her home, which is just next to the madrasa. Ms Wali’s father, Wali Muhammed, passed away early this month following a prolonged illness. He was
Julia Child in Delhi – Nidhi Rishi Cooks Her Fake Omelette, Raj Nagar, Ghaziabad Julia Child's Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 25, 2018June 25, 20181 The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the age of fake news, here’s fake omelette for you. (Disclaimer: it’s not as easy to rustle up as fake news) Nidhi Rishi’s kitchen in Ghaziabad’s Raj Nagar is unusually big—as spacious as any respectable Delhi drawing room. But then besides being a homemaker, Ms Rishi, 61, is also an unusually passionate cook. Everything that’s laid out on her dining table almost always happens to be home-made including the refreshing plum sherbet she has offered to her guest this steaming afternoon. Ms Rishi conducts cooking classes, too, and dabbles in a variety of cuisines from Chinese to Continental. Perhaps her instinctive flair for experimenting with a diverse range of
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Maham Singh, Phagwara, Punjab Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - June 24, 2018June 24, 20180 The 200th death. [Text and photos sent by Maham Singh] In the glibs of this beautiful world, I annihilate myself today... Tell me oh women of castles that you need my hair to hold on to the senses of them wandering riches Tell me oh envy eyes that you want my eyes to behold my beloved the way I did. Tell me you the best florist that you need my nose to get the fragrance of the exotic flowers my love showered
City Hangout – Cyberwalks, DLF Cybercity Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - June 22, 2018June 22, 20180 An unusual bridge. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The soaring hills of concrete look like a Hindu Kush range of their own kind, their walls glinting under the sunlight like snow-capped mountain summits. A highrise’s window cleaners, harnessed to hanging trolleys, are looking like mountaineers on way to the peak. Housing the headquarters of some of the most prestigious corporations, the 12-acre DLF Cybercity seems to be an ambitious first draft of Gurgaon’s futuristic optimism. Owning an office address here might be the pinnacle of professional triumph, but the most atmospheric way to soak in the skyline is by simply taking a stroll in one of the three aspirationally-named ‘Cyberwalks’—the landscaped footbridges built over the busy road. Here the surrounding tall
Mission Delhi – Jyotika Bhaskar, Sector 53, Gurgaon Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - June 20, 2018June 27, 20181 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She has never experienced serious problems adapting to the super-sprawl of a residential complex. As an early riser, Jyotika Bhaskar is likely to spend the first couple of hours on her drawing room settee sipping flavoured water zeera paani, laung paani—and planning the day. She’ll often hang out in town with friends. Or perhaps take in the local multiplex on her own. “I’ve finally learned to enjoy my own company!” declares the 52-year-old. When she first moved into the complex in Sector 53, Gurgaon, back in 2006, “the neighbours told me I didn’t look like a divorcee!” Passing over a plate of ham sandwiches, she reflects: “What was I
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Jonaki Ray, Chirag Enclave City Poetry by The Delhi Walla - June 18, 2018June 18, 20180 Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She was one of the 12 girls doing Masters in Chemistry in IIT Kanpur in a batch of 320 guys. Next, she went to the US for a Masters in Computer Science at the University of Illinois. And despite or perhaps because of such accomplishments, Jonaki Ray, today, is a poet. Her newest poem was recently short-listed in an international poetry contest and was published by Southword Journal, an online literary magazine based in Ireland. “Anybody who knows me now knows that I’m not a scientist type,” she laughs, here at her apartment in South Delhi’s Chirag Enclave. “I was always a reader... I would also write very often and that’s how poems
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Aakansha Srivastava, Lucknow Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - June 16, 2018June 16, 20180 The 199th death. [Text and photos sent by Aakansha Srivastava] Late nights of drenching deep in literature too old for her age and long hours of brooding over the same brought the inevitable self-destruction of Aakansha Srivastava’s mind, as often concluded by the nearby villagers who last saw her walking down the corn fields--a pale ghostly figure, finally being absorbed by the fog. Her dog, an old yet no less majestic Samoyed followed her steps--his final act of devotion. Her meticulousness led her into being painfully aware of the vices of the world and her mind, as they say, was often disturbed by her inability to make a difference. In the years nearing her death, she zoned out, more often than normal and sighed