City Food – Green Chilli Pakoras, Gurgaon Railway Station Food by The Delhi Walla - August 20, 2019August 20, 20190 Hot and delicious. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a universally acknowledged truth that food always looks tastier than it truly is to hungry passengers in railway stations waiting for their expresses and mails. So one must consider recommendations about railway station snacks with a pinch of salt, or in this case, with a fistful of green chillies. A snack cart in the National Capital Region’s Gurgaon railway station rustles out the most punchy green chilli pakoras. Ever. They are so fiery that they almost make you sweat with their heat. They keep you on a delicate borderline between enjoying the taste and feeling your brains about to blow out of your head. Or could this taste be a deception?
Mission Delhi – Shabana Banu, Central Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 19, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In an instant, her life changed forever. “My son, my only son, is dead,” says Shabana Banu, who lives on a Central Delhi footpath. Her son, Arif, was sleeping on the road divider when a speeding car ran over him about a month ago. A part-time dishwasher, the 25-year-old leaves behind his wife and four small children, apart from his mother. Ms Banu, 55, remembers that “my daughter-in-law woke me up to inform about the haadsa (tragedy) and we together crossed the road… he was lying motionless.” A native of Hyderabad, Ms Banu was a young widow when she arrived in Delhi years ago, together with her little boy. Her eyes
City Food – Longtime Golgappas, Radhe Radhe Chaat Stall Food by The Delhi Walla - August 18, 20190 Explosions of joy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Just a few years back it was a wildly popular chaat stall, but without a name. Success builds on success. No longer a cart on the pavement, the Radhe Radhe chaat stall is a South Extension II landmark, with uniformed staffers and loyal customers by the drove. “Our golgappas still remain the most popular,” says owner Ganga Prasad Rajput. He took over the establishment about 15 years ago following the previous owner’s return to his home village. After running the stall for two decades, he had gotten fed up with city life. The current owner has also set up a Kathi Kebab stall just beside the snack stall, “but it’s not called Radhe Radhe
Mission Delhi – Nanku, North Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 17, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nanku is a man of few possessions. A daily-wage labourer in north Delhi, his most visible elements of private property has to be his silver color chain and his earring. “But I won’t care if they get lost or stolen,” he mutters. “My most precious items are in fact my sandals. In his 30s, the gentleman is, however, barefoot at this time in the morning. “This is because I keep them safe for the night in a cigarette seller’s stall.” Nanku lives alone in the city. He sleeps on the footpath here and can’t afford to keep his sandal by his side “because anybody can lift them while I’m
Home Sweet Home – A Window View, Opposite Jama Masjid Delhi Homes by The Delhi Walla - August 16, 20190 A prized window. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] At first glance this room seems a bit the worse for wear. Creaky door. Fading paintwork on the walls. So what? The glass window in this room looks straight out onto the iconic Jama Masjid mosque, making it one of Delhi’s most prized private views. Now, of course, there are prized windows elsewhere in Delhi. Those expensive Nizamuddin East apartments, for instance, offer breathtaking views of Humayun’s Tomb. But this window is somehow more appealing, with extremely close proximity to the grand Mughal-era mosque where you can spot sightseers sitting on its stone stairs. Tenants of prized rooms like this tend to have every aspect of the space focused toward that view. Not so in the
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Tanmayee Thakur, Bombay Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - August 15, 2019August 15, 20190 The 240th death. [Text and photos sent by Tanmayee Thakur] Tanmayee Thakur had mastered all forms of delicate living by 22. Tracing her fingers on the silhouettes of clouds, pressing the petals of sunflowers between her lips, breaking open the sap of fruits and consuming their seeds whole. Ms Thakur had been exhumed by the brittle divorce of her parents. But she continued to make love to life. She ate cotton candy under lime-green trees, she made love in aubergine parks, she held wounded birds close to her heart. The circumstances of her death remain mysterious. Her father opened the door to her room one morning, to find her gone. There was no blood, no weapon, no body. It was as though
City Faith – A Sacred Tree, Shiv Shani Temple, Basant Lok Faith by The Delhi Walla - August 14, 20190 A leafy tree that is also worshiped. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru once famously declared that dams were the new temples of modern India. But now, with climate change, we might also to regard trees as our temples as well. Particularly those that somehow survive and thrive in smoggy cities like ours. Helping to improve air quality by absorbing carbon. Happily, the capital has its share of trees nestled on the grounds of temples and mosques and such sacred spaces. We even have mosques named after trees, like Amrood Wali Masjid in Old Delhi. Some city trees are breathtaking, real mind-stoppers. Take this gorgeous Peepal tree at Shiv Shani temple in south Delhi’s Basant Lok. Its
City Walk – Chirag Delhi Village, South Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - August 14, 2019August 14, 20191 A small town stroll. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ladies standing by a corner, murmuring to each other in low voices. Idle shopkeepers silently watching the street life outside. Small town vibes are evocative of slow living, letting one experience the passing of time so intimately that it is almost like touching the very minutes with one’s bare hands. Delhi is blessed in having neighborhoods with the character of small hamlets. An aimless walk in Chirag Delhi village illustrates this point most vividly. This afternoon the South Delhi neighborhood seems withdrawn into a self-willed isolation. As if it had nothing to do with the rest of the fast busy metropolis it is part of. A grocery down a street called Main Bazaar, near the
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Israil, Jacobpura, Gurgaon Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 13, 2019August 13, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Furiously transforming cities like Gurgaon in the Greater Delhi Region are full of promises and draw hopefuls from across the country who want to build a better future than the unsatisfying present they have in their towns and villages. Such migrants usually happen to be young. But Muhammed Israil, a manager-cum-tailor in a small single-counter clothing establishment, is an exception. He is 64 and arrived in the so-called Futuristic City about a decade ago. He was well into his 50s. “One has problems and compulsions that obliges one to do unlikely things,” he says, adding, “Otherwise, in UP, who would go all the way to Gurgaon in search of
City Monument – Isa Khan’s Mausoleum, Humayun’s Tomb Complex Monuments by The Delhi Walla - August 13, 2019August 13, 20190 Little gem. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Poor Isa Khan! Such a beautiful tomb the little-known nobleman built for himself long before his death and so miraculously it has survived the passage of centuries. But, he had the misfortune of Mughal Emperor Humayun’s 16th century tomb being built close to his. And today, Isa Khan’s tomb is viewed as one of the many miscellaneous monuments within the sprawling Humayun tomb complex. Make no mistake, it lies close to the ticketed entrance, and people do visit the monument but the greater crowd goes straight to... you know where. The ideal way to appreciate Isa Khan’s tomb is to make a special trip to the Humayun tomb complex, spend hours in this tomb alone,