City Life – Five Comrades, Gurgaon Railway Station Life by The Delhi Walla - August 12, 20190 Band of brothers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a miserably humid afternoon and all the five guys are drenched in sweat. Pradeep, Sonu, Pintu, Naveen, and Parveen are lounging in an airy and less-crowded corner of Gurugram railway station in the Greater Delhi Region. Pradeep is smoking a beedi, so is Sonu, who has an eagle tattoo on his biceps. Naveen is concernedly examining his blistered hand. “It’s because of cement... tonight I’ll rub mustard oil.” All the men, in their 20s, are “palledars,” or labourers, who unload cement sacks from goods trains, the only tool at their disposal is a hooked metal tool called kundi. The poker-faced Parveen suddenly utters a line in a singsong tune: “Socha tha banege kalakar, ban
City Hangout – Best Reading Spot, Agrasen ki Baoli Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - August 12, 20190 Book lover's space. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One can’t run short of words in praise of Agrasen ki Baoli—a stone step well so beautiful that it has often appeared even in Bollywood movies. The well’s 14th century stone stairs plunge deep down against a backdrop of Connaught Place high-rises. Rather like watching two time zones come together. But the place ought to be also exploited for providing one of the most beautiful reading spots in our capital. As a great place for reading, the step well is lined on both sides with niches built along the well’s various levels. In the old days, heat-stricken citizens would survive brutal summer afternoons by taking shelter in the niches—with a breeze from well water
Mission Delhi – Manohar Fakir, Central Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 8, 20191 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This junk collector intensely feels the impact of climate change. Every day, for instance, the homeless man has to figure out where to get fresh water. Now taking a brief break on a Delhi pavement, Manohar Fakir points to the water bottle beside him. “I get my water almost every day from a shouchalay (public toilet).” He pauses. “But sometimes I secretly collect water from a cooler in a nearby big people’s club.” Living alone in the city, Mr Fakir says it’s difficult to wash himself every day. “I do it in the shouchalay, I do as much as I possibly can.” On this particular afternoon the humidity is dreadful. Staring vacantly
City Food – Alam Tea House, Kucha Chelan Food by The Delhi Walla - August 7, 20190 Tea oasis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Musty smelling. Pink walls. Toasted rusks generously smeared with Amul butter. And sweet milky chai. Alam Tea House feels like one of those Walled City chai khanas that must be a legacy landmark, the ownership staying within the family, the inheritance passing down from one generation to another. But that’s an illusion. The tea house opened only a year ago here in the congested Kucha Chelan neighbourhood. It was earlier located just a few doors away on the same street. That original chai khana— which was founded 5 years back--had bright blue paint peeling off the walls that seemed to reveal patches of moss-like greenery resembling continents. It was a deeply felt loss
City Hangout – Frangipani Island, Niti Marg Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - August 5, 20191 White stars. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Traffic islands seldom distinguish themselves as works of beauty. But then there’s that traffic island in Central Delhi that contains a grove of fulgent frangipani trees, laden with white flowers resembling stars. It’s as though some generous angel had decided to endow the treetops with Christmas decorations. The very air at this traffic island at Niti Marg is scented with the sweet perfume of the frangipanis. So powerful, that one feels slightly overwhelmed, like drinking a vintage wine. The dependable Wikipedia informs that the name frangipani comes from a 16th century marquis of Italian nobility who boasted to have invented a perfume derived from these flowers. The claim was false. The genus itself memorializes the 17th
Mission Delhi – Dilip Singh, Connaught Place Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 3, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Evening shoppers are gathering around this suited, hatted figure... in silver! Everyone’s looking puzzled. Is it a statue? Can’t be, the head is moving slightly. Could it be a real person? Indeed, people are leaving loose change on a handkerchief placed in front of the performer. Some are clicking his pictures, others are taking selfies with him. Every evening, Dilip Singh paints his face with silver paint in the Palika Bazaar rest room, changes into a suit painted in the same shade of silver. And then he walks out of the underground market, to stand like a statue for two hours in Connaught Place. Each day he turns up in a
City Season – Monet’s High-Rises, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon Nature by The Delhi Walla - August 3, 2019August 3, 20190 Sky views. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is swathed in light pink. Some bits are purple, and others are washed in shades of red and misty blue. This is Gurgaon on a rainy evening. A timely collusion of sunset hues and rain-heavy clouds has produced this magical colour palette. The best spots to view the rainy evening sky are located inside the Sector 53-54 station on the Rapid Metro line. The sights appear as unreal as picture postcards from some unattainable holiday destination. It’s like as if the great French painter Monet is interpreting this so-called Millennium City of Gurgaon through his beautifully rendered tremulous aesthetics. The ideal venues in the vast metro station to view this extraordinary artwork are
Mission Delhi – Ram Sewak, Near Turkman Gate Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - August 2, 2019August 2, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ram Sewak’s shoeshine establishment is so small that he can lay out all his tools on the footpath, carefully arrange them in order, and then pack them back into his bag—in five minutes flat. This morning, the gentleman is waiting for customers on an Old Delhi pavement near Turkman Gate. He is sitting barefoot, his pink flip-flops lying beside him. A closer inspection reveals this isn’t just another ordinary shoeshine stall. There’s this beautiful wood rack stacked with no less than five shoe brushes, while its lower shelf houses various types of shoe polishes. You don’t commonly see such a rack. “It’s called peti,” says Mr Sewak, who’s had the
City Life – Big City Friends, Gurgaon Life by The Delhi Walla - August 1, 2019August 1, 20190 Bond outside the village. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They say it’s difficult to strike a good friendship. Especially between work colleagues. (You just have to eavesdrop on the lunch-time gossip in your office canteen.) But Rishipal and Mangal vehemently deny having such a sinister shade to their dosti (friendship). “We are very good buddies,” says one. The other nods in quiet agreement. Both men are in their 20s and work as labourers in a Gurgaon bazaar in the Delhi region. Though they claim to be good friends, they first met each other only a week ago after landing a common assignment. “Seven days are enough to understand a man’s character,” says Rishipal. Turning to Mangal, he says, “Just look at his face... so
City Hangout – People Tree Bookshop, Connaught Place Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - August 1, 2019August 1, 20190 A ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ little store. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some bookshops exist outside the mainstream, and in which you’ll come across titles almost impossible to spot elsewhere. One such place exists in the heart of the very mainstream Connaught Place. But finding this curious shop requires some instructions. It’s tucked away in a back-corner of the People Tree boutique—which is tucked away on one side of the Regal Cinema Building in Central Delhi. (Right, got that?) The boutique itself is small and the bookstore so small that three browsers make it feel jam-packed. But maybe this just adds to the charm of a space stocked with books otherwise not easy to find. (If they happen to be in