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Month: September 2019

Mission Delhi – Munazir, Central Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Most Delhiites are familiar with the deep-throated cry of “kabadi walla kabadi walla!” (scrap collector, scrap collector!) as he walks along residential lanes. His cry is so penetrating that it drifts into the windows of surrounding houses, becoming an integral component of domestic sounds that linger in the home during the day. Curiously, the sound always tends to have the same pitch and modulation even if it’s not the same scrap collector. How is this possible? Scrap collector Munazir, in Central Delhi, smiles. “You learn how to do it. We’re taught by gurus to do it right.” And now, the sound of his conversational voice is totally different from what he

City Food – Mahadev-Parvati Chai Stall, Civil Lines, Gurgaon

by The Delhi Walla - 0

Portrait of a partnership. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Just another roadside tea stall, you might say. But it has a picturesque setting. Under a leafy khirni tree. Outside a deliciously decrepit bungalow. Across the road from a public garden. While the air is filled with the sounds of bird songs and peacock cries. The unnamed tea stall has been in Gurgaon’s genteel Civil Lines in the Greater Delhi Region for the last 20 years. It is run by a couple called Mahadev and Parvati—also the name of a much-loved couple in the pantheon of Hindu gods. Both husband and wife chuckle at their connection with the divinity. Mahadev says, “We didn’t marry each other because of our names.” The couple arrived in the

Mission Delhi – Sush Pal, Vaishali

by The Delhi Walla - 0

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] At first glance, this auto-rickshaw driver in Vaishali in the Greater Delhi Region looks like somebody out of the post-gender age—where it’s politically incorrect to define people based on being male or female. Peering at him in the rear-view mirror, it seems that Sush Pal has a moustache as well as a nose ring and lipsticked lips. But, well, it’s only an illusion. “I’m very much a man,” declares Mr Pal, slightly annoyed. The trick is the rear-view mirror itself, which has a female face imprinted onto it. Just a few strokes rendered by an auto decorator (yes, that too is a profession), and consisting of eyes, nose and lips.

City Landmark – Venus Digital Colour Lab & Studio, Jacobpura, Gurgaon

by The Delhi Walla - 0

The museum of visuals. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is a treasure house and nobody realises it. Perhaps not even the good owner himself. “There was a time when we would daily sell 20 cameras, 100 film rolls, and 100 film rolls accessories,” laments Prem Narang, owner of Venus Digital Colour Lab & Studio in Gurgaon’s Jacobpura in the Greater Delhi Region. And then the camera phone arrived, bringing with it the instantly gratifying custom of sharing photos on social media. The need to go to a photo studio became unnecessary. Everyone knows this story. You, however, don’t have to visit this city landmark to cultivate nostalgia for the old models of Yashica, Minolta and Pentax—the black and white cameras the studio

City Faith – Hazrat Nizamuddin’s Chilla, Central Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

A Sufi shelter. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s an escapist’s paradise. The chillah, or retreat, of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya is one of Delhi’s most serene monuments. Here, the city’s iconic 14th century sufi saint lived, meditated, and died. This was his khanqah—a monastery—where he also used to perform chilla-kashi, the spiritual practice in which a secluded sufi undergoes meditation for 40 days. Most of the crowd actually goes to Hazrat Nizamuddin’s far more famous dargah. But that’s only the place where he was buried. He lived here at the chillah for 65 years. In his time, the khanqah was in wilderness. Yamuna was a stone’s throw away. Down the centuries, the river’s course shifted further east; a railway line came up

Mission Delhi – Raju, Bapu Niwas

by The Delhi Walla - 0

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This small house is all he knows of MK Gandhi. “That takhat,” says Raju, pointing to a wooden bed, “is Gandhiji’s vishram-asan on which he would sleep.” Turning to a white mat on the floor, he explains that this was the spot where Gandhi would sit and meet the day’s visitors. Tucked within the premises of a beautiful Valmiki Temple on Delhi’s Mandir Marg, Bapu Niwas is touched with history. Here, Gandhi stayed from April 1, 1946, to June 1, 1947. Among a smattering of destinations marking his time in Delhi, this is perhaps the least known. The spacious quiet room has the sanctity of a museum. You can

City Landmark – Stein’s Architecture, India Habitat Centre

by The Delhi Walla - 0

A work of art. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s like a beautiful art mural shattered into pieces. This is actually the building’s multitudinous ceiling panels reflecting off the water puddles. It just stopped raining here at the India Habitat Centre. A cultured Delhiite, of course, will find it impossible to avoid the centre. Nowhere else in our Capital do we find such a huge array of art exhibits and music recitals, to say nothing of big-ticket book launches. If this wasn’t enough, the graceful building and gardens amount to a visit unto themselves. Indeed, one of these days you ought to visit the cultural complex for the sole purpose of examining its kicky architecture. It’s magical the way closed spaces are made

City Moment – A Friendly Surprise, Gurgaon

by The Delhi Walla - 0

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Can you survive daily life without friendship? Not having even a single friend? Prakash Swami can. “I have no friend,” he says in a friendly tone. In his early 40s, Mr Swami is a driver working for a bazaar shopkeeper “seven days a week, morning to night.” He informs matter-of-factly. Resting in a Gurgaon park in the Greater Delhi Region for a brief break from “load transferring” work, Mr Swami assures that he is not a cynical person without faith in humankind for dependable friendships. “Frankly, it is very difficult to make friends in big cities,” explains the Rajasthan native. “I’m not into dosti (friendship) line and I just don’t get time. I work like a horse during

City Food – Patate al Forno, Ajay Guest House, Paharganj

by The Delhi Walla - 1

So not Delhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is for aloo aficionados. This dish, for once, is not deep-fried in oil. The patate al forno (210 rupees)—Italian baked potato—at Ajay Guest House is a relief from Delhi’s native cooking. Served in Brown Bread Bakery, the hotel’s coffee shop in Paharganj’s Main Bazar, the potatoes are moderately brushed with olive oil, garnished with whole cloves of garlic, and flavoured with needle-like leaves of rosemary. The tubers are baked until the surface is golden-brown and crisp. They are then sliced into bite-sized pieces and served hot. The dish is untouched by spices and not greasy at all—so typical of our city’s delicacies such as aloo samosa, aloo tikki, and aloo gosht. If you

Mission Delhi – Kishen Pal, Central Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Kishen Pal is a determined citizen. Losing his arm in a 1990 accident, he was no longer able to work as a truck driver. Instead he found employment in a chemist shop until “retiring” at age 55. But Mr Pal refused to retire. “No, I never wanted to give up on work,” he avers. Now he’s a rickshaw puller in central Delhi,sweating just as mightily as everybody else in his line of business. He has, infact, removed his shirt to cope with the morning’s extreme humidity. “Lost my arm long ago and I try not to think of the accident, have almost forgotten about it.” He now wipes off the

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