City Hangout – Ashok Kumar’s Onion-Scented Tea Stall, Gurgaon Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - September 8, 2019September 8, 20190 House of tea. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The idea of an onion-scented chai might not appeal to all, but it really is delicious. And, for the record, the chai doesn’t taste of onion. The unnamed tea stall near old Gurgaon’s Budheshwar Temple in the Greater Delhi Region actually clings to an onion warehouse. The tiny establishment has been here for five years and is run by the charming Ashok Kumar, who has a tendency to promptly remind his customers that he shares his name with a Hindi cinema legend. The gentleman modestly adds that his town lies between the holy cities of Kashi and Prayagraj, in UP—“I’m from a place where Goddess Sita ji went under the earth.” The stall’s white
Home Sweet Home – Impermanent Housing, Vasundhara Delhi Homes by The Delhi Walla - September 7, 20190 Fleeting dwellings. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Vasundhara in Ghaziabad in the Greater Delhi Region is a cluster of residential towers. But this particular housing is too modest. The four homes share a common roof, and this roof is just a long sheet of tin supported on planks of plywood. The tin is made to lean against the concrete wall of an apartment building. And this morning the inhabitants—they are daily wage labourers—are lounging outside their houses. The entrance to each home is curtained by empty rice sacks. The kitchens are outside in the open and consist of earthen stoves. A light blue plastic is spread over the tin roof as protection from the rain. The covering is littered with all sorts
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Julia Julley’s Butterfly, Varna, Bulgaria Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - September 7, 20191 The 244th death. [Text and photo sent by Julia Julley] Nymph in yellow. She lived among flowers and died among flowers. She clearly remembered her past life as a Cinderella - crawling around in an uncomely green rag. Then came the warm embrace of the Magic Pod, which turned her into the Princess she gladly identified with. She chose the colour of her new garb after the Sun, the most mighty and fascinating of all living beings. The rest of her new life was all meadows and fields and grasslands, but most of all flowers. A sequence of endless frolicking, riding the winds and basking in the sunshine. She lived in an era when it was impossible to tell apart a fairy
City Landmark – Everest Tailors, Rajiv Nagar, Gurgaon Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - September 7, 20190 The idea of home. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Millennium City of Gurgaon in the Greater Delhi Region is hundreds of miles away from Nepal, and the closest thing to Kathmandu you can find here might be the dusty neighbourhood of Rajiv Nagar. Indeed, it is home to a vast populace of Nepali immigrants. Every third shop on the main lane advertises swift money transfers to that country. And then there is Everest Tailors. What must the local Nepalis think on chancing upon a name that is the pride of their motherland? Tailor Farukh Azam, the modest establishment’s owner and a “specialist in gents wear”, deeply reflects upon this question, and responds after a long pause, “Yes, my shop’s signboard must remind
Mission Delhi – Shahji, Fatehpuri Mosque Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - September 6, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] As an ascetic, Shahji—as he introduced himself—has but one main mission in life: meditating alone in an Old Delhi mosque, hours on end. The 80-year-old, dressed in spotless white, spends his days sitting cross-legged at historic Fatehpuri Masjid in Chandni Chowk—as much a part of the mosque as its domes and minarets. Doesn’t he sometimes get bored? Shahji smiles, shaking his head. “I never feel lonely.” Come dusk, and he heads for his brother’s home in nearby Ballimaran. Having long retired as a “government servant” in a Unani medical dispensary, he says he never considered getting a wife. “Marriage is not for people who have opted for tapasya and living in
City Food – Muhammed Afroz’s Bihari Jhaal Moori, Mathura Road Food by The Delhi Walla - September 5, 2019September 5, 20191 Taste of Bihar. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No doubt there are even more superior jhaal moori snacks sold elsewhere in town. But Muhammed Afroz’s offerings are unique. Just a year ago he came up with the idea of a snack cart instead of forever pulling a rickshaw. “Umar ka takaza hain. (I was getting too old for that!)” he explains. This rainy afternoon, the 62-year-old is dragging his cart along a central Delhi avenue accompanied by his son. The stylish 6-year-old Zulkanain sports fashion accessories like black sunglasses perched high on his forehead. And then those luscious snacks. This tempting version usually comprises spiced puffed rice mixed with tomato-onion tidbits—and spiked with a shot of mustard oil. But Mr Afroz also adds
Mission Delhi – Ram Lal, Gurgaon Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - September 4, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It sure is not his most precious possession. It certainly is the most eye-catching. “It’s my guthi,” says Ram Lal, taking out the pouch from his shirt pocket. It is sewed from a cotton fabric. This afternoon, Mr Lal is sitting on a chair in his modest welding workshop watching the empty lane outside, here in Gurgaon in the Greater Delhi Region. The pouch looks like an old-fashioned wallet but its owner uses it to keep his mobile. The phone is one of those instruments that were in vogue a decade earlier and could be used only to make calls or to send SMS-es. “I got it three years ago,”
City Hangout – Anupama Sweets, Kailash Colony Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - September 4, 20190 Homely eatery. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Visitors to Delhi who hang around for a few days can’t help noticing all those exotic restaurants in fancy markets and malls offering specialty dishes from around the world, and also from lesser-known cuisines within the country. But then there are more traditional eateries like Anupama Sweets with its neighbourly ambiance and tasty masala dosa. Diners at Anupama in the Kailash Colony market, for instance, may well feel they’re among neighbourhood “aunties” and “uncles”. Sort of like hanging out with good folks from your own lane or apartment complex. Take this evening. Over there, a young man in shorts and baseball cap—looking like a typical “US-educated bhaiya” next door— is perched on a chair, watching a political
Mission Delhi – Ram Jeevan, Near Red Fort Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - September 3, 2019September 3, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Paan vendor Ram Jeevan is sitting on a pavement near the Red Fort patiently waiting for customers while recalling his long years in Delhi. “I arrived here at age 14 to help supplement family income in Benares,” he explains. “My father was a poor farmer and I couldn’t go on studying, so left for the big city with the family’s blessings.” He boarded the Farakka Express for the Capital, wearing a simple white dhoti and kurta. Nearly every day for 53 years—still dressed in dhoti and kurta—he walks along city lanes, his straw basket filled with paan leaves and the various nuts and pastes. “That’s my life, and nothing
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Hetvi Jethwani, IIT Delhi Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - September 3, 2019September 3, 20190 The 243rd death. [Text and photo sent by Hetvi Jethwani] The self-proclaimed "mad" scientist Hetvi died on her 42nd birthday doing what she loved, lying down in her comfortable hammock, reading. Sadly, death seized her before she could reach the end of her most recent read. Also known to some by her online alias, BrainySaber, Hetvi was a literature, wordplay, and science enthusiast since her childhood. Had she been alive, she'd have chided the author of this obituary for not saying 'mathematics and science' instead of just 'science'. While she didn't live to be as significant as she thought she would be, the research group led by Hetvi and her college sweetheart made significant contributions to the field of Quantum Computing. The