Mission Delhi – Khemchand Pakoriwalle, Connaught Place Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - October 24, 2019October 24, 20193 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He has a name that makes him seem one of those men justly famous for selling fabulous pakoras. But he stopped selling them some 40 years ago when he was still a boy. “I used to make pakoras of all types, I had many customers,” recalls the man who calls himself Khemchand Pakoriwalle. But then came the national emergency—1975-77—and he was obliged to shut down his E block stall in Central Delhi's Connaught Place for many number of reasons too complicated to explain here. “Gobhi and palak pakoras sold the most,” says Khemchand, 55, who now works as an assistant at a kiosk in the same block selling uneatables like socks
City Food – Shamir Hasan’s Chai Stall, Gali Sayyed Street, Old Delhi Food by The Delhi Walla - October 24, 2019August 29, 20220 The gentleman's establishment. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No contrary argument can be made about it. Tea stall owner Shamir Hasan stands out as a man of style. With his freshly ironed shirt carefully tucked into immaculate pants, he says the outfit is his passion. Such a sartorial taste is definitely not shared by most men here in Old Delhi’s Bulbuli Khana neighbourhood who content themselves either with tight denim jeans and T-shirts or the more traditional white kurta pajama, or even in the casual lungi and banian. Then there’s something else. Mr Hasan always wears a leather belt to emphasize a slender waistline. Again, this is a strange sight in a district where most citizens tend to put on weight because of