City Life – Fleeing from Nightmares, Jacobpura Life by The Delhi Walla - February 28, 2020February 28, 20201 On "unsolvable mind problems". [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They can do nothing but wait. The “Baba” will return to his home here in Gurgaon’s Jacobpura—in the Greater Delhi Region—only in another hour or so. He is away for work. Brij Kishore, the young patient, has come with mother, Ramrati, to get some specialised treatment (they call it jhaara) from the mystic man they are referring to as Baba. “We were told by a neighbour’s relative that Baba treats people with unsolvable mind problems,” says Ramrati. It is a sunny afternoon and the mother and son are slouched under a peepal tree, close to Baba’s home. Brij Kishore is lying with eyes closed on the chabutara (cement platform) under the peepal;
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Reggae Musician ‘Delhi Sultanate’, Man Singh Road General by The Delhi Walla - February 28, 20200 The parlour confession. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Proust Questionnaire represents a confessional game that owes its structure to answers given by celebrated French writer Marcel Proust in two parties that he attended at ages 13 and 20 in the late 19th century. The Delhi Walla have brought these Parisian parlour confessions into the Indian capital to explore people’s lives, thoughts, values and experiences. The series interview folks from diverse backgrounds. So today, say hello to Taru Dalmia. Also called Delhi Sultanate, he is well known as the lead singer at the music band The Ska Vengers. Though these days he is busy touring the country’s big cities as well as small towns with his so-called BFR Sound System, a
City Hangout – Sunset Point, N-Block, Connaught Place Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - February 27, 20200 The idyllic evening spot. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi has a sometimes-fraught relationship with sunlight. Brief winters do transform the sun into welcome relief. But mostly it remains elusive because of smog. In the summertime, sunlight is, of course, a less welcome friend. But! Sunsets are another and altogether thrilling story. More conventional spots for capturing sunsets would certainly include its glow sweeping over the rooftop cafes in Paharganj’s touristy district. Or the sunset behind Bada Gumbad tomb in Lodhi Gardens. Or even the waning golden rays ramming into Hauz Khas lake in south Delhi. But the greater magic is discovering the hour’s beauty in seemingly ordinary locations such as N block corridor at Connaught Place. It’s 5pm at the moment
Mission Delhi – Rajesh, Lal Kuan Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - February 26, 2020February 26, 20200 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His black leather jacket is tattered. A stylist might call that a distressed look. Whatever, it must be very old. “Nahin, I got it two months ago,” says daily-wage labourer Rajesh, 32. He struggles to roll up his jacket’s tight sleeves to show his own name tattooed on his right arm. It is a cold morning. His head is wrapped in an elaborately tied gamcha. The jacket indeed turns out to be much older. Rajesh received it from a man who was about to throw it away into a garbage bin, here in central Delhi's Lal Kuan neighbourhood. “Just then he spotted me and asked if I
Atget’s Corner – 1146-1150, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - February 25, 20200 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 1,00,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Five randomly picked pictures from this collection are regularly put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 1146 to 1150. 1146. These Times 1147. No Man
City Food – Salt Lassi, Chandni Chowk Food by The Delhi Walla - February 24, 20200 Lassi without sweetness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Please concede that salted lassi is a lesser-loved cousin among yogurt drinks. You’ll seldom hear friends swearing by it. And frankly speaking, the few places in Delhi serving salted lassi aren’t very creative about it. They’ll simply mix the yogurt with table salt (OK, kaala namak at best), and that’s that. But then there’s a well-known yogurt hangout at the tail-end of Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk bazaar that does it differently. Just a single sip of their salted lassi sends spasms of freshness throughout the body. So very delicious. Folks at Amritsari Lassiwalla introduced their salted edition back in 2001, and for obvious reasons are reluctant to hand out the recipe. They do reveal tantalizingly
City Library – Shakespearean Jonathan Gil Harris’s Books, Hauz Khas Library by The Delhi Walla - February 22, 20200 A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Yes, finally discovered! A Delhi library with arguably the best collection dealing with Shakespeare. Not at the British Council. Nor even the ample library of Karol Bagh’s Rupin Walter Desai who founded a journal devoted to Hamlet way back in 1979. In fact the most jealous-worthy Shakespeare library is happily housed in a Hauz Khas apartment that belonged to the Maharaja of Kapurthala. It’s now occupied by Jonathan Gil Harris, the former president of the Shakespeare Society of India. A professor of English in Ashoka University, his study is literally crammed with some of the best books published on Shakespeare in recent times. This late afternoon, the New Zealand-born scholar is perched on
City Walk – Hauz Khas Village at Midnight, South Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - February 21, 20200 Sensing the village life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] How could such a small neighbourhood have so many layers? Hauz Khas Village in South Delhi is not only known for its clubs. As well as boutiques, galleries, curio shops and monuments. But it has even more to offer during a late-night stroll along its lanes. Tonight one might stumble upon poignant contrasts befitting a large city suffering from huge disparities. A boutique with glass walls is well lit, providing a clear glimpse of extravagant clothing costing a fortune. Outside the shop sits an elderly homeless man begging for a few coins. Further along the lane are friendly young men insisting the pedestrians to patronize the clubs and restaurants they’re working for. Some of these
City Hangout – Apna Bazar, Gurgaon Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - February 20, 2020February 20, 20200 The market with a mouthful of sky. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Let’s be clear about this. Apna Bazar in Gurgaon, in the Greater Delhi Region, is snuggled into a building that’s seen better days. Even so. The sense of dilapidation gives the place a pleasing if timeworn disposition. Many storefronts are shuttered. Others mainly deal with electrical appliances such as UPS, stabilizers and emergency lights—all souvenirs from an era when power cuts were a way of life. Some shops are so crammed with rusting equipment that they seem more like storerooms for diligent collectors. Particularly special is a printer’s workshop featuring one of those metallic printing machines you’ll occasionally spot at the cards market in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazaar Sadly, the people
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Jaya Jaitly, Hazrat Nizamuddin East General by The Delhi Walla - February 19, 20203 The parlour confession. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Proust Questionnaire represents a confessional game that owes its structure to answers given by celebrated French writer Marcel Proust in two parties that he attended at ages 13 and 20 in the late 19th century. The Delhi Walla have brought these Parisian parlour confessions into the Indian capital to explore people’s lives, thoughts, values and experiences. The series interview folks from diverse backgrounds. So today, say hello to Jaya Jaitly. The founder president of Dastkari Haat Samiti, an association of crafts people, she also helped found the craft market of Dilli Haat. Many of us may also recall her as a politician. Ms Jaitly lives in a beautifully decked up apartment in