City Moment – Dog Loves Cat, Near Golcha Cinema Moments by The Delhi Walla - December 16, 20200 A beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] More than 70 years after gaining their freedom, India and Pakistan are still hostile towards each other. But they aren’t the only countries with such a tradition. Turkey and Greece, too, continue to be mutually suspicious. As do Azerbaijan and Armenia. Some would argue the same about China and Japan, Russia and the US, Israel and Iran. And if, God forbid, you are on Twitter, you know that in this world everyone is against everyone. But away from all these conflicts, there is a lane beside Delhi’s Golcha Cinema (the single-screen closed long ago) where a stray dog and a stray cat are being best friends. This afternoon, the dog ambles towards the
Mission Delhi – Sarju Gihara, Mehrauli Road Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 15, 20201 [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Like the pages of an art-gallery coffee table book, the pavement wall consists of a series of hand-drawn paintings. One shows a woman peeking out from behind her veil. Nearby, with a setting sun in the background, a woman is sitting on a seaside cliff while a man in glasses gazes towards the viewer. Who can these people be? What is their story? “There is no story,” says Sarju Gihara, the painter. In his 20s, he has drawn these panels on the boundary wall of Gurgaon’s Government Industrial Training Institute in the Greater Delhi Region. His painting stall, crammed up with paint cans and brushes, stands on the pavement facing the busy Mehrauli Road.
Mission Delhi – Vishwanath, Kashmere Gate Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 14, 20200 [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Vishwanath takes all the precautions he can to avoid being hurt. But accidents still happen, and some injuries are unavoidable. The rickshaw puller’s leg is bandaged, though he insists it’s not a serious wound, pointing to the little band-aid strapped onto it. It happened a few nights ago. “I had dropped off a customer, and was riding to the main road, when suddenly a dog appeared in front of the rickshaw.” Vishwanath instinctively steered the handle, causing the rickshaw to lose balance. “The rickshaw fell, I fell too, and I got a small chot (injury).” This afternoon Vishwanath is sitting on the passenger’s seat in a north Delhi lane, waiting for customers, but also basking in
City Food – Rajasthani Dahi Bhalla, Gurgaon Food by The Delhi Walla - December 14, 20200 Homemade street taste. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There’s the sweet chutney and the sour one, and the super-soft deep-fried bhalla soaked in dahi, and everything is topped with broken shards of crispy papri. The dahi bhalla here tastes extremely homey — which isn’t surprising when you know that vendor Mahesh Chandra Sharma makes it himself every day, afresh. But why does he call his pavement establishment “Rajasthani dahi bhalla”? “Don’t you know?!” he asks, looking surprised. “Dahi bhalla was invented in my Rajasthan.” True or not, you ought to visit Mr Sharma’s stall. The only problem is that it doesn’t have a fixed address. This is a mobile setup consisting of a large pan and bags arranged in various places of his
City Monument – The Church(es) of The Epiphany, Civil Lines, Gurgaon Monuments by The Delhi Walla - December 12, 2020December 12, 20200 A tale of two times. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Old Delhi and New Delhi. Old Gurgaon and New Gurgaon. In both cases the ‘old’ and ‘new’ parts stand very close to each other, and yet they are so different. In the entire Greater Delhi Region Region, one place where you can witness this contrast between old and new very starkly is Gurugram’s Civil Lines. There, the Church of the Epiphany is located in a compound of lawns, flowers and playgrounds. But it’s the two church buildings, separated by a little garden, that grab all the attention. Wings of the same church, one is more than 150 years old. The other is a millennial—it was consecrated in 2009. Surely, the older building is
Home Sweet Home – Shahnawaz Khan’s Rose Garden, Pahari Imli Delhi Homes by The Delhi Walla - December 11, 20200 A private paradise. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All roses here are white, though some have a pale pink flush, as if a drop of blood had spread through their veins. This is a private garden. What makes it unique is that it stands on one of Old Delhi’s highly perched rooftops, on the fourth floor, and gives a sweeping view of the historic quarter’s skyline. Look there! That’s the dome of the great Jama Masjid. And above your head, the Walled City’s ubiquitous paltu (pet) pigeons are crisscrossing their hyperlocal sky. But strangely these views, so celebrated in stories and movies, doesn’t seem as fascinating as these commonplace potted roses. Indeed, these blossoms appear to encapsulate the very essence of the
City Landmark – Toilet Monolith, Deer Park General by The Delhi Walla - December 10, 20200 Art in everyday world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Recently, the mystery apparition (and subsequent disappearance) of shiny monoliths in the United States and Romania have caused shock waves of excitement. Is it the work of aliens, or some sort of discreet artistic performance? And what about this abandoned Indian-style toilet, in south Delhi’s Deer Park? Can it be considered a work of art in its currently evolved form? Do we know where it comes from? Covered with earth, and with a single plant growing from it, the discovery looks utterly original. The toilet lies next to a pathway snaking towards the Hauz Khas lake. Quick investigations with a gardener sunning herself on the lawn nearby reveals that a restaurant used
City Food – Shabnam Restaurant, Motor Market Food by The Delhi Walla - December 10, 20200 The wall art. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here in the Walled City the entire restaurant is uniquely adorned with hand-drawn paintings. This is a feast not merely for taste buds but also for the discerning eye. And even before you enter Shabnam Restaurant you encounter art out there on the pavement—a fish and a rooster sketched in red and black on a metal box. The wall next to the counter has the sketch of samovar which seems fitting for a Kashmiri specialty eatery. Piping hot tea is coming out of the kettle’s nozzle, and right into a cup. Once inside, there’s the extraordinary back wall that builds on a fish and rooster motif—now hugely magnified. While, alongside the switchboard, a delicious whole
Mission Delhi – Maan Singh, Central Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - December 8, 20200 [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Shoulder bags come with zips. But his has hundreds of safety pins, for both the compartments. “This has my sone ka samaan (sleeping stuff),” says Maan Singh, walking down a central Delhi road, idly. “I have no job.” In his 40s, he was a dish washer in wedding banquets “but I haven’t been getting any work for months.” He sleeps in a ren basera, the night shelter for the homeless. Mr Singh picked up the bag recently from a roadside. Since its zips were missing (or broken, he doesn’t clearly remember), he got those substituted by the many safety pins he was lucky to get for free from a bazaar tailor. “This way nobody can
City Faith – Consoling Windows, Krishna Temple, Gurgaon Faith by The Delhi Walla - December 5, 20200 The light these times. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This unfortunate year is nearing its end. From March onwards, every life has been defined by the coronavirus pandemic. Everybody has suffered his or her share of small and big losses. And doors have been opened, sometimes forcefully, on new ways of experiencing the world. One of the many changes has been the emergence of a new respect for how innocent, how nonchalant it was to just go outdoors and roam about (and think without mask!) This, like other things, can no longer be taken for granted. And in our home-bound seclusions, ordinary windows have become some of our most valuable connections to the world outside. And that’s why one ought to