Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – School Student Amaan Saifi, Central Delhi Delhi Proustians by The Delhi Walla - April 20, 2022April 20, 20221 The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The household is all astir at this early morning hour, here in central Delhi. 9th standard student Amaan Saifi has his English exam today. As he prepares to leave for the school on his bicycle, his father, Barkatullah, mother, Rukhsana, and baby sister, Anaya, step out of the house to wish him good luck. Having some minutes to spare, the 14-year-old agrees to be a part of the Proust Questionnaire series in which folks are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore citizens’ distinct experiences. Your favorite occupation. Drawing, sketching and painting. Your heroes/heroines in real life. My father, Barkatullah. He has survived many situations in life. He has worked as a shop assistant, as a waiter,
City Food – Khajla, Ameer Sweet House & Elsewhere Food by The Delhi Walla - April 20, 2022April 24, 20220 Season's delicacy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like a giant golgappa, or an extra-large raj kachori. Some might confuse it with the enormous bhathura served in a landmark Connaught Place restaurant. But it is neither of these. This thing is only seen in select parts of Delhi, and only in a select portion of the year. It is called khajla, and is available only during the sacred month of Ramzan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk. Soaked in milk, the thick, flaky and sugary khajla is a deep-fried bread of maida flour. It is usually kept for sehri, the pre-dawn meal after which the fasting starts. It is said that khajla’s robustness helps a fasting person to