City Landmark – Pahari Wali Mata ka Mandir, Near Prime Minister’s Residence Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - February 10, 20230 A wayside shrine. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The strong afternoon breeze coursing through the hill is making the tree leaves shiver like a man in high fever. A bird hidden somewhere is cooing repeatedly. Yellowing leaves litter the cemented staircase that ends into a chippy courtyard speckled with sunlight and shadows. There are brass bells, potted plants and a rusty metal almirah, too. All is tranquil. Since it is on a pahari, a hill, this secretive refuge is named appropriately as Pahari Wali Mata ka Mandir—as inscribed on a slab. Here the world feels isolated, even though we are only a 10-minute-walk away from the prime minister’s residence, and two minutes away from the 5-star Ashok hotel. The wayside shrine,
City Life – The Delhi Walla’s Speech on Being a ‘Hyperlocal Homer’, India International Center General by The Delhi Walla - February 10, 2023May 1, 20232 The Delhi Walla's talk on International Greek Language Day. [Photo by Ismini Panagopoulou-Boudouris] Hello everyone, hello Mr Ambassador, and thank you Ismini for inviting me. To me, who lives more than 3000 miles away from Athens, the word Greece first and foremost used to evoke… “Greek salad.” This is true: Greek salad was my first practical exposure to Greece—and not really the history schoolbooks. Each time I would be eating this exotic-named dish, I would wonder: what’s the fuss about Greek salad? Seriously, the taste was no big deal—at least in the restaurants of the UP cities where I grew up. The salad would have too much kheera—cucumber—in it. And no green chillies, which I adore. But Greece—Greek language—Greek myths—Greek literature—and its greatest writer—came