City Food – Chhole Bhature, Kwality Restaurant
Full of hot air. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Envious outsiders dismiss us Delhiwallas as boastful loudmouths. Apparently we are full of hot air. The trait is accurately reflected, with a pinch of salt, in chhole bhature, Delhi’s…
City Life – The Descent of Men, Turkman Gate
The Delhi reality. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One morning The Delhi Walla saw a grey-haired man asleep on the pavement just outside the Mughal-era monument of Turkman Gate. The man was covered with a sack. Flies buzzed…
Netherfield Ball – Murad Ali Baig’s Book Reception, India International Center
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She looked like a forest fairy with large kohl-rimmed eyes and jasmine flowers in her hair. One rainy evening The Delhi Walla went to the launch of Murad Ali Baig’s…
City Culture – Khushwant Singh’s Drawing Room Secrets, Sujan Singh Park
Daughter Mala Dayal breaks her silence. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Please Do Not Ring The Bell Unless You Are Expected – This is the notice that continues to greet the visitors outside author Khushwant Singh’s home although…
City Notice – Three Great Delhi Chroniclers to Come Together, Oxford Bookstore
RV Smith, Sadia Dehlvi and Rakhshanda Jalil. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is to be a rare evening. Three great living chroniclers of Delhi will come together on stage to chat about their lives in the capital….
Death Notice – The legendary ED Galgotia & Sons Booksellers in Connaught Place is No More
Death of a landmark. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla regrets to inflict further heartache to the city’s book lovers, especially those with a fondness for independently-owned bookstores. Within a week of the announcement of the…
Photo Essay – Foreign Faces, Appetite German Bakery
Atlas of the world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Each time I long to fly to a foreign land, I simply go to Appetite German Bakery in Main Bazaar, Paharganj. The locality is close to the New Delhi…
City Monument – The Backside, Red Fort
The other side of the story. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is the Red Fort, um, red? The easy answer is that, yes, it certainly is. But that’s only half the story. Stroll around to the other side–Ring…
City Hangouts – The Secret Attic & Other Corners, Fact & Fiction Booksellers
The last days of a beloved bookstore. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The wooden floor is making creaking sounds. It is very dark. The Delhi Walla is in the attic of Fact & Fiction Booksellers in Basant Lok…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Anam Gill, Lahore
The 94th death. [Text by Anam Gill; photo by Hassan Ebraheem] Anam Gill, a Pakistani journalist died at the age of — leaving behind nothing but her many writings, amateur attempts at playing peace songs on a ukulele, a collection…
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