City Faith – 711th Urs, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah
The annual celebrations. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The four-day Urs ceremony, or the death anniversary, of Delhi’s 14th century Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, starts on February 6. Urs means ‘wedding’ in Arabic and it symbolizes the…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Jasbir Chatterjee, Vikaspuri
The third death. [By Jasbir Chatterjee] Jasbir Chatterjee, a writer of poems and stories, living in the disguise of a corporate professional, died on 3 March ____ , one day before her ___ birthday. She died in her sleep due…
Mission Delhi – Harsh Vardhan Dutta, Lodhi Garden
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a cold windy afternoon. The sky is grey. Lodhi Garden is looking bleak. But this young man is looking like March rather than…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Manpreet Kaur Soni, Maitreyi College
The second death. [Text by Manpreet Kaur Soni; photo by Davinder S. Soni] Manpreet Kaur Soni, a student of English Literature at Delhi University’s Maitreyi College, passed away on the early morning of February 3. She was 18. Her day…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Mayank Austen Soofi, Hauz Khas Village
The first death. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mayank Austen Soofi, a writer and photographer who wrote about lives and places in Delhi, died on July 3 at his one-room apartment in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas Village. The…
New Series – Our Self-Written Obituaries, Delhiites Everywhere
In our own words. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] You too will die one day. The Delhi Walla begins a new series. Our Obituaries invites Delhiites across the world to write their obituary in 200 words. The idea…
City Hangout – Triveni Tea Terrace, Mandi House
Garden conversations. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The decades-old Triveni Tea Terrace shut down late last year. Triveni means “three plaits” in Sanskrit and, indeed, this Delhi landmark could well have been something a god of small and…
Atget’s Corner – 691-695, Delhi Photos
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,…
City List – Delhi’s Great Jews, Around Town
The Capital heritage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The most beautiful and inspirational post-colonial architecture in New Delhi is the work of a Jew. In other words, Delhi’s Jewish legacy goes beyond its only Jewish graveyard near Khan…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Manika Dhama, Delhi Metro – Blue Line
Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Poet Manika Dhama (seen above) is a reader of Marcel Proust. She co-edits Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire along with The Delhi Walla. The regular readers of this website will recall that Ms Dhama…
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