City Monument – Jama Masjid on a High Monuments by The Delhi Walla - June 30, 2010June 30, 20105 Allah is closer to Old Delhi rooftops. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla went knocking around houses in Old Delhi's Matia Mahal asking the residents, "May I please climb to your rooftop?" I was refused. People thought I was crazy. But I only wanted to see how Jama Masjid looks from the roof of a Walled City house. While thak-thaking around, I met a paan-walla who claimed that his terrace faced Jama Masjid's Gate no. 1. Bingo. We became fast friends and after discussing girls, sex and politics, I asked him, "Can I see Dilli from your terrace?" The guy grew somber. He had women in the house and I was a man. I walked ahead hoping to
City Culture – The Band of Brothers, Hauz Khas Ruins Culture Monuments by The Delhi Walla - June 9, 2010June 24, 20101 The 7 idiots. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Their shoulders are swinging softly, their feet are tapping on the stone floor and some of them are shutting their eyes in intense passion. This is a group of seven – Mohammed Shamim, Amit Sharma, Prateek Malik, Riaz Ahmad, Nipun Sharma, Yash Saini and Shanky Goel. The boys are singing in a hush as if not to disturb the ghost of Feroze Shah Tughlaq, the 14th century ruler who is buried in the tomb, around which they are standing. The Delhi Walla is in Hauz Khas, the monument complex in south Delhi. The boys are students of XIIth standard in the nearby General Raj’s School. They are shooting a documentary, a part of
City Monument – Gurudwara Seesganj, Chandni Chowk Faith Monuments by The Delhi Walla - May 19, 2010February 1, 20120 Holy and serene. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Not as open and airy as Bangla Sahib gurudwara in Connaught Place, Seesganj Sahib is as serene as any spiritual destination should be. It was built in memory of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh guru, who was beheaded here on the orders of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1675. A three-storeyed rectangular building off the main street of Chandni Chowk, the gurdwara adds to the multi-religious character of Old Delhi's popular shopping district, which also has a mosque, a temple and a church. The chaos of the bazaar disappears as you enter the short flight of stairs and reach a hall that hums with the devotional hymns of raagis, the musicians who sing in front
City Landmark – Red Fort, Old Delhi Monuments by The Delhi Walla - March 31, 2010May 23, 20102 The necessary ruin. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] There is nothing inside the imposing ramparts of Red Fort, or Lal Quila, except a few gardens, a couple of crumbling halls, and two museums with spotty paintings and antique knives. Spread within 2.4 kms, its tour is exhausting and occasionally frustrating –some pavallions are barricaded, some are locked and some later structures are downright ugly. A bazaar inside the principal entrance – Lahori Gate - is a cheap tourist trap selling hippie necklaces and Taj Mahal keepsakes. Why then is the Red Fort necessary? Noisy and touristy, it was the imperial court of the Mughals. Built in the 17th century by emperor Shah Jahan after he moved his capital from Agra to Delhi,
City Monument – Indira Gandhi Memorial Museum, Safdarjung Road Monuments by The Delhi Walla - March 7, 2010December 22, 20141 Inside the Lutyens' bungalow. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The former residence of India's first female Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, here she was assassinated by her own bodyguards in 1984. But this memorial is more than just a museum. Besides showing the usual bedrooms, dining rooms, libraries and even the last saree of a powerful politician once described as "the only man in her cabinet", the house is also a window into the world of famed Lutyens’ bungalows. Built during the twilight years of the British Empire, there are 800 such bungalows spread over 550 hectares in New Delhi. Responsible for giving the city much of its colonial-era charm, most of these elegant white houses have been taken over by politicians and
City Landmark – Khan-i-Khana’s Tomb, Nizamuddin East Monuments by The Delhi Walla - January 28, 2010May 23, 20104 Scarred with beauty. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] A stone-paved lane hedged with marigold flowers leads to one of Delhi’s strangest monuments. The 16th century tomb of a Mughal noble, Abdul Rahim Khan-i-Khana, is both ugly and beautiful. Its exterior stonework is stripped off. The plaster on its inside walls is chipped. Its niches are cobwebbed. The ceilings are scrawled with romantic messages. But before you notice the flaws, the weathered dome, as well as the chhatris and the arches take you in. The underground tomb is inaccessible but the sarcophagus in the upper chamber is bare, quiet, dark and windy. Bordered by the tony Nizamuddin East bungalows on one side and the noisy Mathura Road on the other, the large
City Monument – Birla Temple, Mandir Marg Faith Landmarks Monuments by The Delhi Walla - January 16, 2010May 23, 20107 The land of Vishnu. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Spread over seven acres, Shri Lakshmi Narain temple, popularly called Birla Mandir, is a dense neighbourhood of gods. A world in itself, it is a land of plenty. It has shops, phone booths, photo studios, a dispensary and a dharamshala (guesthouse). It has streams, fountains, bridges and rocks. It has papaya, cheer, mango, ashoka, ber, tamarind, guava and neem trees. It has a lion, elephant, crocodile, camel and hippopotamus. But it’s the brick-red temple tower (165-feet high) that takes the breath away. While the presiding deity is Vishnu, Birla Mandir advocates the philosophy of monotheism and is open to all faiths. Built by the industrialist family, the Birlas, it was inaugurated by
City Secret – Razia Sultana’s Tomb, Pahari Bhojla Landmarks Monuments by The Delhi Walla - January 10, 2010May 23, 20102 India's first woman ruler is sleeping here. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Razia Sultana’s tomb chamber in Old Delhi. No dome, no crowd here. This is no place for a queen. As the first woman ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, as well as of South Asia, Razia (d. 1240) rode elephants, fought in battlefields; loved a slave, married a rebel; and lost an empire. But this tomb — believed to be of Razia’s, as an Archaeological Survey of India slab puts it — is no indicator of her legend. And that’s the beauty of this destination. Like a tattered history book, it lies forgotten in a jumble of the Walled City bylanes. Surrounded by brick apartments (air-conditioners jutting out from
City Monument – Agrasen ki Baoli, Hailey Road Monuments by The Delhi Walla - December 22, 2009January 14, 20158 The well of solitude. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid the business towers and residential apartments of the Colonial-era Connaught Place, this 14th century baoli or ancient step-well, is flanked on both sides by niches, chambers and passageways, and the 104 stone steps descending into the well’s dried-up base, have three levels. It is not certain who built it, though some credit it to a king called Agrasen; hence the name. As you enter, you will see a mosque on one side. Initially, you will hear the cooing of hundreds of pigeons. But as you walk down the stairs, the silence deepens, the city skyline disappears and the daylight fades away. This was a reservoir, as well as a summer refuge,
City Monument – Ghalib’s Tomb Restoration, Nizamuddin Basti Monuments by The Delhi Walla - November 26, 2009May 15, 201210 Restoring the dignity of Delhi's greatest poet. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi By March, 2010, the 19th-century Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib will finally lie in a resting place worthy of his iconic status. "It will all be simple and elegant," says Mohammad Shaheer, a landscape architect, of his latest charge — Ghalib's tomb. The greatest flagbearer of Urdu poetry has been dead for 140 years, but his grave is at the centre of a revival plan, one that hopes to transport the visitor "to a pool of peace", as Mr Shaheer puts it. The tomb complex covers an area of 3,500 sq ft and is tucked away in Nizamuddin Basti, a densely populated 14th century Delhi village. Like other places of historical