A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 20th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, will take place on 28 May 2012. Venue: Cafe Turtle, Khan Market. Time: 7 pm. Where Cafe Turtle, Khan Market Nearest Metro Station Khan Market Time 7 pm Cafe Turtle, Khan Market 1.

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 19th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. We have moved out of the Indian Coffee House where the sofas are torn and the coffee is watery. Each Monday we intend to meet in a new venue to dive into the atmosphere of Marcel’s novel. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla is on the Athpula Bridge in Lodhi Garden. If Proust were alive, I would have described this place to him in the following manner: “An oasis of tranquility with golden gravel paths that

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 19th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, will take place on 14 May 2012. Venue: The Athpula Bridge, Lodhi Garden. Time: 7 pm. Where Athpula Bridge, Lodhi Garden Nearest Metro Station Khan Market/Jorbagh Time 7 pm Athpula Bridge, Lodhi Garden 1. 2. 3. 4.

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 19th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, will take place on 14 May 2012. It was originally scheduled for 7 May. The inconvenience is regretted. The venue will be announced on 13 May.

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 18th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla must make an announcement. The Delhi Proustians society is moving out of the Indian Coffee House. This place is economical and its torn sofas strike a chord with romantic sensibilities, but the coffee is revolting. And Proust was especially particular about his coffee. If Marcel lived in Delhi, he would have never stepped inside the Indian Coffee House. The stewards wear unwashed uniforms. The menu is

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 17th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla is alone. Two people on the next table are talking of selling five farmhouses. Closing my eyes, I flip through Swann’s Way – the first of the six volumes of the novel - and place my finger on the first page I stop at. Opening my eyes, I find myself on a line that says: “You do look sad!” I turn to some other page. Swann, our man, is in love

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 16th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla is sitting on the terrace of the coffee house. The wind is refreshing. I have ordered jam-toast and scrambled egg. Swann’s Way, the first of the six volumes of the novel, is on the table. “I’m going to read one of my most beloved parts in the novel.” I say to law student Abdul Muqhtadir, a regular Proustian. “May I read it?” He asks. I bow. I open page

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 15th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla is with Jonas Moses, a Frenchman who lives in north Delhi. Today I haven’t got the novel. I’m coming straight from my ancestral village, which lies north of Delhi. “I could not hold the club meeting last week,” I say. “My uncle died. It was scary to have such a loss in the extended family. The normal patterns of life suffered and shrunk to this single event.

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 15th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust, could not take place last week. Sorry. I will give you the reason on our meeting. Day: 2 April 2012. Time: 7 pm. Place: Indian Coffee House, Connaught Place. Where Indian Coffee House (it has three seating spaces; enter the enclosed area that looks to Baba Khadak Singh Marg), Mohan Singh Place, near Hanuman Mandir, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place Time 7 pm Nearest Metro Station Rajiv Chowk

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] ATTENTION: Due to unavoidable circumstances, the 15th meeting of The Delhi Proustians will be held on 2 April 2012. The inconvenience is regretted. Today is the 14th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read his masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time. It is 7 pm and The Delhi Walla is alone. I’m nearing a milestone. Swann’s Way, the first volume, has three parts. If I concentrate, I might finish Combray, the first part. Thus would I often lie until morning, dreaming of the old days at Combray, of my melancholy and wakeful evenings there, of other days