City Travel – Hindu/Buddhist Heritage, Kathmandu

City Travel – Hindu/Buddhist Heritage, Kathmandu

The painful history. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was raining. The Delhi Walla was in Nepal. I was being driven to Nagarkot, a village few miles outside Kathmandu that stands on a cliff and offers panoramic views…

City Travel – Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu

City Travel – Pashupatinath Temple, Kathmandu

The Nepal diary. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The devotees were sitting on the stone stairs in groups of families and friends — some were talking to each other, others were quiet. They were looking down at the…

City Travel – Calcutta Memoirs, Bengal

City Travel – Calcutta Memoirs, Bengal

Like a painting. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If French novelist Marcel Proust had lived in India, he would have lived in Calcutta. The city is like a faded watercolor painting. The Delhi Walla visited it for a…

City Travel – 2012-2013, Andheri East

City Travel – 2012-2013, Andheri East

The Delhi Walla in Bombay. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla spent the final week of 2012 in Bombay. I had Bombay Masala sandwich and marzipan carrot cake at Leopold Café, hot chocolate at Starbucks, pomfret…

City Monument - India Gate, Place Charles de Gaulle

City Monument – India Gate, Place Charles de Gaulle

Delhi in Paris. [Photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The free online encyclopedia Wikipedia warns that Delhi’s India Gate should not be confused with the Gateway of India in Bombay. But during a trip to Paris, The Delhi Walla confused a…

City Travel - Sentimental Education, Paris

City Travel – Sentimental Education, Paris

The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Just as The Delhi Walla started to feel Parisian during his trip to Paris, it was time to return to Delhi. Pari(s), merci and au revoir….

City Travel – Père Lachaise, Paris

City Travel – Père Lachaise, Paris

The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [By Jonas Moses Lustiger and Mayank Austen Soofi] A labyrinth of cobbled paths and mossy tombs, it is neither a Christian cemetery, nor a Muslim graveyard even though Christians, Muslims and Jews lie…

City Travel – Proust’s Land, Illiers-Combray

City Travel – Proust’s Land, Illiers-Combray

The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was raining. The Delhi Walla was in Illiers-Combray, a small town south of Paris that is believed to be the setting of some of the…

Photo Essay –Trees of Paris, Around Town

Photo Essay –Trees of Paris, Around Town

The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The trees of Delhi are unwieldy. The trees of Paris look more civilised. They are the gentlefolk in evening dress – courteous, healthy, symmetrical, and lovable….

City Travel – Paris Complex, Left Bank

City Travel – Paris Complex, Left Bank

The Delhi Walla in the French capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla is trying too hard to be a Parisian. I had macarons in Laduree. I read Le Monde by the Seine. I acquired Flaubert’s…