
City Life – Greenlands, Gurugram
Train views. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Before the tombs, the qilas, the bhawans, the DDA flats, what was it like? This zameen, on which our Delhi stands. Easy to tell you about the land on which Gurugram…

City Life – Gali Chamre Wali Part 1, Old Delhi
Life of a lane. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tak tak tak tak. An elderly man in an extra-maheen white kurta pajama is walking extremely slowly into the narrow gali. His metal walker is tap-tap-tapping the dusty ground…

City Life – The Delhi Walla’s Speech on Being a ‘Hyperlocal Homer’, India International Center
The Delhi Walla’s talk on International Greek Language Day. [Photo by Ismini Panagopoulou-Boudouris] Hello everyone, hello Mr Ambassador, and thank you Ismini for inviting me. To me, who lives more than 3000 miles away from Athens, the word Greece first…

City Life – Place Names, Around Town
No small wonder. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Time passes. Places are transformed. Something routine in timeless cities like Delhi/Dilli/Indraprastha/Khandavprastha. This year the Mughal Gardens in Rashtrapati Bhawan (formerly the Viceroy’s House) has been rechristened Amrit Udyan. Here’s…

City Nature – Bougainvillea Trees, Lodhi Garden
Life outside the season [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Where have the pinks gone? This pair of much-instagrammed bougainvilleas in Lodhi Gardens are so large that they are as imposing as a tree. In season, which is at…

From The Delhi Walla Archives – A Selection of Prints, “Somewhere in Delhi”, First Batch
Tangible souvenirs [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A dream come true. To share prints of the many many photos I take daily in this big and wide Indian capital. The “Somewhere in Delhi” prints are professionally executed by…

Delhi Joyceans – The Delhi Walla’s Speech on Bloomsday, 2022, at the Irish Ambassador’s Residence, Sardar Patel Marg
Text of The Delhi Walla’s speech delivered at the Irish ambassador’s New Delhi residence on June 16. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Dear friends, whether we are “Stately, plump” or not, whether we are Dubliners or not, Happy…

Mission Delhi – Noorjehan, Lodhi Road
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is midnight. The pavement on Lodhi Road is immersed in darkness, but you can see figures slumped along it, presumably asleep. One spot on…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – Suroshri Paul, Barrackpore
The 259th death. [By Suroshri Paul] Suroshri Paul, a student and a growing nihilist, who was apparently believed to be an optimist, died on 27th January in a room of her own in Barrackpore. The cause is yet to be…

City Hangout – Chekhov’s Promenade, South Extension-2
A lane to breathe. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Very often restless people have the habit of pacing to and fro in their living room or on their terrace, if they have any. Such an exercise is said…
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