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City Neighbourhood – Anjuman Chowk, Old Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

Heart of the world. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Anjuman Chowk is the center of the world. This belief is firmly instilled into the sensibilities of the Anjuman Chowk gentry. After all, almost all the galis that matter to them drain into this square. One gali flows in from Chitli Qabar Bazar, which has Delhi’s best bakery for breakfast rusk, and which also has Delhi’s best shop for dress buttons of all kinds. One gali emanates from Bulbuli Khana where lies Empress Razia Sultan’s grave. One gali comes from Gali Ghantewali that had a clock tower to which dwellers from other galis would walk over to check the hour of the day. (Gali Salim Wali, which too runs into

City Landmark – Hazrat Chirag Dehli Shrine in Winter, South Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

Cold courtyard. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The air is windier than elsewhere in the city. The cold too is colder. With its vast courtyard, and its many trees, the sufi shrine of Hazrat Chirag Dehli is one of the most ideal places in the city to experience the Delhi winter. Some might find it a cruel joke to be recommended in this bitter cold to go to a place to feel the intensity of this bitter cold. The idea appears more tolerable on considering the fact that the Delhi winter is like the summer of Shakespeare’s England whose “lease hath all too short a date.” The city’s extreme cold is too brief. The looming heatwave is so much

City Vox Popili – A Life in Jasmine’s Day, Batala, Punjab

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photo by Jasmine Dhaliwal] [By Jasmine Dhaliwal, a doctor] This morning when I got up, I had a lump in the throat and a load of needless thoughts weighing down the heart. But as soon as I found a peaceful spot to shed a few tears, a call came from the hospital about an emergency patient. Thus ended the process of self-imaginary healing by dripping some tears. -Once free from the patient, called up daughter who was stressed out as she had her finals. -One of the cars had to be sent to the service station as its engine had

City Vox Popili – A Life in Sarthak’s Day, Khan Market

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] [By Sarthak Kaul, a trans-Yamuna writer] I wake up, crawl out of my bed and bow down to the source. I press my hands together and thank existence for giving its object another day. After the breakfast I board the auto for the nearest metro station—Mayur Vihar Extension. The driver tells me about his guru and his knowledge of the Upanishad. Picking out my favorite corner at a quaint, quiet coffee shop in Khan Market, I pull out a thick notepad and my lucky mascot — Mr. Reynolds. “Your usual order, sir?” The apron-clad young

City Food – Madhur Jaffrey’s An Invitation to Indian Cooking, Around Town

by The Delhi Walla - 0

A city's suisine. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] All cookbooks contain recipes. Only a few give insightful glimpses into a culture. Only a very few of those manage to propel a cuisine to worldwide fame, Some such books are: Claudia Roden’s A Book of Middle Eastern Food, Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, Edna Lewis’s The Taste of Country Cooking, and Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. The common thread tying all these classics together is that they were perfected under the exacting expertise of an American editor—the legendary Judith Jones. A culinary classic with a homelier taste that the late Judith Jones happened to edit was on our Dilli ka khana. The book marks its 50th

City Vox Popili – A Life in Keziah’s Day, IIT Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] [By Keziah Souza, a research scholar in IIT Delh] Its 7:30. After thrice snoozing the morning alarm, I sleepily get up. I squint my eyes to see outside the window. The Qutub Minar, which used to show up so clearly from my hostel’s 7th floor room, is almost invisible. Delhi pollution! I quickly rush out with my bucket, scared that all the bathrooms might be full by now, and I’ll have to wait long for my turn to bathe. Afterwards, I make my bed, light a candle, and open my bible to meditate

City Vox Popili – A Life in Tansy’s Day, Manali

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photos by Dasel Troy-Norbu] [By Tansy Troy, an "educator, performer, poet"] First sun streams in through dusky silk curtains, rectangles of light. Passerines are conversing loudly in the pear tree. Dasel, my nine year old daughter, and I, huddle under heaps of quilts, staving off the fast approaching chill. There is already snow on the mountains. We rise, feed the animals, drink coffee in the sun, recount our dreams. Dasel writes a letter to her godmother, thanking her for an illustrated edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which she is finding 'even more exciting

City Vox Popili – A Life in Kanwal’s Day, Paris

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photo by Apoorva Arora] [By Kanwal Sohi, who study English--Language, Literature and Society--at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris.] I entered the kitchen and put on the France Inter on the Radio France application while preparing the morning tea and omelette. Israel-Palestine war on the radio. I got messages from the Sorbonne and the American library that I have books overdue. I decided to go to both the libraries to return the books. After breakfast I put the books to be returned in my bag, lest I forget. I surfed social media apps. Time evaporates. I read

City Vox Popili – A Life in Grishika’s Day, Delhi

by The Delhi Walla - 0

As part of The Delhi Walla series asking citizens to “write down everything you did in one day.” Send yours in 400 words max to thedelhiwallasoofi@gmail.com [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] [By Grishika Arora, a 12th grade graduate sailing through a gap year before starting university life.] I started the day at home in Sadlfdarjang Enclave by reading Feynman's letter to his dead wife ("I love you. I want to love you. I always will love you"), followed by attempted bibliomancy (Azar Nafisi on page 153 said, "Who will pay for all these ghosts in my memory?"). I then headed out into the city, handing myself over to Delhi in all her lawless, loving glory, to her vague rendition of a November sky. Had

City Walk – Civil Lines, North Delhi & Gurugram

by The Delhi Walla - 0

Double Lines. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is the balmiest of places. It is the balmiest of places. It is called Civil Lines. It is called Civil Lines. It is in north Delhi. It is further south, in Gurugram. The all-knowing Wikipedia describes Civil Lines as “the residential neighbourhoods developed during the British Raj for its senior civilian officers like Divisional commissioner and District magistrate.” Here’a brief account of a smog-soaked wintertime walk in both the aforementioned Lines, lined with bungalows and trees. Indeed, to stand under these roadside arbors and purposelessly watch the slow-moving cyclists on the road lulls the senses—as if you have finally orbited out from the worldly loop of WhatsApp alerts and instagram reels. Delhi Civil This

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