Photo Essay: Reading Past and Present in Humayun’s Tomb, India’s Most Melancholic Monument

November 14, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

Walking and talking history at a world heritage site that inspired the Taj Mahal. [Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Fall It was a cold winter night but the sky in Delhi was unusually clear and devoid of…

Photo Essay – Time Out Jama Masjid

October 19, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

Visiting the society of Muslims in the world’s greatest and grandest Mosque. [Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mecca has Masjid-al-Haram and Istanbul boasts of Blue mosque. The former has its ancient authenticity compromised by Petrodollar-funded air-conditioned renovations and…

'White Ghosts' at Red Fort: Late Evening Sufi Music Concert at a 17th Century Delhi Monument

October 12, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

Old Delhi charm; Ramadan night magic; Red Fort glitter; Pakistani pop stars’ charisma; and my digicam.– by Mayank Austen Soofi Since this was Delhi, we reached Red Fort one hour after the scheduled start of the concert. It is not…

Live From Jantar Mantar – The Iron Lady of Manipur Comes to Delhi

October 9, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

Far away from New Delhi, beyond the heart of mainstream India, forgotten in the eastern corner of the country, close to the Burmese border, lies a troubled Himalayan province with a population of around 2.2 million people, less than even…

A Dutch Diplomat Calls Delhi Filthy, and Its People a Nuisance

October 4, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

A Delhi-based Dutch diplomat is apparently so frustrated being a resident of this chaotic Asian capital city that he was moved enough to confess that "New Delhi is the most miserable place I have ever lived in". The venerable diplomat…

Book Review: Home – Chronicling the Lives of Middle Class Women of Delhi

August 25, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

[Picture and Review by Mayank Austen Soofi] THE noteworthy matter of interest about Home is that it happens to be the first novel to have come out of Random House India. The binding is fine, the paper is tough and…

A French Man Photographs India Gate and Reflects on the Charms of Delhi

July 7, 2006 · by The Delhi Walla · in General

[Photographs and Text by Amsterdam-based Laurent Clère] Tourists in the India Gate Maidan LIKE MANY Europeans, I had several stereotypes in my mind when I arrived in India for the first time. On one hand the sensual and colorful images…

The blogger is a devotee of Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya and Author Arundhati Roy

The New Yorker on The Delhi Walla

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-delhi-wallas-visions-of-a-possibly-vanishing-india

“Soofi says that Proust is his favorite writer, and his project has, over the years, taken on an increasingly Proustian quality. He has been passing in and out of the same neighborhoods for more than a decade, documenting the minutest social and cultural changes… “–The New Yorker

The New Review, The Guardian, UK

“… Mayank Austen Soofi is street-spiritual as well as funny, engaging and wise.”

GQ India

With 2,748 posts (plus over 19,500 images on Instagram), it (The Delhi Walla) features the Delhi you should see, the Delhi that you never see, the Delhi that lies forgotten and sometimes even the Delhi that will come to be.

The Caravan

“The Delhi Walla is one of the city’s best-known flâneurs.”

Time Out Delhi

“The Delhi Walla is a one-man encyclopedia of the city.”

The Guardian

“The Delhi Walla is a celebration of the food, culture and books of India’s capital.”

Biography of The Delhi Walla

Since 2007, Mayank Austen Soofi has been collecting hundreds of stories taking place in Delhi, through writing and photography, for his acclaimed website The Delhi Walla. Every day, Mayank walks around the city with his camera and notebook to track down the part of extraordinary that exists in the seemingly mundane aspects of urban lives. By exploring and documenting the streets, buildings, houses, cuisines, traditions and people of Delhi, his work is also an attempt to give the megalopolis an intimate voice, and to capture the passing of time in this otherwise restlessly changing city.

Mayank is also a daily columnist for Hindustan Times newspaper, and the author of ‘Nobody Can Love You More: Life in Delhi’s Red Light District’ (published by Penguin) and the four-volume ‘The Delhi Walla’ guidebooks (HarperCollins).

Mayank Austen Soofi compulsively publishes texts and photos on his website, Facebook and Instagram. Follow him:

http://www.thedelhiwalla.com/
https://www.instagram.com/thedelhiwalla/
https://www.facebook.com/mayankaustensoofi

Write to mayankaustensoofi@gmail.com

Lonely Planet Discover India

“The Delhi Walla shows an offbeat view of Delhi.”

National Geographic Traveler

“The Delhi Walla is an excellent resource for ‘alternative’ Delhi.”

CNNGo

“The Delhi Walla spends his time in Delhi’s most obscure streets looking for endangered chaiwallahs making tea or other cultural touchstones.”

Author Khushwant Singh

“The Delhi Walla has the knack of bringing out the unusual from the usual, and presenting the city in a different light.”

The Rough Guide to Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra

“The Delhi Walla is an excellent Delhi website with news and views about the city.”

The Independent

“The Delhi Walla is the most compelling guide to India’s capital.”

DK Eyewitness Travel Top 10 Delhi

“The Delhi Walla is a great website for offbeat views of the city.”

The Wall Street Journal

“The Delhi Walla is one of the most insightful guides on life — and food — in India’s capital.”

Historian William Dalrymple

“The Delhi Walla is Delhi’s most idiosyncratic and eccentric website, and reflects a real love of this great but under-loved and underrated city.”

Mail Today

“Perhaps the most compelling and attractive Indian blog is The Delhi Walla blog run by Mayank Austen Soofi.”