The Delhi Walla Books – Enjoying a Long Life

More considered reviews and recognition. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] A cat has nine lives. The Delhi Walla books – all four of them – are enjoying the same fate. Published by HarperCollins India in 2010, the books were widely considered…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – XII, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 12th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…

City Season - Spring Delights, Around Town

Sweet and short. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] At last it is spring. The Oxford English dictionary describes it as “the season after winter and before summer, in which vegetation begins to appear.” In the West, this is…

City Book – Delhi: 14 Historic Walks, Swapna Liddle

Walking with a guide. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Considering the disrespect that car drivers give to pedestrians in Delhi, it is tough to believe that the Capital is meant for leisure walking. But here are the secrets. You can spend…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – XI, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the 11th meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…

Photo Essay - Sleeping, Around Town

Our fundamental right. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In February 2012, the Supreme Court of India declared that a citizen has a right to sound sleep because it is fundamental to life and falls within the purview of…

City Food – Litti Chokha, Around Town

Delhi’s best-kept secret. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If Bihar were a country, Delhi should be its capital and litti chokha its national dish. The capital is home to a large migrant population from Bihar, but… ‘Just what…

City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Pragati Maidan

Delhi’s principal mischief-maker. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening, The Delhi Walla sighted his most beloved Delhiite – author Arundhati Roy. She was in hall number 11, Pragati Maidan, a sprawling complex in central Delhi that was…

City Reading – The Delhi Proustians – X, Indian Coffee House

A la recherche du temps perdu. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Today is the tenth meeting of The Delhi Proustians, a club for Delhiwallas that discusses French novelist Marcel Proust. Every Monday evening for an hour we read…

City Moment – Sadia Dehlvi’s The Sufi Courtyard, Nizamuddin East

The author with her new book. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla entered the home of author Sadia Dehlvi in Nizamuddin East. The house was all happiness. Ms Dehlvi’s publisher HarperCollins India had just…