City Monument – Agrasen ki Baoli, Hailey Road

by The Delhi Walla - 8

The well of solitude. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid the business towers and residential apartments of the Colonial-era Connaught Place, this 14th century baoli or ancient step-well, is flanked on both sides by niches, chambers and passageways, and the 104 stone steps descending into the well’s dried-up base, have three levels. It is not certain who built it, though some credit it to a king called Agrasen; hence the name. As you enter, you will see a mosque on one side. Initially, you will hear the cooing of hundreds of pigeons. But as you walk down the stairs, the silence deepens, the city skyline disappears and the daylight fades away. This was a reservoir, as well as a summer refuge,

City Faith – Ramayan Paath, Sahibabad

by The Delhi Walla - 8

Finding peace in the Hindu epic. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pushpa Singh’s living room in Vasundhara Valley Apartment Society has been turned into a temple. She and her husband, Kshetra Pal, are hosting Ramayan Paath, a continuous reading session of Ramcharitmanas, a Hindu epic on Lord Ram. Written in Avdhi, a Hindi-language dialect, it was composed by the 16th century saint-poet Tulsi Das. Living in a gated residential complex in Sahibabad, a Delhi suburb, the 63-year-old bridge player sent SMS-invites to friends, neighbours and also to the security guards of her ‘apartment society’. A priest was hired for a new pair of dhoti, kurta and 101 rupees. The Ramayan Paath is an important event in the Singhs’ social calendar. Mrs Singh’s

Mission Delhi – Shankar, Matia Mahal

by The Delhi Walla - 11

One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Matia Mahal Bazaar. Midnight. Shutters down. Looking up at the delicate latticework of Old Delhi balconies, he suddenly turns back and stands facing the Jama Masjid. “It’s awe-inspiring,” says Shankar, looking at South Asia’s biggest mosque, built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan. “It’s more a symbol of power than spirituality and yet, when I go inside, I feel calm,” he says, requesting that his family name not be used for this portrait. As someone who has seen Vienna, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Budapest, Benares, Lahore, Ladakh, Isfahan, Kashkar, Samarkand, Shanghai, Srinagar, Marrakech, Damascus, Beirut and Ankara, Shankar says, “There are a million cities in Delhi… that’s what

City Living – So Many Delhis

by The Delhi Walla - 2

It's too varied. [Text and picture by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi may be a city but it is as varied as any country. “We have many Delhis,” says Rakhshanda Jalil, the author of Invisible City. “You’ve these oasis of privileges as well as places that are cramped and clamorous. A cordon sanitaire (quarantine line) divides the two.” Sometimes that divide comes in the form of railway tracks. It seperates the leafy Nizamuddin East, an upper crust colony, from the dusty Sarai Kale Khan, a low-income neighbourhood. They could as well be Monaco and Mogadishu. “I’m lucky to have a house here in Nizmuddin East,” says author Sadia Dehlvi, whose roof looks over to Humayun’s Tomb as well as the brick-and-cement skyline of Sarai

Photo Essay – Traffic Jam, Kasturba Gandhi Marg

by The Delhi Walla - 2

The carefree hours. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cop has surrendered. The traffic lights are not working. The scooters, cars and buses are not moving. You are no longer caring for your appointment. This must be the classic Delhi traffic jam. "Whether you live in the posh Sainik Farms or in Sultanpuri slums," says Ranjana Sengupta, the author of Delhi Metropolitan - The Making of a City, "You have to put up with jams and that's very democratic. It unites people from different walks of life into one common thread." During a major traffic snarl, the part of the city which is directly affected becomes civilized. Drivers stop blowing horns. The road becomes quiet. You could actually enjoy the 'spare' hours.

Mission Delhi – Berenice Ellena, Jangpura

by The Delhi Walla - 8

One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] When sad, Berenice Ellena locks herself in her Jangpura apartment and listens to flamenco songs, Portuguese lamentations or nostalgic Brazilian music. “I love the sound of these languages,” the Frenchwoman says. “They are like a cuddle.” Born in Bordeaux, the famous wine region in France, Ms Ellena has been in Delhi for two years, creating European designs out of Indian fabrics. She first took a house in Nizamuddin West, a neighbourhood popular with foreigners. “In Paris, there are different areas, which are like villages with distinct personalities,” says Ms Ellena, “and Nizamuddin West is like that.” In the evenings, she would walk around the streets of Nizamuddin

Madrid Confessions – What I Really Did

by The Delhi Walla - 4

Schmap Madrid Guide has liked The Delhi Walla. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] [One of the several photos taken by The Delhi Walla has been selected for inclusion in the ninth edition of Schmap Madrid Guide. Click here to see that picture] Never before been out of India but having grown with Tolstoy, Bach and Vermeer, I considered myself a brown European with Proustian sensibilities. In September, 2009, I finally went to the ‘mother continent’, not on an extensive tour, but for a weeklong getaway in Madrid. (You may read and find links to The Delhi Walla's entire Madrid Diary here). I wasn’t excited. I feel for Paris and Vienna. On the map, Madrid is closer to Morocco than Moscow. Besides,

Dateline GB Road – Sex Workers Want License

by The Delhi Walla - 7

Delhi’s red light district is hopeful. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] GB Road, Delhi’s red light district, is all gratitude to the Indian Supreme Court. “We are so happy,” says Ms Nasreen, a sex worker. On December 9th, 2009, a two-judge bench in the court asked the government whether it could legalize prostitution if it couldn’t curb it. Immediately afterwards, the kothas (establishments) were abuzz with what might happen next. “If we get licenses, then we’ll have ration cards,” says sex worker Ms Babita, “and we can also save ourselves from being exploited by lawyers, kotha owners, pimps, money-lenders, and women traffickers.” A substantial portion of the earnings of the mostly illiterate women in GB Road is spent in legal hassles.

Mission Delhi – Muhammad Salim, Mathura Road

by The Delhi Walla - 3

One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is holding onto the rear bumper of a fast moving auto, the wheels of his low-floor improvised wooden trolley making a clattering noise on the potholed street. The auto is turning left towards Oberoi Hotel flyover. Letting it go, he is steering the trolley across Mathura Road, maneuvering it by hands. The cars and scooters are not slowing down to give him way. A blueline bus misses him just in time. How much of the world the 18-year-old Muhamamd Salim would have seen if the polio had not destroyed his legs? Three days ago he boarded Dakshin Express from Jhansi, his hometown in Uttar Pradesh state,

Mission Delhi – One Percent in 13 Million

by The Delhi Walla - 18

Cracking the city. [Text and picture by Mayank Austen Soofi] You don’t understand a city by its buildings and bazaars, but by its people. That's why you can’t take in the entire Delhi in one lifetime - we have 13 million souls here. The Delhi Walla plans to make portraits of one per cent of this 8-digit figure, that is 1, 30, 000 Delhiwallas. Each portrait will have a photograph of the person along with a peek into his life. By the time I finish the project (just assuming), the looks and the lives of most people I will photograph and profile is bound to change. You may wonder then, what is the point? People are not ruins. They evolve over the years. Trying to

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