City Landmark – Village Well, Lado Sarai Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - June 5, 20260 Beyond the baoli. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The old well in Lado Sarai still stands in a corner of the South Delhi village. This afternoon, a few men sit facing it and talking. At first glance, the scene could belong to the era when villagers would gather at the village well to draw water, and to exchange news. But the well no longer supplies water. Its mouth is covered with a metal grille. Residents say there is still water below, but nobody draws from it. Like most of Delhi, the village now receives piped water. Even the village no longer resembles a village of conventional imagination. Quite a few posh-type artists have studios here. That said, wells survive in many of
City Food – Lakshmi Dhaba, Humayun Road Food by The Delhi Walla - June 3, 20260 Table for many. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The menu of the day is nearly as long as the table itself. This afternoon, a row of pans claiming most of the table holds kali masur dal, makhani dal, matar paneer, chhole masala, aloo gobhi, and anda curry. There is also a choice of chawal and fresh rotis. Lakshmi Dhaba, on Central Delhi’s Humayun Road, beside a cab stand, has all the basic features of a roadside eatery. Yet it feels unusually welcoming. Is it the long table and the scattered chairs around it, which give the place an informal, relaxed atmosphere? Or is it the fact that despite the sweltering June heat, it remains comfortable enough for tired and hungry citizens
City Walk – Cornwallis Colony, Central Delhi Hangouts Walks by The Delhi Walla - June 3, 20260 American connection in the Indian capital. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is littered with scraps of history that seem unrelated until they are placed alongside one another. Then a single narrative thread emerges from the scattered pieces. Over the past few weeks, you may have noticed auto-rickshaws bearing placards (see photo) announcing the forthcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, as part of an initiative by the US Embassy. Yet the story of American independence is far closer to Delhi than this publicity campaign suggests. Within walking distance of Khan Market, a sleepy, virtually hidden, locality preserves the name of a man who played a significant role in American independence. He also played an equally significant role in Indian history. Most of Delhi's
City Landmark – Rooftop by Jama Masjid, Chatta Sheikh Mangloo Landmarks by The Delhi Walla - June 1, 20260 Chhat of Chatta. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Chatta Sheikh Mangloo, an Old Delhi street that houses the grave of the mystic Sheikh Mangloo, stretches northward from beneath the shadow of Jama Masjid's southern tower. Yet a citizen walking through the street would catch no glimpse of Old Delhi's signature monument. Hemmed in by tightly packed multi-storeyed buildings, the cramped lane teems with crowds, commerce, and noise, and shows no glimpse of the aforementioned historic edifice. As if the centuries-old stone structure towering above it belongs to some distant, rumoured world. Consequently, the street is so close to a great monument, yet so far. Whatever, the word chatta of Chatta Sheikh Mangloo refers to a private bridge-like structure that spans over
City Walk – Gali Shyam Bhawan, Old Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - June 1, 20260 The Walled City encyclopaedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The informally named Gali Shyam Bhawan is very short. The roofed lane begins and ends as a passage, leading inward from the light and noise of Daryaganj in Old Delhi. As it stretches ahead, the lane darkens. The lane’s entrance is marked by a stall selling religious posters. This blinding afternoon, Sonu’s display bears images of Ram Darbar, Radha Krishna and Shivji Bhagwan. Further in, where the lane grows dim and feels cut off from the rest of the city, stands its defining landmark, marked only by a tiny, almost invisible scrawl of blue ink on the chipped wall: “tea wala.” Upender’s tea stall is richly detailed. The place is crammed with a
Mission Delhi – Chand Nizami, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah Faith Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - May 28, 2026May 28, 20260 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] At 64, Chand Nizami is beginning a new chapter. After performing for more than two decades with his nephews Shadab and Sohrab as part of the celebrated Nizami Bandhu qawwali group, the veteran qawwal says he will now perform separately. “I’ll no longer be seen with my nephews,” he says. “I want to start new innings.” Plus, his three sons have grown into young men, and he wants to sing with them instead. He describes his sons as pioneers in “techno qawwali.” The decision marks a significant shift in the world of qawwali at Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, among the most important centres of Sufism. Qawwali, the
Mission Delhi – Arshi, Central Delhi Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - May 28, 20260 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The midday is turning out to be intolerable. The summer air is so searingly hot that even the shirt collar is burning the neck. One wonders how can we the people survive in such hostile conditions. Yet we do. Take this market lane in a Central Delhi locality. It is a blinding white afternoon, and the lane is moderately crowded. Vendors are parked along the street-side, though not a single tree stands on the street. One man is sitting beneath the skeletal shade of a potted plant, his eyes closed. And then there is Arshi, an alm seeker. She sits directly under the sun. No shade near her.
City Faith – Shri Ganga ji Mandir, Gali Mira Wali Khurd Faith by The Delhi Walla - May 26, 20260 Shrine to the river goddess. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The temple priest is concentratedly washing the temple’s checkered marble floor early this morning. The water flowing from his plastic hose has most likely come from Yamuna ji, the sacred river that runs through Delhi and supplies much of the city’s water. The same Yamuna ji, further downstream along its course, flows past the Taj Mahal before merging with the great Ganga ji at the Sangam in Allahabad, now called Prayagraj. One imagines Ganga ji to have countless temples devoted to her. Yet they are difficult to find, at least in Delhi. One temple stands here in Old Delhi, beside Gali Mira Wali Khurd, near Chawri Bazar. Despite its rarity, the
City Season – Amaltas Flowers, Summertime Delhi Nature by The Delhi Walla - May 26, 20260 Heatwave's yellow. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Battered by extreme heat, summertime Delhi still manages to look beautiful, thanks to the Amaltas tree, which offers eye-soothing yellow flowers during the city’s scorching season. Some weeks ago, as a curtain-raiser to the Amaltas season, this page recommended the best places in Delhi to see the trees in full bloom. Now, as the city enters peak summer, the flowering appears somewhat less spectacular than in previous years. Amrita Sher-Gil Road, of course, has long been among the city’s finest avenues for viewing Amaltas in flower. This year, the road lacks the dense yellow canopy it wore in previous summers. One Amaltas in particular seems to capture the season’s disappointing showing. The fresh flowers of
City Walk – Ballimaran, Old Delhi Walks by The Delhi Walla - May 24, 20260 The Walled City encyclopaedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Poet Mirza Ghalib spent his life’s last decade in a haveli that has mostly vanished from the face of the earth. Some remains remain. The story of those remains being reduced to a coal store has long been part of Delhi’s literary folklore. Whatever, that historic house of literature stands in Gali Qasim Jan, one of the many narrow lanes that crisscross the Old Delhi neighbourhood of Ballimaran. Ballimaran is said to take its name from the ballis, the wooden poles that were used to anchor boats in the Yamuna. Another less convincing explanation also exists. A book on Delhi describes Ballimaran as the “lane of cat killers,” deriving the name from