Our Self-Written Obituaries – Ratna Golaknath, Vasant Kunj Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 23, 2015July 23, 20150 The 91st death. [Text by Ratna Golaknath; photograph by Meghna Jaswal, or probably her sister Mikta Jaswal] Ratna Golaknath finally stopped thinking and more importantly feeling. The mechanics of her body and brain finally switched off and she passed away peacefully this morning. We know she was not sorry about seeing the end. Years ago, she had written her obituary and her husband has unburied it for us: "Dear ones, I guess I am dead. Treat this as my farewell message. I wrote this when I was 35, for a rather interesting project I stumbled upon via Facebook. Once I go, I want only one legacy to survive about me-that I spread some kindness in your world. I try and will continue to try to
Mission Delhi – Julie, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - July 22, 2015July 22, 20155 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She looks like a starving Buddha, so thin that her bones are showing. One evening The Delhi Walla meets Julie, a dog, in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti. Famed for its Sufi shrine, this urban village happens to have a great number of meat shops. The area's dogs prowl around for scraps of food. But Julie has self-exiled herself on the village’s border. She is watching the traffic on Lodhi Road though seems to be in extreme discomfort. She tries to sit, but fails. She tries to walk, but looks as if she is in great pain. “Julie baby was fine until a week ago,” says a roadside vendor of peanuts.
Our Self-Written Obituaries – David Laurence Libert, Wisconsin Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 21, 20150 The 90th death. [By David Laurence Libert] David Laurence Libert died quietly and comfortably in his Wisconsin home late Thursday morning at the age of eighty five. He was surrounded by a number of friends and family. He had announced to his dearest that his departure was coming "before the next full moon" and true to his word Mr Libert left his physical body just days later. The Madison native will be remembered lovingly by many in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. He spent the last years of his life bicycling and hiking the many hills, forests and valleys and canoeing the many rivers near his simple one room log cabin he had built with his own hands. All
City Library – Karthika VK’s Books, East of Kailash Library by The Delhi Walla - July 20, 2015July 20, 20156 A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sometimes a collection of books becomes a portrait of a marriage. One evening, The Delhi Walla visited Karthika VK, publisher of HarperCollins India, at her East of Kailash home. In her late 40s, Ms Karthika shares a first-floor apartment with her dogs, Sundari and Crush, sons Shiva and Shasta, and husband, Vivek Menon. Ms Karthika has thousands of books at her home. Only a few, however, are from her company. Those books, she says, are at her office in Noida. The books at her home are mostly those that she has gathered over the years as an archetypal bibliophile. One can understand a person by surveying their bookshelves. But Ms Karthika’s collection is mixed with
Atget’s Corner – 846-850, Delhi Photos Delhi Pics by The Delhi Walla - July 20, 20150 The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds, courtyards, kitchens and old buildings. My archive of more than 25,000 photos showcases Delhi’s ongoing evolution. Five randomly picked pictures from this collection are regularly put up on the pages of this website. The series is named in the memory of French artist Eugène Atget (1857-1927), who, in the words of a biographer, was an “obsessed photographer determined to document every corner of Paris before it disappeared under the assault of modern improvements.” Here are Delhi photos numbered 846 to 850. 846. India Gate Circle 847. Delite
City Faith – Spotting Muslim Women, Eid ul-Fitr, Turkman Gate Faith by The Delhi Walla - July 18, 2015July 18, 20152 Daughters of the Eid. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a sea of men. One insufferably humid morning The Delhi Walla attended the prayer ceremony of Eid ul-Fitr at the Faiz Ilahi Masjid, a white-marble mosque tucked in one corner of the Ramlila Maidan. The crowd was so great that a large part of the congregation had to settle outside the mosque. The people spread out their prayer mats on the road itself; in front of the Mughal-era Turkman Gate; outside the building of the Delhi Stock Exchange. The traffic booth at the center of the square seemed like a lighthouse. The street dogs looked puzzled. A barely-conscious beggar looked on with indifference. I tried to look for women. But
City List – Best Selling Dishes, Latitude & Other Khan Market Eateries Delhi by List by The Delhi Walla - July 17, 2015July 17, 20151 Best loved dishes. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Yet another geriatric giant shut shop in the well-set Khan Market. The Chonas restaurant on the Front Lane closed early this year. It had begun as an ice-cream parlour when the market was set up in 1951; and reinvented itself as a formal dining area in the 1980s. Since then it was popular for its Chinese sizzlers. But don’t cry for those greasy snacks. Something exciting has come up where Chonas used to be—a Royal Enfield showroom. Alas, you can’t eat bikes. But there’s still good news for your sweet tooth. The Big Chill chain of restaurants—God bless them for their unearthly banoffee pie—recently opened their first bakery—in Khan Market. Wait, there’s more news
City Moment – The Rickshaw Puller’s Letter, Jangpura Moments by The Delhi Walla - July 16, 2015July 16, 20151 The remarkable Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was writing. One afternoon The Delhi Walla came across a rickshaw puller in central Delhi’s Jangpura. He was seated on his rickshaw’s backseat. It was humid. The man had rolled up his grey trousers as well his white vest. He was writing on a yellow piece of paper with a blue Reynolds ball point pen. Perhaps the rickshaw puller was writing a letter to his wife. Perhaps his wife lived in a village that was a two-night train journey away from Delhi. Perhaps he was inquiring about her health, and about their children. Probably the rickshaw puller would post this letter later in the day. It would reach his wife by next
City Monument – Jahaz Mahal, Mehrauli Monuments by The Delhi Walla - July 15, 20151 Marooned palace. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every year after the monsoons, this ravaged monument whose name means “ship palace” hosts music, dance and acting. It becomes the focal point of cultural activities marking Phoolwalon ki Sair, a festival in which floral tributes are paid to two premier Hindu and Muslim shrines in Mehrauli, a south Delhi region filled with monuments of almost every signifiant historical timeline. Some historians say Jahaz Mahal, built during the Lodhi period (1452-1526), was a mosque. Some think it was the residence of a holy man. Others believe it to be a serai (inn) that took in visiting pilgrims. Adjacent to Hauz-e-Shamsi, a water tank built by Sultan Iltumish, it could also have been a pleasure palace,
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pallavi Pundir, Dehradun Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - July 15, 2015July 15, 20150 The 89th death. [Text by Pallavi Pundir; photo by DN] And just like that, Pallavi Pundir--a magnanimous friend, an unpredictable daughter and a malicious sister--has died. It wasn't like her to pen her own obituary, for introspection was the least of her virtues. Yet, as if forewarned, she scribbled some notes just a few days before her death for those around her to put together in no specific order. There isn’t much to learn about her. She desperately wanted to be 70 years old so that her cold apathy towards the world would be generally disregarded or tediously accepted. She dreamt of living in a secluded hilly village with no public transport just so she would utilise her rusty Ladybird. Then there was