City Book – 20 Years of Trees of Delhi, Authored by Pradip Krishen General Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - October 23, 20260 Is that a peepal or pilkhan. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A book on Delhi need not always have a monument on every other page. Or paya-nihari, or chhole bhathure, for that matter. A book might also have a leaf. Pradip Krishen’s Trees of Delhi turns twenty this year. First published in 2006, this definitive field guide covers 252 species, helping the Delhiwale recognise trees they might have been passing for years without knowing what they were. Each entry is filled with photos and gives the tree’s scientific, common and desi names, its flowering seasons, and details of its leaves and fruit. There are also where-to-see directions: the Ridge for bistendu, Jahanpanah City Forest for kareel. A quick flip of the
City Walk – Punjabi Phatak, Old Delhi General by The Delhi Walla - September 12, 20260 The Old Delhi encyclopedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Old Delhi’s Badshah Halwai, aka Shamman Sweets, sits on Ballimaran’s main market road, the counter crowded with food photos. Fittingly, directly across the road, the arched gateway of Punjabi Phatak opens into what feels like Ballimaran’s food pantry. For that alley is lined with scores and scores of eateries. Yazdaan Roti Wale turns out rotis. At Shakeel Parathe Wale, parathas sizzle on the tawa beside crates of eggs. Flyers at Abid Breakfast announce khasta kachori and dal wali kachori. Zaiqa Hotel offers bade ka qorma and bade ka keema. Angeethi promises chicken lollipop. A taped notice inside settles a sensitive matter: extra gravy costs 20 rupees. One of these eateries has been
City Life – 1982 Directory, Jangpura Extension, Part 2 General by The Delhi Walla - April 30, 20260 Time capsule from a Delhi colony. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] An archive is not always a grand building in the capital’s heart, stocked with musty documents. It can be a photographer’s lifework, an anthropologist’s Instagram handle, or even a neighbourhood directory of peoples and businesses. Take Portrait of a Colony, a booklet pulled from a garbage heap some weeks ago. Intended for residents of a Delhi locality, the 1982 publication is a rare record of a city neighbourhood. One aspect of the booklet was covered here in the story titled “Krishna Chopra, a “housewife”; Moley Fernandes, a “crooner.” This is the concluding part. Labelled the “Directory of Residents of Jangpura Extension, Link Road and Birbal Road,” the booklet presents the
City Poetry – Tikuli Dogra’s Poem, Lodhi Garden General by The Delhi Walla - April 24, 20260 Poetry in the city [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The moon feels older than time. Yet once, there was no moon—only the collision that made it. Lodhi Garden might not appear as timeless as its crescent moon (see the park’s night photo), but it does look very, very old, owing to its centuries-old monuments and its huge unwieldy trees with wrinkled trunks. The park, actually, is young, landscaped by colonial-era hands. This year, it turns ninety. Last week, this space traced the garden through the lives of a few Delhiwallas. This week, poet-artist Tikuli Dogra (insta handle @tikulli), who lives in south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj, offers her poem drawn from the park paths. Lodhi Lines The fringes of the day lingered on the ramparts of Lodhi’s
From The Delhi Walla Archives – A Selection of Prints, “Somewhere in Delhi”, Fifth Batch General by The Delhi Walla - April 22, 20260 Tangible souvenirs [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Hello friends! I’ve come out with the fifth batch of “Somewhere in Delhi” prints! The selection is curated and designed by Venetian designer Anna Gerotto, and professionally printed on high quality Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308 paper. Each print is signed and numbered by its writer-snapper--me! These tangible souvenirs are intended to carry a spirit of the work I have been doing non-stop day and night in the lanes of Delhi—since 2007! Four new options! Write to me for details at mayankaustensoofiarchive@gmail.com. Somewhere in Delhi 1. "Timeworn wall" 2. "Abandoned happiness" 3. "Sam and me" 4. "Writer's diary"
City Anniversary – Jane Austen’s 250th Happy Birthday, Daryaganj General Life by The Delhi Walla - December 16, 20250 She wrote for Delhi people too. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Let us be grateful to our scholars. They undertake the hard labour of analysing the joyful novels of Jane Austen under the probing lens of very many isms—colonialism, feminism, etc. Their brainy chore helps us, readers, to better understand our beloved writer. That said, all the six complete novels of the English novelist are essentially love stories, and each ends with at least one wedding. Yet, not a single novel gives a detailed description of the wedding. Today, the world is celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th birth anniversary, and one way to offer homage to the great novelist is by compensating for that perplexing gap in her books. Here’s the
City Region – Sarai Kale Khan, Central Delhi General Life by The Delhi Walla - September 17, 20250 Metamorphosis of a sarai. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mama ka Dhaba, Yash Guest House, Maa Sharda Tour & Travels… this land is full of eateries, lodges and travel agency kiosks. Everyday thousands of travellers pass through Sarai Kale Khan. The congested central Delhi locality has a bus terminus, a railway station, and a metro station. This week, Sarai Kale Khan will witness the inaugural of the ambitiously named Rapid Rail Transit Station (RRTS). It is expected to become the national capital’s first “multimodal interchange hub,” delivering connectivity to travellers across seven public transport modes. The huge station will have 14 lifts and 18 escalators. But Sarai Kale Khan is more than just a travellers’ halt. Even though its name has
City Life – Mashak Wallas, Old Delhi General by The Delhi Walla - May 20, 2025May 20, 20250 On a Walled City heritage. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It all began one afternoon in Delhi’s Sunday Book Bazar, on fishing out the first edition of an out-of-print guidebook on the Walled City. Published more than 35 years ago, ‘Old Delhi: 10 Easy Walks’ was authored by two English women, Gaynor Barton and Laurraine Malone. The cover shows a man standing in front of the Jama Masjid. He is in check lungi, with something slung on his shoulder. It is a mashak, an old-fashioned goat-skin bag. Long ago in Purani Dilli, a mashak walla would draw water from the well, pour it into his goat-skin bag, and hawk the water from house to house. Today, Jama Masjid still stands in
City Walk – Motor Market, Old Delhi General Walks by The Delhi Walla - April 7, 2025April 7, 20250 The Walled City encyclopaedia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gali Choori Wallan had choori sellers. Gali Sui Wallan had suiwork artisans. And Motor Market had motor sellers. It continues to have them. Old Delhi’s Motor Market is better known as Jama Masjid Motor Market. For it lies right behind the Jama Masjid. A pavement wall separates the Mughal-era mosque from the Motor Market road. The wall is flanked by bougainvilleas shrubs. These pink flowers happen to be the sole decorations in the living arrangements of labourers who reside by the wall. During the day, the men are away at work, leaving behind their bags and belongings, which hang from hooks nailed on the wall. The labourers return in the evening. After
City Food – Mannu’s Sattu Ghol, Old Delhi General by The Delhi Walla - April 4, 2025April 4, 20250 Summertime comfort. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mannu’s smile at once makes his face fluid. The features expand, the smile spreading to eyes and ears. The young man hails from the nearby district of Saharanpur, and has been a Delhi walla for some years. He identifies himself as a “dihari mazdoor,” a daily wage labourer. In fact, this afternoon he is stationed close to a so-called “labour chowk” in Old Delhi where carpenters and painters squat everyday by the intersection, waiting for assignments. Mannu too is squatting by the street. But he has no paint brushes or carpentry tools. He has two metal buckets. One is partially filled with plain water. The other is wrapped in a wet red cloth, filled