India, April 17 -- She earns by singing and dancing and offering blessings in household celebrations such as weddings, childbirths and grih-pravesh. This afternoon, combing her long oiled hair in a Wa... Read More
India, April 17 -- Chicken Corner. Is this what the great bookstore has become? No disrespect to the pavement eatery, but it is right outside the bookstore, blocking the access to the shuttered front.... Read More
India, April 15 -- Monuments are made of stones and stories. Sometimes, some monuments are threaded together by a single story, such as these three. Once upon a time there was an emperor called Akbar... Read More
India, April 12 -- Deserted alleys, defaced walls, cobwebby windows, rusting doors, loopy cables, dead rats and unexpected dead-ends. Strolling through certain Old Delhi passageways is like being aban... Read More
India, April 12 -- Citizen Nizam doesn't think much of himself. "What is special about me?"-he asks, genuinely perplexed on being photographed. Well, good sir, you happen to be among the last flag-be... Read More
India, April 9 -- Gone. Shah Music Centre had hundreds of LPs. Those 'Long Play' discs storing half hour of music, before needing to be turned over, have long been out of use, but the classic Old Delh... Read More
India, April 9 -- Once upon a time, very long ago, a Walled City gali was home to a community of citizens called dakot. They workshopped Shani Dev and would ask for dakshina, or donations, as an offer... Read More
India, April 6 -- Some parts so silent and deserted, others full of bustle and sounds. Most of Gali Gudaryan is like a baggy wide megapolis where people come from all corners of the world for a livin... Read More
India, April 5 -- Thanda paani trolleys have returned. So have street hawkers selling coconut slices and peeled cucumbers (neembu mar ke!). So have shikanji kiosks. So have stalls of (the early) mango... Read More
India, April 4 -- He raises his arms, lowers his head, stands motionless, seeming to take a deep breath, and-oh look-he is jumping down from his high perch! Splash. He plunges into the water. Another ... Read More