Poulomi Deb

It’s an exceptionally rare day when a film isn’t being screened somewhere in Delhi out of someone’s good will. Tickets to screenings at many of these beloved spots are free or nominal; often, even in the city’s busiest or oddest hours, they draw seriously dedicated viewers and intense conversations. You really don’t have to wait for a classic old film to be digitised online or prove yourself as a buff to be let into some exclusive club. Chances are what you want to watch – and what you didn’t know you wanted to watch – are being screened, like, yesterday, with friendly people at their helm. For years now, we’ve been staying till credits roll in spots and clubs across the capital. This guide rounds up some of the best.

Big churns in concert plans not withstanding, Delhi’s not one to be cut loose from fun. A big ticket this week is Trym. The Norwegian producer whose Boiler Room Paris set had the internet in a chokehold lands in Gurugram as part of his debut India tour.  Meanwhile, of course, the galleries are still running. Two shows we recommend are The Architecture of the Void at Gallery Dotwalk, and Houses I Almost Lived In at LATITUDE 28. Both are free. Neither will take more than an afternoon. And if you need to come down from a warehouse at some point in the weekend: Kanan Gill brings a new comedy set on Friday and Saturday, and Atul Khatri closes things out at Hauz Khas on the 24th with stories about a four-year-old grandson and forty-odd years of marriage. Take your pick below!

Delhi’s got a little bit of everything when it comes to music – qawwalis, the ever-becoming raga, an emerging underground hip hop scene, vinyl bars, a few really cool karaoke spots. It’s slightly unfortunate then that so many recent conversations about music have strangely become limited to who the next new it-performer’s going to be and which stadium gig recently got sold out.  Let me tell you: there’s a lot more to consuming music in this city beyond fighting for an overpriced ticket on booking platforms that gleefully glitch when you think you’ve finally nabbed one. Some great opportunities to listen to stuff you like and discover new tunes often lurk in WhatsApp forwards, word of mouth, listening club sessions in basements, casual acts on bars’ spare stages, and venues for whom music isn’t even their biggest sell. This guide is a set of entry points into that city. You’ll have to work slightly harder than clicking a genre. You’ll have to watch for announcements, show up somewhere unfamiliar, trust that something worth a shot is about to begin, and even – gasp – be ready to not love every track. The best music has always required a little courage. Delhi asks for no more than that.

Hot. As hell. I know. Counter-point: Delhi rarely offers this many once-in-a-while things in the same thirty-one days. And a good chunk of our offering this May actually ensures you’re indoors or in the shade.  The month’s teeming with things of all kinds: book sales, moving heritage events, a long streak of comedy shows, theatre based on decades of literature reprints, headbangers in the club and classical music, several art exhibits, sports, calligraphy. Ambition, much? Doesn’t stop there. That Ye concert that made headlines (and memes) all over the country for its delay? That’s this month. So is an officially ordained tomato-throwing festival. So, while we obviously understand that urge to screw off to the hills, don’t sweat coming back (other than literally). Here’s what we’ve got.

After bidding farewell to nylon full sleeves and denim jackets, Delhites are wrapping themselves in everything loose and breathable. It’s getting hotter outside – though not hot enough to avoid gorgeous urban parks just yet. From Lodhi Gardens to the Aravalli ridges, April is all about a variety of blossoms.  Right before an unbearable summer, Delhi knows that April is its last chance to loiter. And so, the capital has taken its April quite seriously. There are a lot of interesting performances lined up at Delhi auditoriums alone. There’s also a jazz festival and some pretty cool concerts. Also, a load of out-of-the-box events to look forward to: a drag show musical, Japanese relay and a comic rock band performance. Check it all out below!

It’s March, and Delhi’s weather is arguably at its most gorgeous. The heat’s made a slightly earlyish appearance (or has it? Summer always feels like a slightly unwelcome prospect following a perfect spring) and everyone’s ditched the sweaters and jackets. March also, incidentally, means it’s time for Holi! One of Delhi’s favourite festivals, because we love getting down and dirty. Ahem.  The biggest ticket event (literally – entry is bloody pricey) this month was supposed to be Ye’s India tour, but he's heading to Delhi in May instead. Fear not: other big performers include Punjabi rapper Honey Singh, as well as a great lineup of comedy shows: Aakash Gupta, Anubhav Bassi, Prashasti Singh, and loads more.  It’s a big month in terms of general activity too: Ramzan is on, of course, which means certain neighbourhoods around Chandni Chowk and Jamia will be abuzz with loads of activity after dark. There will, obviously, also be loads of Holi parties (catered as well as BYOB) around the city. Our guide tells you which ones are worth your buck.

I can’t count the times that I’ve passed Seven Seeds in a summer evening auto, been caught by the glowy ochre light out of its glass-protected interiors and sentence-case tiled name, and bided my time for an occasion to visit. As it turns out, this coffee shop fits many, and by now, I’ve enjoyed them all. You could be here for a solo cappuccino and a book, a snob taste test, or post a loud-mouthed Humayunpur restro-bar hang at 3 in the morning. Being open till 4am is easily one of the best things about this place, rivalled by the fact that they do specialty coffees as well as their classics, and their surprise espresso martinis later in the night. Even when the wind slaps tissues out of your hands in the outer dining area, and chatter gets loud between not-so-far-from-each-other tables, there’s something very calm about these sky-blue walls, amusing caricatures, and road safety mirrors for decor. Not to mention music at an ideal volume – and they’ve got good taste in jazz. The coffee Many successful small coffee shops in Delhi are so because of one or two consistent picks on the menu that you can sip on while you work. You’ve got your usual choices, like the manual brew, which my friend orders. He’s the type to obsessively stalk coffee beans and their origins online before he buys roasts. And he’s quick to remark that he’s not sure if the beans are roasted fresh in-house. Whether he’s right, he appreciates that it’s smooth without the bitterness, holds its ground even as it c

Pour Over Coffee Roasters, so far, has got three distinct characters – and in concept, they nail the respective feels of their distinct surroundings. One is a suave Khan Market eatery which turns into a bar at night; one’s the earlier-to-close Santushti Complex cafe which gears more towards breakfast and a crowd of all ages, and one’s a small kiosk, perfect for to-gos, operating out of a corporate office in Noida. That’s almost like the ideal kiss-marry-kill of coffee brand outlets. As it turns out, this flexibility extends to the menu. You can sit all day and debate what constitutes a good dining spot in India’s most expensive market or a high-end shopping complex, but to be frank, as pretty as they are, it’s easy to forget once you realise how well-curated the menu is. Food, drinks (coffee and not), hard drinks: a crisply uniform 5 pages each, but a fresh mix of the old and new. Bean history flash cards and palette cleanser soda, here, do more for the experience than you think. The coffee we tried Skip your usual here and go straight for the PO Specials section of the menu, though I suppose there’s no preventing you from the manual brews if you’re that person. The Australian Mocha hits a balance between chocolate and sweetness without thickening itself into a glorified melted pudding. Still thinner is the Vanilla Cold Brew, which, no matter how many times you whisk that spoon and watch it become whiter, packs coffee so strong it could be a premature cocktail. Then rolls in

A love letter and a provocation. Daryaganj Gold is propped up to be an elevated offshoot of the city’s well-bitten butter chicken dynasty, dating back to the Partition. Daryaganj the chain mops rotis and hauls up malls across Delhi, and as you settle into your seat at this Aerocity outlet, you could be forgiven for thinking the kitchen’s crossed a line with overly simmering ambition. After all, Daryaganj had first brought the Gold concept to Bangkok. Pretty-to-look-at montages of history on small TV screens, and illustrated trails of the namesake neighbourhood in almost block-print style, are gorgeous decor, but also a potential reinforcement of the feeling.  It was, then, particularly striking to see what I liked the most. Not the staple mains and breads that I’m bound to expect some quality from, but the bits that I imagined I would write off as shingling. Including, believe it or not, the Gold cocktails. The Gold menu special to this outlet is – in the restaurant's own telling – a reimagination. Namely, of 1947 classics colliding with global ingredients and techniques. This framework is for a menu of pleasures and ribbons that spell ‘fusion’, rather than arguments for what’s good. But delicious pleasures are no small matter, especially not when they’re rigorously stirred nearby in huge pots – visible through a large glass window that permits, briefly, the feel of a loud, friendly North Indian kitchen. This menu has, mostly, perfected fusion to the extent that it’s irritati

When’s the last time you shook a tambourine in one hand and poked a spoon into your drink just to desperately scoop a damn good jamun sorbet out? In my defence, you could be next. A faint, circular light in the distance is what first identifies Mido Social House to me, steps away from Kailash Colony’s shockingly underrated food market. By underrated, I mean not crowded – often – sometimes even on weekends. I’m immediately skeptical. For an establishment that self-proclaimably wants to make a shareable, boisterous, almost neighbourly experience out of European dining, the décor doesn’t screech at you in the way a friendly neighbourhood bar with maximalist walls would. Like, say, Nukkad would.  Incidentally, Nukkad was founded by the same person as Mido Social House: Kanishk Tuteja. But no, Mido Social House compellingly sticks to some amount of NCR European restaurant principle. A spiral staircase and a tiny lift, that one theatrical shade of dark, sultry green pouring over both the first floor and terrace seating. Low lamp-forward lighting, crystal ashtrays, temperature-controlled water. Some amount of global posturing on the menu – pan-Asian and kebab picks, for example.  The grins and boisterousness, instead, sneak up on you. Most likely after you’ve downed a few. A DJ, popping out of nowhere late in the night, with bass-heavy hits. Tambourines, of all things, dished out like they’re hot sauce.  Do you dance?  Or do you feel a sense of loyalty to eating the pasta before it

I had a vague idea of Nadoo’s premise when I walked in for dinner: that their philosophy is an open defiance of Delhi's usual fare of South Indian food, one which typically lets dosas, idlis, and uttapams take over all tables and social media feeds – admittedly with the result of good business.  That philosophy is clearly gleaned from the formidably long menu alone, spanning multiple states of the South and some clever twists and homages, like the moniker of ‘Dunken Doughnuts’ for vadai.  But then, you look thoroughly away from the table. (There’s no situation in which you don’t.) The meditatively terracotta brown and caved interiors, a copper-encased fountain and perfectly volumed jazz that ran gentle on the ears, sectioned eating areas and two actual separate bars for their kaapi and cocktail offerings. Does this place deserve even more than being defined as a mere subversion of stereotypes? It takes not a long while to find out. Chef Shri Bala’s inventiveness is everywhere from the several chutneys and rasam offerings that taste like they could constitute entire gravies, the soft crunch of the amusing caviar idli, egg puff and fried-parotta nachos with in-house hummus repurposed from Tamil Nadu's sundal, to dishes like the green chilli chicken, which she tells me is a recipe from the hands of cooks who take leftover ingredients from the houses they work in. It’s a delicious Andhra dish – pachi mirapayakaya – but at Nadoo, it comes with fluffy baos and a slice of coconut th

Competition (if you call it that) for your attention among the hip art galleries in South Delhi, let alone Defence Colony, is stiff as brandy. Method’s always struck my imagination as having a particularly young, cheeky, cool-kid-in-your-classroom character. Their basement space in a non-descript building, patchy network inside, and little but a small name outside to guide you in, truly proves that you’ve already been struck by their latest exhibit’s prospect – which, I guarantee, most of its visitors are, for very good reasons. If you know Method from its Kala Ghoda venue, I’m happy to tell you that there are 0 signs of the Delhi chapter, established five years later, trying to piggyback on the Mumbai one’s reputation. You can tell from the outset (read: their blank walls and minimal staircase to an elevated platform) that their focus is on intentionally positioning their artists’ pieces.  By their own admission, Method is far more interested in positioning the contemporary and the experimental – often by emerging artists or those with niche mediums. And not in the buzzword way. They’re at their second best with their (frequent) solo exhibitions, which really allow you to delve into one creator’s work which often would otherwise be propped up as quick, flashy, and embodied into ‘broader’ themes.  Now here’s why I said that’s their second best offering. The gallery has partnered with one of India’s pioneering online radio communities for alternative music – Boxout.fm – since

Competition (if you call it that) for your attention among the hip art galleries in South Delhi, let alone Defence Colony, is stiff as brandy. Method’s always struck my imagination as having a particularly young, cheeky, cool-kid-in-your-classroom character. Their basement space in a non-descript building, patchy network inside, and little but a small name outside to guide you in, truly proves that you’ve already been struck by their latest exhibit’s prospect – which, I guarantee, most of its visitors are, for very good reasons. If you know Method from its Kala Ghoda venue, I’m happy to tell you that there are 0 signs of the Delhi chapter, established five years later, trying to piggyback on the Mumbai one’s reputation. You can tell from the outset (read: their blank walls and minimal staircase to an elevated platform) that their focus is on intentionally positioning their artists’ pieces.  By their own admission, Method is far more interested in positioning the contemporary and the experimental – often by emerging artists or those with niche mediums. And not in the buzzword way. They’re at their second best with their (frequent) solo exhibitions, which really allow you to delve into one creator’s work which often would otherwise be propped up as quick, flashy, and embodied into ‘broader’ themes.  Now here’s why I said that’s their second best offering. The gallery has partnered with one of India’s pioneering online radio communities for alternative music – Boxout.fm – since

Classical music is breaking out of the dark auditorium where you walk in alone, watch artists from a distance often without a word, applaud at prescribed moments, and leave. Which instrument is following the other’s tune? Is knowing what a raga is enough to talk to the person next to you?  It’s questions like these that led Sukanya Banerjee and Tejas Jaishankar to start Upstairs. The two, now partners, met in college, and Sukanya recalls a conversation where Tejas asked her, ‘Why doesn’t classical music have group meets and fan merch?’ It’s this sort of curiosity that they now seek to stamp under the tabla with their series of baithaks. At Upstairs, in living rooms lit up by lamps, the musician speaks to you. Hell, they might even get coffee with you. Stupid questions and asides to other audience members are encouraged. They swap elaborate musician bios and theoretical tid-bits for a simple explanation of what you’re about to hear, guiding you towards having that discerning ear. You will catch the smallest details in how faces change, how someone will start tapping their lap. The easy chemistry that the founders have with their audiences and performers is commendable. The music itself is best left for you to discover, and in Sukanya’s words, form your own vocabulary for.  Upstairs began in the third floor of their DDA Flats apartment in Vasant Kunj, and as they expand slowly to other venues, they’re successfully maintaining a good balance of intensity and accessibility, which

Classical music is breaking out of the dark auditorium where you walk in alone, watch artists from a distance often without a word, applaud at prescribed moments, and leave. Which instrument is following the other’s tune? Is knowing what a raga is enough to talk to the person next to you?  It’s questions like these that led Sukanya Banerjee and Tejas Jaishankar to start Upstairs. The two, now partners, met in college, and Sukanya recalls a conversation where Tejas asked her, ‘Why doesn’t classical music have group meets and fan merch?’ It’s this sort of curiosity that they now seek to stamp under the tabla with their series of baithaks. At Upstairs, in living rooms lit up by lamps, the musician speaks to you. Hell, they might even get coffee with you. Stupid questions and asides to other audience members are encouraged. They swap elaborate musician bios and theoretical tid-bits for a simple explanation of what you’re about to hear, guiding you towards having that discerning ear. You will catch the smallest details in how faces change, how someone will start tapping their lap. The easy chemistry that the founders have with their audiences and performers is commendable. The music itself is best left for you to discover, and in Sukanya’s words, form your own vocabulary for.  Upstairs began in the third floor of their DDA Flats apartment in Vasant Kunj, and as they expand slowly to other venues, they’re successfully maintaining a good balance of intensity and accessibility, which

The namesake Billy Joel song incessantly rings in my head every time I enter a Piano Man outlet. I’m thankful for the distractions, even if their band or act for the night is late: a decently strong cocktail, the gorgeous faux candles, the all-round sensation that I’m not entirely in a restro-bar (this typically then makes me wonder if being a try-hard is such a bad thing all the time), or the company I’ve brought with me.  This three-branched Delhi establishment (Safdarjung, Gurgaon, Saket) has built a reputation over the years for the live music by captivating acts, and for its expensive dinners. It’s not just jazz either, of course: you’ve got a range of genres on your plate if you peruse their booking availability for each week carefully.  Two props I’ll add here: unlike many restaurants who try to program live music as an afterthought crowd-chaser, there is nothing to complain about in terms of their acoustics. Secondly, though they really don’t need exceptional food to preserve their status, their menus are relatively compact, with a quick choice of bites across cuisines, and their diversions into attempts at fusion have flavours that actually mesh well together: think wasabi broccoli or tandoori miso lamb chop. Cocktails, on the other hand, are wildly in your hands for customization. I’d advise you get that out of the way before the performance and follow them up with more trustworthy liquors that are quick to order later. If there’s a high-profile series of listening

Several parts of India are in the grip of a heatwave. As of May 22 morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings for severe to extreme heat conditions across much of the country for the next day. While they’ve been cropping up for a little while now, the warnings of warm nights are especially something to look out for. Yesterday, May 21, happened to be Delhi’s warmest night in 14 years, going by the India Meteorological Department’s data. Safdarjung’s maximum temperature was 43.6°C, with many other parts almost touching 45 degrees. The weather department also predicts warm nights tonight (May 22) for Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Vidarbha.  The highest temperature recorded anywhere in the country on May 21 was a staggering 47.6°C at Banda, Uttar Pradesh. Across northwest, west, central and north peninsular India, maximum temperatures ranged between 40-47°C. Where it hit the hardest on May 21 Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions were recorded across Vidarbha, East and West Uttar Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and isolated pockets of Odisha in the past day. Alert levels for today, May 22 Severe heat wave conditions are very likely over coastal Andhra Pradesh, East Madhya Pradesh, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha.  Heat wave conditions are expected at isolated places over Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu-Puducherry-Karaikal, Telang

Bikaner House has, over the last few years, been showcasing brilliant Sri Lankan art in Delhi, much of which fiercely engaged point-blank with war, humanity, and nature. The cultural centre's CCA Gallery is now showing the first India solo of Colombo-based Shanaka Kulathunga, titled Silent Stories, and his work tugs at these themes through a spectrum that instead creeps up on you, beautifully and insidiously at the same time. Such as in, say, a Romanticism-esque capture of the ferocity of wind on a tree, the subtle surrealism of a cluster of horses' heads that seem to still belong to the grass below, or a group of greedily joyful clowns, perched atop faceless, stomped-on people. The ground floor houses the landscapes and cityscapes whose colourful harmony in deckered metropolitan chaos rather reminds me of Delhi, as much as I want to resist the easy trick of looking for yourself in every form of art. Kulathunga makes it hard to. Especially when he addresses our relationship with nature in the second ground-floor room’s paintings where human faces are clearer, coloured only so slightly by the Sri Lankan civil war. I want to call them portraits at first, but soon realise that I’ve neglected the black lambs, the bulls, and swans, the symbolisms of which could be talked about for days… such is the calmness of this confrontation. I’ll say this, though. It’s only when I go upstairs that I realise just how much justice Art In Scape's curation, and the physical placement of the works

If you've spent any time on American social media, sitcoms or pop culture at large, you likely know Olive Garden at the back of your mind as the birthplace of internet breadstick discourse, or the chain whose ‘When you're here, you're family’ slogan has been memed into the stratosphere.  As of this week, this American-Italian food chain is a Delhi thing! And yes – every entrée here too will come with the famous never-ending soup or salad and those warm, freshly baked breadsticks. The brand’s also got plans of expanding across NCR, and many other major Indian cities. For now, it’s open to the public at Aerocity’s World St. The menu, meanwhile, thankfully sticks close to the classics, such as Chicken Alfredo, Lasagna Classico, Chicken Parmigiana, and the Tour of Italy, which the restaurant says are slightly tweaked to local preferences. Decor here’s said to evoke an Italian countryside villa, while sticking to Olive Garden’s core of shared, suburban comfort dining. Tableside Parmesan grating and strong vegetarian options are naturally in, while portions are, reportedly, very much in the Olive Garden spirit.  Olive Garden’s first Indian outpost was brought here by Gourmet Investments Hospitality Group, who’re the same folks behind India’s introduction to Chili’s, PizzaExpress, and P. F. Chang's.  Where: World St, Worldmark, Aerocity Timings: Mon-Sun. 11am-midnight.  Price: ₹2,200 for two  

Positioning itself as the world’s ‘highest’ art festival, sa Ladakh Biennale returns in August 2026, spread across eight sites along the Leh-Kargil corridor. No white snow during the summer season, but hey – no boring white cube galleries either.From down in the plains, it’s likely you’ve photographed the same monasteries and the same blue lakes in Ladakh and felt like something’s changed in you. Which is perfectly lovely; there’s no wrong way to be moved by a landscape. But here's an argument for a bit of a different travel brief. This one-of-a-kind arts festival, evidently, has a lot to say about how we usually show up to places that we want to love.Founded in 2023, sā, meaning soil in Ladakhi, operates over 3,000 metres above ground in one of the planet's most ecologically sensitive regions. The organisation has been working on several initiatives for sustainably-led art.The theme for their signature biennale this year is Signals from Another Star. Regeneration, learning, climate, memory, lived experience: these are the themes the biennale is asking artists and audiences to develop a deep respect for. In a region where glaciers are retreating and the debate over what ‘responsible tourism’ even means has been running for years without resolution, they unquestionably earn their gravitas. What do we know so far about the 2026 biennale? Ladakhi artists – Tundup Dorjay, Chemat Dorjey, Stanzin Samphel, Stanzin Tsepel, Stanzin Wangail, Urgain Zawa – share the programme with names

The highly, highly anticipated Ye concert, scheduled for May 23, has been officially cancelled as of the 15th. This comes after months of planning for what was billed as one of the largest live music productions ever attempted in India. In a statement posted to social media, organiser Whitefox said the decision was taken 'following security advisories and directives issued by the concerned government and law enforcement authorities,' amid what it described as a 'current high-alert situation in the capital'. Here’s what we know. In the meantime, if you happen to be in the city for the tour, have a look at what else Delhi has to offer. Are the tickets refundable? Tickets had been sold through official partner District, and the organiser confirmed that full refunds will be issued to all purchasers through that platform. ‘Refunds for all valid ticket & merch holders have been initiated and will reflect in your source account within 5-7 business days,’ said Whitefox in an Instagram comment on May 15. A possible future date? Despite the cancellation, Whitefox indicated that the show may still happen at a later date. 'We are currently working with the artist's team to secure a new date and venue, and will share further updates through official channels,' the statement said.

Whether a beer at a Wacken India prelims try-out, a cover songs gig in the basement, or a concert where you have to get through fifty-five indie or soft rock bands first, there’s no place we metalheads won’t wheeze our way in for a good time. Well, Bangalore Open Air is back – with a date we’ll definitely have to plan our year around. They announced the full lineup for its 14th edition on October 10, in, no points for guessing, Bengaluru. In a post, the festival itself described it as: ‘Six countries. The strongest line-up BOA has ever assembled – on the biggest production we've ever staged.’ If you’ve even so much as slightly associated with India’s metal scene, you’ll know about the image problem, and how BOA basically both destroys it (when it comes to scant attendance) and exemplifies it (when it comes to the noise, and the near-letting go of all sanity). And if you’re curious – we’ve got you covered. What's Bangalore Open Air? India's only dedicated heavy metal open air festival, running since 2012. It really does belong to the city, which has one of the country’s most thriving metal cultures. Performers in the past have likened it to mini versions of the world’s biggest metal concert, which is Wacken in Germany. Fourteen years in, BOA has survived lineup cancellations, venue changes, and a global pandemic to reliably deliver international heavy music to a country that doesn't get nearly enough of it. Past headliners include Kreator, Napalm Death, Nile, and Overkill. Oka

The country lost one of its most tireless visual witnesses last month. Photographer and photojournalist Raghu Rai passed away in New Delhi in the early hours of April 26, at 83. Now, the India International Centre, in collaboration with the Raza Foundation, is holding a remembrance evening for him on its premises. Delhi is, after all, one of the cities he spent the better part of his life documenting. Chief KNMA curator-director Roobina Karode, curator-writer Kishore Singh, scholar Ananya Vajpeyi and artist Jatin Das will be hosting a discussion on Rai’s art and vision in the IIC’s Kamaladevi Complex. This’ll be followed by a film screening – Raghu Rai, an Unframed Portrait (2017) – directed by his daughter, Avani Rai. It will run for almost an hour. And while the event’s on a Monday (May 18) evening, we know for a fact people will show up. Rai remained based in India throughout his life. If you've ever looked at a photograph of old Delhi, whether its street life or sea of politically significant faces, and felt something catch in your chest, there’s a chance it was his. For 60 years, he was instrumental in chronicling Indian culture, spirituality and political conflicts – and he was rarely interested in capturing a single moment. Turbulence, humour, and longing all found their space, often in the very same photograph. The IIC, naturally, is no stranger, having hosted movingly curated exhibitions of his photographs. As recently as February 2024, Rai spoke at the IIC’s CD Desh

It’s almost time for Delhi’s very own Marty Supreme moment. By which I mean, time to watch from the stands and project his story onto every random player you see. The capital’s hosted international cricket, wrestling and athletics over the years, but this summer, table tennis is taking over.  Chief Minister Rekha Gupta confirmed on Wednesday that the capital will host the 22nd Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship, jointly organised by the Delhi government and the Table Tennis Federation of India. When and who’s coming More than 35 countries are expected to send players to Thyagraj Stadium (in INA Colony) for seven days of high-speed rounds. They'll run from July 27 to August 2, with all the finals landing on the last day. Nations expected to participate include England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Scotland, Wales, Nigeria, Kenya, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, among more than 35 countries in total. What else we know The venue will serve as both the primary competition and ceremonial hub. Organisers say the event is aligned with Delhi's broader Vision 2036 Olympics ambitions: a long-term push to position the city as a contender for international sporting mega-events. For local fans, this is a rare chance to watch world-class table tennis on home soil, and for Indian players, an even rarer opportunity to compete against top Commonwealth talent in front of a home crowd. As an indoor sport on a table, it’s way too easy to overlook the d

Sunder Nursery’s proposing a new bioclimatic structure that will house three distinct plant ecosystems under a single roof, with no conventional air conditioning. Interesting to hear just as May turns over in Delhi.  It’s called the Garden House, meant to be a bioclimatic building designed to contain a forest inside while being set within a garden. It will sit at the entrance of the park's existing 30-acre microhabitat zone, serving as an interpretive gateway to one of Delhi's most ecologically significant green spaces. The project is an Aga Khan Development Network initiative. Sunder Nursery Heritage Park, as we’ve gladly said before, has been a popular spot for ages, with multiple reasons: their coffee shops and bars, tons of fun cultural events, and just being walkable in general. Read their reasoning behind the Garden House, now: ‘We are all aware of the rising environmental concerns in developing cities. The rapid growth of not just Delhi, but other cities across India, is resulting in deteriorating environmental health along with the loss of natural heritage which once dotted cities…’ What’s most noteworthy – the microhabitat zone A 30-acre zone in Sunder Nursery simulates four distinct terrains native to the Delhi region: kohi (hilly), khadar (riverine), bangar (alluvial) and dabar (marshy). Over 100 regional tree species have been planted here, sourced specifically from forests, hilly tracts and riverine areas on Delhi's outskirts. The Garden House will sit at its ent

On April 30, the Indian Railway Ministry’s launching a much-awaited direct Vande Bharat Express between Jammu and Srinagar.  The premium train service, which has been running between Katra and Srinagar for over nine months following PM Modi's inauguration of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link on June 6 last year, will now extend all the way to Jammu Tawi.  The semi-high-speed train is expected to cut travel time significantly, offering a faster, more comfortable and reliable journey through the Kashmir Valley, with modern amenities and improved safety features built in.  Government news broadcaster Akashvani reports that railway authorities have officially confirmed the completion of all necessary safety checks and infrastructure upgrades along the route, ahead of the launch. The numbers do quite some talking. Passengers will cover the 266.66 km between Jammu and Srinagar in under five hours – a substantial reduction compared to the road, which has always been at the mercy of landslides, heavy snowfall, and the general chaos of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The inaugural train departs Jammu Tawi at 10.30 am and pulls into Srinagar at 3.05 pm on April 20, according to PTI. Useful if Gulmarg, Sonamarg or Pahalgam have been sitting on your visit list a little too long!

There’s a specific sort of restaurant one keeps meaning to visit, but puts off. Maybe you’ve thought it suits a grander occasion, or the menu feels like too much of a gamble. In 2010, Restaurant Week India was flagged off as an annual event to fill these gaps of hesitation. It brought several restaurants under one fixed framework: a three-course prix-fixe at uniformly set prices for lunch and dinner. This was a novel moment at the time – curated fine-dining menus weren’t as familiar to India. But since then, the event has fallen out of circulation. After a whole decade, it’s back!  Running from today, April 24, through May 3 across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, the 2026 edition brings together more than 55 restaurants together for a three-course meal at ₹1,500 for lunch and ₹1,800 for dinner.  How and where to snag a table during Restaurant Week India Reservations are naturally mandatory and meals are prepaid, managed through the festival's now dedicated booking platform built in partnership with Putting Scene. The website to visit is here. While general bookings went live on April 17, seats still remain. You’ll see brief descriptions of the vision behind the menus and the chefs who are curating them. The restaurants in Delhi NCR Adrift KayaBanng GurgaonBhawanComorin Delhi NCRDosEast 32Fio TableGuppyHosaIkk Panjab (GK2 and Gurgaon)InjaJaponicoKaméiKikliKimikaiNikoNisabaOlive Bar & Kitchen DelhiPlatsSpicy Duck The restaurants in Mumbai AmericanoBandra BornBanng MumbaiBareC

Delhi NCR, it’s (more than past) time for the scorch. A biblical why-did-I-leave-the-house one. The IMD has issued a formal heatwave warning for Thursday, and here's what you need to know. The India Meteorological Department's official bulletins for this week aren’t exactly full of good news. Ridge station in North Delhi hit 40.2°C on Tuesday. Lodi Road clocked 39°C. Even the relatively ‘cool’ Mayur Vihar managed a sweaty 36.7°C. The official weather department’s hot take extends for a good week. What to know about the heatwave on Thursday, April 23 The IMD has issued a formal heatwave warning for April 23, a yellow alert covering every single district of Delhi and the entire NCR belt, with temperatures forecast to hit 42-44°C. That's nearly 6°C above what's considered normal for late April.  Yes, there's some cloud cover coming from Saturday, but temperatures are expected to stay between 41-44°C right through to next Tuesday, April 28. And while it’s tempting to complain about classic Delhi weather, it’s really not just us. Here’s how the IMD bulletin’s heatwave outlook runs across India April 21-22: Heatwave at isolated places across Bihar, East UP, Gangetic West Bengal, Haryana, Delhi and Punjab. April 23-24: Conditions expected to spread further. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh all get added to the list.  April 25: Still going strong across Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan, UP and Vidarbha.  April 26: Possibly, temperatures will begin