They will soon be gone.

[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]

There is a land of Daryaganj and Paharganj, of Fact & Fiction and Mid Land, of dusty wooden shelves. Here in this pretty world of second hand bookstalls and first hand bookstores, the old-fashioned reading will take its final bow. Here is the last ever to be seen of those brave mad souls who spend hours looking for books in racks, not on Amazon.com. These book lovers are not yet tempted by Kindle or iPad. They insist on smelling the pages of the book they want to read. They read in restaurants, in the Metro, on the roadside. A few years more and then they will be no more than a dream remembered, a civilization gone with the wind.

Delhi Metro

Barista Cafe, Connaught Place

Janpath

Raja Book Store, Paharganj

Max Muller Bhawan, KG Marg

Private Study, Jor Bagh

Bahrisons Booksellers, Khan Market

Outside an ATM, Mayur Vihar

Timeless Art Book Studio, South Extension-I

Bar, Park Hotel

Office, Connaught Place skyscraper

Sunday Book Bazaar, Daryaganj

Dargah, Nizamuddin Basti

Choco La, Khan Market

Kindle Reader, Costa Cafe, Green Park