Atget’s Corner – 891-895, Delhi Photos

Atget’s Corner – 891-895, Delhi Photos

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,…

City Landmark -- Hem Raj Jain Clinic, Paharganj

City Landmark — Hem Raj Jain Clinic, Paharganj

The dream palace of a doctor. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] An elderly man is patiently looking out into the street through a curtained glass window. He is dressed in a three-piece suit, complete with a tie. The…

City Travel - Puraini Village, 100 Miles from Delhi

City Travel – Puraini Village, 100 Miles from Delhi

A perfect world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tall rose bushes grow in every house. Walls are painted with most brilliant colors. A well is overgrown with wild grass. The Delhi Walla is in Puraini, a village about…

City Life - Gilli Danda Players, Mehrauli

City Life – Gilli Danda Players, Mehrauli

The forgotten game. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like cricket but it isn’t cricket. It is gilli danda, a game not commonly seen on Delhi’s streets. Even so, one winter afternoon The Delhi Walla sees a…

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Living Poets Society, Ghalib Academy

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Living Poets Society, Ghalib Academy

The world of Urdu poetry. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Three men sat in the front row. The rest of the house was deserted; the rows of chairs looked like empty bookshelves. The three seemed unperturbed. Verse has…

City Faith - Midnight Mass, St James' Church

City Faith – Midnight Mass, St James’ Church

Holy night, cold night. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The night sky was not clear enough to show its thousands of stars but the white moon glowed radiantly. That was hardly a comfort. It was freezing cold. The…

City Moment - The Woman in the Anti-Pollution Mask, Khan Market

City Moment – The Woman in the Anti-Pollution Mask, Khan Market

Love in the time of pollution. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No Delhiite needs reminding that air pollution levels in the metropolis at times reach emergency levels. We beleaguered citizens no longer think of ‘PM’ only in the…

Home Sweet Home – Pratyush Pushkar’s Residence, Hauz Khas Village

Home Sweet Home – Pratyush Pushkar’s Residence, Hauz Khas Village

Inside the walls. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His home is like his Facebook page; it has writings on the walls. One freezing evening The Delhi Walla knocks on the door of photographer, musician and poet Pratyush Pushkar….

Photo Essay - Delhi Feet, Around Town

Photo Essay – Delhi Feet, Around Town

The low life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hello feet. So, what do you plan to do today? Why not again go to Salim Bhai’s tea-stall in Kucha Chelan and have chai in one of his disgusting white…

City Food - Daulat ki Chaat, Gali Kallan Kahar

City Food – Daulat ki Chaat, Gali Kallan Kahar

The snow dish. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is it a snowy desert, or a dessert? One winter morning The Delhi Walla came across street food vendor Kamal and his Daulat ki Chaat on Gali Kallan Kahar, a…