Mission Delhi - Dheerendra, Central Delhi

Mission Delhi – Dheerendra, Central Delhi

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Many business enterprises are hazard-prone. It goes with the territory–and particularly if you’re a rickshaw puller. Case in point: Early morning on this Central Delhi…

City Monument - St Peter's Church, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon

City Monument – St Peter’s Church, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon

New world church. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A slowly moving breeze is stealing through the windows as if it is trying to murmur a secret to the billowing white curtains. Otherwise, the silence is so profound and…

City Food - Aloo Paratha, Barakhamba Road

City Food – Aloo Paratha, Barakhamba Road

Old food, new stall. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every so often one runs across something in Delhi that is almost too good to be true. But the spiced potato mix served at this pavement stall clearly wins…

City Hangout - Sun Watching, Hailey Road

City Hangout – Sun Watching, Hailey Road

Winter-time magic realism. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Human lives are crammed with clichés, mainly because they serve some useful purpose… don’t they? Clichés may point to something that’s important. And also, point to a truism such as:…

City Life - Sabiha’s WhatsApp Circle, Old Delhi

City Life – Sabiha’s WhatsApp Circle, Old Delhi

A woman’s cellphone world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Like many women in Old Delhi, Sabiha Jhinjhanvi feels obliged to maintain a smoothly running household. And so she does. But then there’s her WhatsApp group, keeping her glued…

Mission Delhi - Meera Devi, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Meera Devi, Gurgaon

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s not every day you bump into an 88-year-old lady. The beautiful Meera Devi is even rarer. She’s beaming in a halo of infectious happiness….

City Monument - Jama Masjid's Stairs, Old Delhi

City Monument – Jama Masjid’s Stairs, Old Delhi

New wine in old bottle. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It isn’t every day or even every 100 years that something new makes its appearance at historic Jama Masjid mosque. The recent addition of metal railings along the…

Atget’s Corner – 1121-1125, Delhi Photos

Atget’s Corner – 1121-1125, 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 Food - Muhammed Sajid's Sooji Halwa, Turkman Gate Bazar

City Food – Muhammed Sajid’s Sooji Halwa, Turkman Gate Bazar

The hyperlocal halwa. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Muhammed Sajid’s mithai shop in Old Delhi’s Turkman Gate Bazaar is as fickle as a moody chameleon. It shows different colors at different times of the day. In afternoons you…

City Moment - Vermas' 32nd Wedding Anniversary, Ajmer-Delhi Shatabdi Express

City Moment – Vermas’ 32nd Wedding Anniversary, Ajmer-Delhi Shatabdi Express

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If you’ve been married for lo, these many years, exactly how would you go about celebrating, say, your 32nd? Meet Mrs and Mr Verma. The Delhi couple is comfortably seated…