City Hangout – Moinuddin’s Chai Stall by the Tomb, Turkman Gate Bazaar
Tea by the tomb. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ever since tea was discovered – a very long time ago – connoisseurs have conjured all manner of enticing environments for serving this favourite drink. Perhaps in a luxury…
City Walk – Choudhury Deepchand Ruheel Chowk, Shakti Nagar
A stroll into Small Town Delhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The groggy-eyed mithai seller at the Rewari Mishthan Bhandar is arranging dessert trays on the counter. The lobby of the Dr Sethi Panchsheel Maternity Nursing Home whose…
City Food – The Best Cocktail Samosas, Scindia Lane
Taste of the street. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Who doesn’t go greedy for those yummy greasy finger foods doled out in glamorous Delhi cocktail get-togethers. While waiters in bow tie mill around in these swish gatherings carrying…
City Life – The Sunday Chess Players, Chirag Delhi
The weekly tournament. [Text and photos by Maynak Austen Soofi] These two just can’t get enough of a good thing. For some 30 years, they’ve gotten together every Sunday, usually under a peepal tree, to play chess. “All week long…
Mission Delhi – Madhumita Ray, CR Park
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Her eyes close slowly, suggesting that she’s immersed in deep thoughts. Her still arm suddenly stirs, rising up, and now she finally opens her lips–the…
City Library – British Council, Kasturba Gandhi Road
A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s just the right place to while away a long horrible summer afternoon—for free. But, to be fair, the books at British Council also tempt, with a pleasing collection of…
City Hangout – Buddha’s Pond, Buddha Garden
The path of utmost happiness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All pathways, it seems, lead to Buddha. Which is a trifle ironic, since Buddha once suggested there is no path to happiness. “Happiness is the way,” he declared,…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Sameen, Bangalore
The 198th death. [Text and photos sent by Sameen] Her name was Sameen, “precious” in Arabic. All her life she felt anything but that. If the legend about praying in front of the Kaaba is true she wished to ask…
City Landmark – Nizam, the Last of the Pankhawallas, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah
The last of the fan-bearers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Talk of dying professions. A case in point are those industrious pankhawallas who fan heat-stricken pilgrims at Sufi shrines in summer. Not long ago the Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya…
Mission Delhi – Jyoti Rawat, Connaught Place & Faridabad
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] When Jyoti Rawat squabbles with her younger brother, their parents have been known to intervene. “Don’t fight with her!” they warn him. “She’s our rock!”…
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