City Landmark – Elite Bookstore, Ber Sarai
Scholar’s world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You can’t really squeeze very many customers into this tiny bookshop at any one time. Nor do the plastic chairs and noisy ceiling fan suggest the true nature of the just-named…
City Hangout – Golf Course Road, Gurgaon
The new life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s raining. The muddy lane outside the glassy South Point Mall quickly goes under water. The conscientious guards improvise a bridge of bricks for the high-heeled shoppers to hop their…
Mission Delhi – Poonam Malik, Chawri Bazaar
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hers is a visit of nostalgia. Of happy care-free days. The padlocked room where she once dwelled, so very long ago, now seems forlorn and…
City Neighbourhood – Sarai Kale Khan, Across Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station
The sarai beyond the station. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] For many Delhiwallas, Hazrat Nizamuddin station is the place to go to when they have to board the Bombay-bound August Kranti Rajdhani Express. Or, when midnight hunger pangs…
City Monument – Hauz Khas Ruins, South Delhi
Verses in stone. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The modest stone gateway opens into a grassy spread. Unknown tombs and domed chhatris lie speckled across the garden. The lawn gives way to even more ruins spreading out into…
City landmark – A Hindu Graveyard, Kali Bari Temple, CR Park
A memorial to Bengalis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Losing a loved one is a universal experience. And honouring their lives is hardly unusual. How does one go about it? Christians and Muslims alike immortalize their dearly departed…
Mission Delhi – Ranveer Singh, DLF Park Place, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Wearing a coat and tie is like finally arriving in the world. That’s Ranveer Singh’s experience at least. A lobby manager in a swish residential…
City Monument – Mini Qutub Minar, Uttam Nagar
The hyperlocal version. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There is no Qutub Minar but Qutub Minar. Or is there? Well, there’s a second Qutub Minar in Delhi — quite far away from its world-famous namesake in Mehrauli. The…
City Walk – A Super-Serene Lane, Near Super Market, Connaught Place
Surprise oasis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hard to know what to make of this. Here we have a dead-quiet lane, right in the heart of Delhi. So serene you might as well be walking along some remote…
City Food – Delhi’s Best Jalebis, Mehak Food, Kalkaji
The king of jalebis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] “These are Delhi’s best jalebis,” he declares. “And believe me, I’ve tried them all.” The young man, a secretive street food connoisseur, insists that his name should not be…
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