City Walk – A Lane in Jacoobpura, Gurgaon
Another country. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is a sudden dive into peacefulness. As if you have not entered into a mere lane but a region of light and void and silence. The very air feels on…
City Moment – The Henna Couple, Central Delhi
The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Oblivious to the evening rush hour, Rekha is applying henna on Bhagwan Das’ hand on a central Delhi pavement, her eyes barely blinking. Mr Das is lying slumped across the…
Atget’s Corner – 1126-1130, 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 Moment – A Letter Writer’s World, Somewhere in Delhi
The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The setting is too picturesque. Here’s a centuries-old monument, an unknown grave in a shabby lawn, a cluster of pink bougainvillaeas, a couple of stray cats, and a man writing…
Mission Delhi – Ram Krishen Das, Central Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His is the simple life. This sage survives on fruit and rotis—and has been living in a bamboo scaffolding within a temple for more than…
City Hangout – Secondhand Bookshelf, Quill And Canvas, South Point Mall
Books with a background. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is true. The neighbour’s drawing room shelves do reveal a glimpse of their private life. That’s why it’s so tantalising to browse about the secondhand books stacked at…
City Food – Chankaya’s Momos, Central Delhi
Proustian experience. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Generations of Delhi people grew up with the magic experience of the old Chanakya movie theatre. If you were very lucky you just could even manage to obtain a front-stall ticket…
Home Sweet Home – House of Shadows, Lodhi Road
Monsoon dwelling. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s hardly more than a lean-to. But the recent addition of an awning means the world for the little family. “We recently got that awning from a tea stall owner,” explains…
City Faith – Sufi’s Tree, Old Delhi
Sacred greens. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the beginning there was the tree. It must be so. The neem is the first thing you see while walking to the twin Sufi shrines of Hazrat Sarmad Shahid and…
Mission Delhi – Geeta Rani, Sadar Bazaar, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is so simple to sell household appliances in the bazaar. But it hasn’t been all that easy for Geeta Rani. The 50-year-old stall owner…
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