Mission Delhi – Dharmaraj, Kamala Nehru Park, Gurgaon Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - September 21, 2019September 21, 20190 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Daily wage labourer Dharmaraj is lying flat on the grassy ground of Gurgaon’s Kamala Nehru Park in the Greater Delhi Region, his feet bare, his head resting on his blue chappals. “I’m not using them as my pillow,” he clarifies, his eyes half-closed. Dharmaraj points out to a handful of men lying, like him, on the ground around him. They too have their heads resting on their sandals. “We do it so that nobody takes them away.” This afternoon there is no breeze in the humid air. Dharmaraj is trying to catch a brief nap. Not that he is tired “but because these days I’m finding no work in
City Hangout – Lily Pond, Lodhi Gardens Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - September 21, 20190 Hideaway spot. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A few flowers stand erect, fresh and alive, with not a speck of dust on their wet petals. Others, half-drowned in water, look like broken dreams. For some reason very few people turn up to inspect this lily pond tucked away in a small corner at popular Lodhi Gardens. Parts of the pond are crammed with lily leaves, most of them drenched in the darkish-green water. Their stems and vines have spun octopus-like traps underneath. The sight is as unreal as a dream. Bordered by a grove of flower shrubs, the landscaped pool looks to the ruins of an unused mosque, while a “butterfly garden” is just a few steps away. This afternoon, a honey-brown bee