City Food – Kalonji Miracles, Old Delhi
Tales of nigella seeds. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some written works just must be cherished because they’re flavoured with the nuances of everyday life, and dyed with the hyperlocal shades of a particular place. Such as Kalonji…
City Moment – Bicycle Couple, Central Delhi
The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It takes them the better part of one hour to arrive home by bicycle after their long day as public park gardeners. Malti Devi sits on the back carrier while…
City Hangout – Strangest Bench, Central Delhi
Away from the world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This may be the weirdest garden bench in all of Delhi. Instead of facing the finery of flowers it faces a wall here in central Delhi’s Bhishma Pitamah Marg….
City Life – Wooden ‘Takhat’ Bed, Outside Jama Masjid, Gurgaon
Our common bed. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a single wooden bed, but quite broad. It is without a mattress or a bedsheet. No pillow, either. And this bed is for everyone. The cot—known as takhat—lies…
City Monument – Holy Trinity Church, Turkman Gate
A secluded sacredness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A handful of Christian families live in a pleasing coziness in the courtyard of old Holy Trinity Church at the southern border of the Walled City. Here’s a hushed world…
Mission Delhi – Khemchand Pakoriwalle, Connaught Place
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He has a name that makes him seem one of those men justly famous for selling fabulous pakoras. But he stopped selling them some 40…
City Food – Shamir Hasan’s Chai Stall, Gali Sayyed Street, Old Delhi
The gentleman’s establishment. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No contrary argument can be made about it. Tea stall owner Shamir Hasan stands out as a man of style. With his freshly ironed shirt carefully tucked into immaculate pants,…
City Landmark – Goldsmith’s Workshop, Nai Basti, Gurgaon
Inside an old-fashioned world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the so-called Millennium City, yet so far. This old-fashioned goldsmith’s workshop in Gurgaon’s Nai Basti in the Greater Delhi region. You get custom-made lockets, rings, and necklace pendants…
Home Sweet Home – Kabeer Jhinjhianvi’s Bedroom Window, Old Delhi
Lovely but unloved. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This window in theory should be listed in guidebooks, looking directly down on Chitli Qabar chowk—one of those rare squares in Old Delhi. But your chances of a glimpse are…
City Food – Dal Makhani, Cosy Restaurant
A lentil excursion. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You must agree: the universally loved dal makhani is as critical for the survival of Delhi’s food and beverage service industry as India’s middle class is for its automobile economy….
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