City Monument – Bagh-I-Alam Ka Gumbad, Deer Park
A forlorn but lovely Lodhi. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Snuggled in the heart of south Delhi’s Deer Park, it is one of the Capital’s most beautiful and perhaps least-known Lodhi-era ruins. The 16th century Bagh-I-Alam Ka Gumbad…
Mission Delhi – Vinod’s Rani Devi, West Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His lunch spot is always the same. It’s a table for one, in the snug passengers’ seat of his auto-rickshaw now safely parked along a…
City Nature – Homeward-Bound Birds, Central Delhi
Bird watching. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gazing upon thousands of birds returning to their evening nests sounds like a fine countryside experience. But in fact, it happens right here in Delhi. Our smoggy metropolis is probably home…
City Faith – Nane Mian’s Sufi Shrine, Mandi House Traffic Circle
The charms of a roadside shrine. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s easier than you think to experience genuine peace amid urban chaos. Just pausing at a Sufi shrine in Central Delhi does its magic. Pedestrians at the…
City Hangout – Live Music Hotspots, Paharganj
A world inside a world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So this is Delhi’s hidden Europe. That is, if you believe in the title of a recent Bollywood thriller, Paharganj—The Little Amsterdam of India. The central Delhi district—especially…
City Hangout – Bird Feeding Pilgrimage, Hamdard Chowk
To the communion. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a hot muggy morning and these three supplicants are devoutly praying. Not in a temple but at a Central Delhi traffic island teeming with pigeons. The devotees now open…
City Food – Unusual Tikki, Gupta Chaat Corner
A popular snack’s strange adaptation. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nobody can object to the fact that deep-fried aloo patties soused in a cold gravy of dahi and chutneys make up the essentials of a respectable plate of…
Mission Delhi – Chhaya, Construction Site, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Her name is supremely ironical, at this moment in the day at least. The young woman is working as a labourer under the searing noon…
City Landmark – Paakar Tree, Constitution Club of India, Central Delhi
A most luxuriant nobility. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If trees like this didn’t exist, they would have been hard to imagine. Consider, if you will, this luxurious Paakar tree providing more-than-welcome shade. Here at a side garden…
Mission Delhi – Bhoora the Goat, Old Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Downing a cold drink is Bhoora’s own way of dealing with the scorching heat in this Old Delhi alley. As a goat, he’s certainly gotten…
Recent Comments