City Food – Chuski, Around Town
Season’s ice candy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Of course, there are more sophisticated options to beat this horrible Delhi heat— smoothies, gelatos, cold-pressed juices and coconut water. But sucking on chuski, perhaps, is the rawest way of…
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Alam, Outside Hope Apartments, Gurgaon
[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Summer isn’t a friendly season in our part of the world. But tailor Muhammed Alam’s four children aren’t insisting that he get an AC for their one-room home in Gurgaon village in Gurgaon…
City Walk – Hailey Road, Central Delhi
Loafing through calmness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tucked behind the commercial high-rises of a hectic Connaught Place, Hailey Road, by contrast, is utterly serene with its tree-lined pavements, unapproachable residences, scarce traffic, weather-beaten brick walls and a…
City Food – Bel Sherbet, Galli Suiwallan Street
Shiva’s drink. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He sells only one kind of sherbet, but on the other hand it’s said to be Lord Shiva’s favourite. Bel or wood apple sherbet, dispensed at Nafees Khan’s stall, is also…
City Faith – Reading Ram, Ghaziabad
Life with the epic. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pushpa Singh’s drawing room in a Ghaziabad apartment has been temporarily turned into a makeshift temple. She and her husband are hosting a Ramayan Paath, the continuous reading of…
City Monument – Ajmeri Gate, Central Delhi
A steady landmark. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is so rooted to the place, so entwined to its surroundings, that few realise the monument is there. Ajmeri Gate lies tucked within a traffic square. One road heads…
Mission Delhi – Bijendra Data, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is the memento of an earlier age. Bijendra Data’s family legacy consists of the typewriter. “My father had a typewriting training institute in our…
City Hangout – Public Park, Greater Kailash Enclave-I
Shakespeare’s garden. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Any number of public parks in our fair city can look downright dreamy in early evening. Stepping into south Delhi’s Greater Kailash Enclave-I around 8pm is, however, rather like entering a…
Mission Delhi – Kewal Singh, Paharganj
One of the one percent in 13 million. One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] His is an old and very, very rare specialty. Kewal Singh is now applying some final touches…
City Monument – Fatehpuri Mosque, Chandni Chowk
A simple poetry. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everybody knows Emperor Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal. He built her the Taj Mahal in Agra. Not many of us are aware of Fatehpuri Begum. She, too, was Shah Jahan’s…
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