Home Sweet Home - Asmuddin Ansari's House-Cum-Graveyard, Mehrauli

Home Sweet Home – Asmuddin Ansari’s House-Cum-Graveyard, Mehrauli

An unusual dwelling. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He has one of the most unique addresses in the city. He lives in a graveyard. Alone. “This has been my home for 28 years,” mutters Asmuddin Ansari. In his…

City Faith - Free Church, Green Park

City Faith – Free Church, Green Park

Souvenirs of Christmas. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Encountering a collection of decorations after the event they were meant to celebrate is over presents a poignant sight. Like, the morning after the wedding. Or the day/s after Christmas,…

Mission Delhi - Katto, Matia Mahal

Mission Delhi – Katto, Matia Mahal

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She likes guavas, which is pretty conventional for somebody like her. She is a parrot. “Her name is Katto, call her by her name,” says fruit-seller Zakir a bit sternly. His tone instantly…

Julia Child in Delhi - Jolly Sabherwal's X-Mas Cake, Vasant Kunj

Julia Child in Delhi – Jolly Sabherwal’s X-Mas Cake, Vasant Kunj

The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One way to salvage this cursed year (boo boo 2020!) from becoming a complete annus horribilis is to make Jolly Sabherwal’s super-yummy Christmas cake for Christmas Eve…

City Monument - Poet Rahim's Underground Crypt and the Restored Tomb, Hazrat Nizamuddin East

City Monument – Poet Rahim’s Underground Crypt and the Restored Tomb, Hazrat Nizamuddin East

This lies beneath. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nothing here but silence. And the two graves at the center. This is the windowless crypt of Rahim’s tomb, in central Delhi’s Nizamuddin East. What the visitors see up there…

Mission Delhi - Sikander, Sadar Bazaar, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Sikander, Sadar Bazaar, Gurgaon

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Alexander the Great — whose Hindi name would be Sikander — set on to conquer the world. But Sikander, the dholak seller, is more humble. He just want to conquer his fate. “I…

Mission Delhi - Saddam, Central Delhi

Mission Delhi – Saddam, Central Delhi

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s such a deathly cold evening that the mere sight of steaming hot gajar halwa (carrot pudding), here in this central Delhi market, brings instant relief. Only later does the attention shift to…

City Food - Madhur Jaffrey's First Book, Delhi's Most Iconic Cookbook

City Food – Madhur Jaffrey’s First Book, Delhi’s Most Iconic Cookbook

A culinary legend. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Attired in a Kanjeevaram silk sari, Madhur Jaffrey looks squarely at the potential buyer, her arms resting daintily on a chopping board. This was her first book’s cover, the year…

City Life - Gardeners' Dreams, Sector 15, Gurgaon

City Life – Gardeners’ Dreams, Sector 15, Gurgaon

Family of a couple. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was decided some years ago: Mangal and his wife, Reena, will continue with their jobs until the career of their children are shaped — at least. “That is…

City Landmark - Jagat Cinema, Old Delhi

City Landmark – Jagat Cinema, Old Delhi

A single-screen. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The grilles are shuttered, but the lobby can be seen through them: the ticket window, the board displaying the show timings and the ticket rates—32 rupees for Box. Some things become…