Mission Delhi - Poonam Yadav, Sector 11

Mission Delhi – Poonam Yadav, Sector 11

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s late night and Poonam Yadav is sitting by the desk, with her laptop and scores of bulky books on Corporate Tax, Strategic Management and other subjects of the kind. “I have my…

Mission Delhi - Sooraj Pal, South Delhi

Mission Delhi – Sooraj Pal, South Delhi

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No crowd on the street. No hope of getting a customer. Golgappa vendor Sooraj Pal’s face is hidden behind a blue mask. “I will wait,” he says. This evening, he was walking by…

Home Sweet Home - New Life with Dishwasher, Ghaziabad

Home Sweet Home – New Life with Dishwasher, Ghaziabad

A household’s new friend. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is taking so much space in the small kitchen. But Babua Singh won’t crib about that. “You stack the bartan (dishes) in it, go to office, and when…

City Hangout - Stranded Boat, Hauz Khas Lake

City Hangout – Stranded Boat, Hauz Khas Lake

A melancholy setting. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One way to experience a beautiful poem is to find it in some book. Another way is to encounter it in a tangible material form in this three dimensional world….

City Life - Line of Control, Matia Mahal

City Life – Line of Control, Matia Mahal

Dividing line. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Old Delhi gets something new. It wasn’t here until yesterday. And now, a glossy white line is running along the Matia Mahal Bazar, slicing its main street in equal halves. “It…

Mission Delhi - Dharmendera Diwakar, Sector 49

Mission Delhi – Dharmendera Diwakar, Sector 49

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is the ironing man, and generally addressed by his profession rather than by his name. “Many people call me press wale bhayya,” says Dharmendera Diwakar. His profession is not taking good care…

Home Sweet Home - Ehmad Ridwan's Pad, East of Kailash

Home Sweet Home – Ehmad Ridwan’s Pad, East of Kailash

In a musician’s world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s late night. He picks up his guitar, strums the strings and starts to croon Feeling Good. The Nina Simone classic instantly catches Rumi’s attention. He leaps up to…

City Food - Late Sadia Dehlvi's Cook, Sabir Bhai, is Ready for a New Home

City Food – Late Sadia Dehlvi’s Cook, Sabir Bhai, is Ready for a New Home

A legendary cook’s home cook. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Muhammed Sabir, aka Sabir Bhai, has worked as a cook for more than 25 years in the Delhi house of author and cookbook writer Sadia Dehlvi, who died…

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Jonaki Ray's Ode to Ordinary, Kailash Colony Market

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Jonaki Ray’s Ode to Ordinary, Kailash Colony Market

Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is in purple palazzos and pink kurti. Her brown sling bag has her wallet, a mobile, a “chhotu” cash purse, keys to her south Delhi flat, and a…

Mission Delhi - Kaunen, Sadar Bazar, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Kaunen, Sadar Bazar, Gurgaon

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He had never encountered the word “entrepreneur” until February last year. “I first heard it in a computer class,” says Kaunen. “I then joined a two week free class on how to start…