City Hangout – Carom Clubs, Around Town
Players of the underbelly. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the famous Premchand short story, Shatranj ke Khiladi, the chess players continued playing chess and lost the city of Lucknow to the Brits. Something similar is the story…
City Series – Marika Nascimben in Treviso, Italy, We the Isolationists (3rd Corona Diary)
Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Marika Nascimben] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona… and I see yellow tulips I used to buy on Fridays, smell the spring, feel the soft embrace of my friends I…
City Series – Surabhi Mathur in Bombay, We the Isolationists (2nd Corona Diary)
Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Surabhi Mathur] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona… and I see a Truth, staring at me. That no one will do the dishes, but you. No one will workout for…
City Series – Mayank Austen Soofi in Delhi, We the Isolationists (1st Corona Diary)
Our corona diary. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] I close my eyes in my self-isolation from corona… and I see Mummy Papa. Looking at them I try to recall how they used to look like when I was…
City Landmark – Ram Bagh Mukti Dham, Khandsa Village, Gurgaon
A cremation ground in an unusual setting. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A soft warm breeze is blowing with a sai-sai sound through the tree leaves. The golden sunflowers are blooming radiantly in the hedges. The ground is…
Mission Delhi – Ram Iqbal, Pamposh Enclave
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is a tailor with a footpath stall in south Delhi’s Pamposh Enclave, working with a foot-operated table sewing machine. Nothing unique about that. He…
City Hangout – Music Cassette Shop, Madrasa Hussain Baksh Street
The pre-CD age. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] CDs… what’s that? The music-streaming millennials might ask. Even so, some of them might have had a firsthand memory of those discs, dating back to the early years of their…
City Landmark – Old Staircase, Connaught Place
Pickled architecture. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Despite being such a well-explored shopping district, Connaught Place is astonishing in its scope of picturesque spots still waiting to be discovered. Take that amazing winding staircase in H Block, Outer…
City Season – Bougainvillea, Udyog Vihar, Gurgaon
Season’s colors. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are few respites from Delhi’s unforgiving summer. One is the blooming of amaltas flowers—but that will happen only around the month of May. The other is the widespread blossoming of…
City Moment – Get-Together of Childhood Friends, Central Delhi
Long time, no see. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Repeated hugging. Cries of delight. And now, click-click-click of group selfies. Three friends of childhood are finally meeting after a gap of nine long years. Sheetal Gurung is from…
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