Mission Delhi – Rajeev Ranjan, Near Gurgaon Railway Station
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In a metropolis of millions, what is it like to live alone? This question is bluntly put to Rajeev Ranjan who lives all by himself…
City Hangout – Matkaman’s Water Point, Panchsheel Park
Art for water’s sake. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s a place to briefly escape from all the negativity. This refuge is by a busy road, on a pavement in south Delhi’s Panchsheel Park. The seat is… an…
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Naeem Khan, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His face exudes immense calm, and sitting beside him is somewhat relaxing. He has the vibes of a fakir, an ascetic, which is nothing surprising…
City Monument – Old Connaught Place Staircase, A Block, Inner Circle
Finding lost time. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A creaking wooden staircase going up one side of the hall, opening into a narrow attic, or the mezzanine floor. In the earlier landmarks of the colonial-era Connaught Place (CP)…
City Hangout – Ebony Cafe, Pai Walan, Jama Masjid
Paris in Purani Dilli. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In Paris, you have your cappuccino in front of Notre-Dame. In Delhi, it has recently become possible to enjoy a cappuccino — and not just sweet milky chai —…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Namit Arora, DLF Phase 3
The parlour confession. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Namit Arora is into reading, writing, travelling—so much so that he and his partner gave up their corporate career in California to travel and write about India, where they took…
City Hangout – Vasudev’s Tea Stall, Hauz Khas Village
Chai with kindness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The night is cold. Vasudev has rustled out a small fire from wooden twigs he picked up from the pavement. Dressed in cap and woollen overcoat, he is fortifying himself…
Home Sweet Home – Madame Bovary’s Windows, Golf Course Extension
A house of windows. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s midnight. Her fourth-floor house is quiet. Her daughter, husband and ma-in-law are sleeping. She settles down on the durrie by the window, lights a diya, pours herself a glass of red…
City Monument – Delhi’s Most Beautiful Door, Gali Badliyan
A heritage nobody knows. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Found. At long last, Delhi’s arguably most beautiful door has been discovered. It doesn’t have a doorbell. It’s not in any of the forts or palaces, or museums. Surely…
City Life – Two Painters, Kamala Nehru Park
On life and its disappointments. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is late morning and Manoj and Ravi are sitting in a city garden. The Kamala Nehru Park, tucked next to Gurgaon’s Roshanpura in the Greater Delhi Region,…
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