City Life – Somebody’s Photo Album, Sunday Book Bazar
Life’s souvenir. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cover is black. The album’s hundreds of photos are in black and white. The back label says—Made in England. This photo album is discovered by The Delhi Walla one afternoon…
Mission Delhi – Tribhuwan Narayana Singh, Ghaziabad
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Such honeyed voice. An assistant general manager in Bharat Electronics Limited, he sings exceptionally well. That’s the opinion within his friend circle, especially among his…
City Library – Jawaharlal Nehru’s Book Collection, Teen Murti House
Statesman’s books. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hundreds of books have been written on India’s first prime minister. One day The Delhi Walla checked out the books that Jawaharlal Nehru kept in his home. Millions of people have…
City Hangout – Happy Bench, Friendship Park
The cheery spot. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the most hauntingly beautiful park benches in Delhi is in Lodhi Garden. This is the one under a dead tree, its back picturesquely turned towards the Sheesh Gumbad…
City Faith – Tree God, Hanuman Temple
Sacred green. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This small Hanuman temple stands in a sprawling yard, here in south Delhi. A peepal tree’s sharp-tipped leaves make a jungle of shadows on the temple’s back wall. But the compound…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Siddharth Sethi’s Poem in Lockdown, Kailash Colony
Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] While Delhi passes through one of its most tragic times in living history, it has citizens distilling their experiences into art. Isolated within home in Kailash Colony, actor Siddharth Sethi, 20, is…
Mission Delhi – Shailesh Singh, Sainikhera
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] His quarantine lasted 14 days. “It was like chaudah saal ka vanvaas,” says Shailesh Singh, comparing his ordeal to Lord Ram’s 14 years of exile….
City Walk – Florence Nightingale Lane, Green Park
Street of the nurse. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi has all sorts of lanes, all over the place. And then there’s Florence Nightingale Lane in Green Park—reminding us of the need for nurses in these grim days…
City Monument – Sultanate Souvenirs, Around Town
Before the Mughals. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is baking in the hot sun — Ghiyas-ud-din Balban’s tomb in Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The roof has collapsed, so have parts of the stone wall. Like many Delhi monuments,…
City Life – Voices from Covid, Around Town
An anthology of our feelings. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is perhaps the first time that the entire Delhi, with all its diverse complexities, has come around to a singular theme—of grief and fear about the ongoing…
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