City Season - Cloud Watching, Around Town

City Season – Cloud Watching, Around Town

Cloud spotter’s guide. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky upon a rutty lane in Noida’s Sector 15A splintered into hundreds of cumulus clouds, as if the milk curdled. While in Hazrat Nizamuddin East, the historic Humayun Tomb…

City Walk - Shah Abul Khair, Old Delhi

City Walk – Shah Abul Khair, Old Delhi

World of a street. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sometimes a lone man might be sitting by the grand doorway, watching the passerby go along the street. Sometimes, there’s a crowd of idle men. From 1 pm to…

Mission Delhi - Arvind, Adhchini

Mission Delhi – Arvind, Adhchini

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The houses are withdrawn into shut doors and lidded windows. The lane is utterly silent, here in south Delhi’s Adhchini village. The pathway is empty…

City Walk - Lohe Wala Pul, Daryaganj

City Walk – Lohe Wala Pul, Daryaganj

A vanished world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] What if Delhi disappears. Will the land where it stood still be known as Delhi? This is precisely the posthumous destiny of Lohe Wala Pul, the foot-over bridge of loha,…

City Hangout - Gate No. 1, Jama Masjid Metro Station

City Hangout – Gate No. 1, Jama Masjid Metro Station

An accidental refuge. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cold blast hits you as soon as you enter the foyer. The sweat on your skin instantly dissipates. It is like steppping inside the lobby of a 5-star hotel…

Mission Delhi - Sona, Vasundhara

Mission Delhi – Sona, Vasundhara

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is looking at a face. The face is looking back at him. Does he realise it is his own reflection in the rain puddle?…

City Walk - Golcha Cinema, Old Delhi

City Walk – Golcha Cinema, Old Delhi

World of a street. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Despite being a mere courtesan, Anarkali dares Emperor Akbar with a spunky dance. The lyrics of the song are so seditious that the audience get up from their seat…

City Obituary - Shabana Banu, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

City Obituary – Shabana Banu, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

A life, passed. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No sign of her things—neither of her bundle, that served as a pillow at night, nor of her hand fan. She had been living on this spot of the pavement…

City Walk - Chatta Chuhiya Mem, Old Delhi

City Walk – Chatta Chuhiya Mem, Old Delhi

World of a street. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] How was she like? What were her passions and pursuits, her joys and despairs? Where is her grave? There are no answers. Nothing substantial is known about this mysterious…

City Life - Handwritten Sentiments, Around Town

City Life – Handwritten Sentiments, Around Town

Or lives in chits and scraps. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] “If we lose this, we lose everything”— and so concludes the romantic note, handwritten by a person to their beloved at the back of a Khan Market…