City Landmark – Lodhi Road Crematorium, Central Delhi
Where we go to. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Shareer (body) is a khet (farm field), atma (soul) is the kisan (farmer), and paap (sin) and poornya (merit) are two beej (seeds). The line is inscribed on the…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Flute Seller Qurban Ansari, Around Town
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] All day long he saunters along the streets selling flutes. Qurban Ansari, 19, lives in Gurugram’s Madipur Chowk in Sector 19 with parents, who are retired labourers, and wife, Noorsaba Khatoon, whom he…
City Food – Rajbir’s Nankhatai, Turkman Gate
A stall of sturggles. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Rajbir is a bearer of two legacies. One is of a street delicacy with origins going back to the Europeans. The other is more intimate. It is the legacy…
City Hangout – Public Park, Greater Kailash 2
A lesser known oasis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some poet wrote that a true garden is simply made of lights. If so, then this park in Greater Kailash 2 has to be Delhi’s truest garden, at least…
City Hangout – The Mid-August Sun, Defence Colony Flyover
An evening to memorialise. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The people who commanded the stage on 15 August, 1947, seem so far away in time and history — almost like myths. While in contrast this red disk, our…
City Food – Bhoore Yadav’s Aloo Paratha, Near Hauz Khas Village
Taste by the way. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The only missing element is a tie. Otherwise he is always dressed gentlemanly—in belted pants and long-sleeved shirt. The buttoned-up sleeves are never rolled up to the elbows, no…
Mission Delhi – Lalu, Mandi House
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The houses are vacant. An earthen chulha (stove) is dusted with ashes—somebody must have cooked here not long ago. But the lane is silent. It…
City Landmark – City End, Near Sector 55-56 Metro Station, Gurgaon
Last point. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Big cities are like a sentence with lots of commas but without a full stop. You just don’t know where they might end. Check that out by driving through Delhi. Like…
City Food – Bhaijaan Chicken Shami Kebab, Chitli Qabar Bazar
Beloved brother’s offering. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] “Why did you fall in love? Why did you go away, away, away?” These words are pouring out like pangs of everlasting sadness from Mr Javed’s lips. The young man’s…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Booksellers Swati Roy & M Venkatesh, Greater Kailash II
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Their business is something rare. Swati Roy, a former marketing manager, and M Venkatesh, a former journalist, co-run a bookstore specialising in children’s books. They opened Eureka in 2003 in B Block, CR…
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