A cold alley [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The air is stale and damp, like bathroom towel during the monsoon. Phatak Ram Kishan Dass comprises of a dimly lit lane with no existing phatak, or gateway. The alley stretches inwards from the main street of Chitli Qabar Bazar, climaxing deep within its belly into two cul de sacs. This afternoon, the lane is empty. The sunlit market outside appears as fantastical as a fairy tale scene. With a few exceptions, both sides of the passageway are lined with a series of shuttered fronts. Cobwebs have spawned out like a pandemic; their laceworks joining the walls, the windows and the electric meters into a single tapestry. Stepping out of his workshop, silversmith Bashiruddin