No small wonder. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] In our fast-changing ever-uncertain times, it stands tall and dense as an emblem of great endurance. It was here long before the coronavirus pandemic, and will, hopefully continues to exist for time to come. This luscious banyan tree in Gurgaon is a megapolis. Its each branch is like a road, each cluster of leaves like a neighbourhood. The tree is huge and unwieldy. Indeed, it has to be among the grandest in the Delhi region. There certainly might be bigger and grander trees anonymously tucked in ridges, parks and private bungalows, but this one is more special because it possesses a stateliness despite being stranded amid the disadvantages of an unruly public place. The

On the hilltop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Breathe out a deep sigh, before marvelling at the irony. Here’s a most amazing Old Delhi alley with a deep solid character, but without a name. This walkway strip is actually more like a bridge that connects the two hills of Pahari Bhojla and Pahari Imli. This moment, silence all. Now, in this remote-seeming world, a clothes trader comes trundling up thoughtfully from one hill to the other. He stops to identify this little galli as tanki. Indeed, the passageway is topped by a huge pink tanki. It marks the highest point of this high-altitude locale, and resembles the gigantic water towers spread across the capital. The trader gives way to another citizen.