City Nature – Tree Heroes, M-Block, Greater Kailash 2
Icons of a tree-lined road. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Rendered conscious by the camera, these three are standing stiffly under the long slant branch of a tree. Years ago, Dharamveer, Hasan, Azim, and a handful of others…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Geetanjali Shree, Lodhi Garden
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] It is easy to bump into her. Hint: she is often sighted in Lodhi Garden (see photos). Geetanjali Shree, the author of five short story collections and five novels—Mai, Hamara Shahar Us Baras,…
City Hangout – Meraj Guest House, Ballimaran
An extraordinary lodging. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The staircase is ordinary. So is the ensuing corridor. Ditto the tiny reception. The best room is basic, a double bed with white sheets. No AC. Even so, this is…
City Walk – Asaf Ali Road, Old Delhi
Road by the vanished wall. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Like people, places grow, reach their pinnacle, and then decline. Something like Old Delhi’s Asaf Ali Road. Its cordon of grand buildings once housed la-di-da institutions. Today, modest…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Ritu Ahuja, Somewhere in Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This muggy evening in a public park, she is immersed in a Jonas Jonasson novel. A climate policy professional, Ritu Ahuja agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series in which…
Julia Child in Delhi – Colleagues wali Curry, Hazrat Nizamuddin East
Experiment with fish. [Text and picture by Mayank Austen Soofi] Rotis are ready, as well as the rice. Dinnertime is nearing. Eggs have been boiled and shelled. The small portion of yellow arhar dal is only for the two vegetarians….
City Food – Nadeem’s Cream Rolls, Sadar Bazar
Street rolls. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The stuff he hawks is rustled out in Ghaziabad, UP, and sold miles away in Gurugram, Haryana. The two places are bridged by the bulk of Delhi. According to Municipal Corporation…
Mission Delhi – Satender Kumar, Around Town
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The young auto rickshaw driver is often homesick, but not intensely. May be because Satender Kumar’s roommates happen to be his close relatives. Some of…
City Walk – Faseel Road Part 2, Old Delhi
Path by the wall. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some uncertainly say it exists. Most say it doesn’t. The Faseel Road signage is elusive. The road’s name does occasionally pop up on shop hoardings, but no dedicated signboard…
City Monument – Unnamed Mosque, Lodhi Garden
A little known exquisiteness. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One life isn’t enough to crack the megapolis of Delhi and its NCR cousins. The microscopic magnitude of a teenie weenie lane in Roshanpura will be enough to claim…
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