The upper floor saudade. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The bazar is cinematic in a flamboyant Old Delhi way. A jumble of bakeries and bone-setting clinics, groceries and pharmacies, meat shops and chai shops, appended with residential side-alleys….
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sun sets every evening in Connaught Place (CP). But the sun refuses to set in CP’s Sunny Guest House. More than fifty years old, the…
A Walled City Lane. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] When the Walled City nostalgists muse about its early days, they refer to that long-ago time as “badshahi ke daur mein.” Indeed, it was “during the era of emperors”…
Into serene avenues. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The gate is locked. The tree-speckled compound is strewn with dry crackling leaves. The lone man in the stately porch, a guard maybe, makes no answer. Peering over the rusted…
Space in suburbia. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Something serving as a relief from what is usual—this is a more evocative dictionary meaning of ‘oasis.’ Technically, the word refers to “a green area in desert.” Zila Ghaziabad is…
Fakeer gets frank. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He doesn’t have a mobile phone, he doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t have an ID card, he doesn’t have much cash either, he says. Even so, he is…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] In his 70s, he is frail, he walks with caution, and his advanced years has taken a toll on his hearing. And he flits around…
Street of the bangle folks [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Did you know that Snow White and the seven dwarves isn’t just a fairy tale? True, those eight folks used to live in Old Delhi, here in Gali…
Timeless gets new time. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The lush banyan tree stands by the old marble grave. High up in the smoggy air, the leafy branches bend over the chaotic street, keeping it marooned in perpetual…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every morning she gets up at five, walks into the dining room, opens the door outside to the porch, and there “I look at my…
Recent Comments