City Library – Riccardo Calimani’s Books, Venice

City Library – Riccardo Calimani’s Books, Venice

A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The weekend edition of The International New York Times is lying in one corner. It has a story on the ancient Jewish district of Venice. The full-page feature, timed to…

Photo Essay - La Hune Bookstore's Second Life, Paris

Photo Essay – La Hune Bookstore’s Second Life, Paris

A great landmark’s afterlife. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Once upon a time one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world was in the most beautiful part of beautiful Paris. La Hune, next to the historic Saint-Germain-des-Prés…

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Recollections, Venice's Ancient Jewish Cemetery

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Recollections, Venice’s Ancient Jewish Cemetery

Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The tombs lay scattered across the grassy ground. Many of them were inscribed in Hebrew. A few showed the shield of David. A very few had small stones placed…

Netherfield Ball – ‘Somewhere in Delhi’ Palace Bash, Venice

Netherfield Ball – ‘Somewhere in Delhi’ Palace Bash, Venice

The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a delightful gathering of beautiful people in a beautiful palace in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. One afternoon in Venice The Delhi Walla attended Somewhere in…

Letter From Jor Bagh - Bahrisons Bookseller's Aanchal Malhotra on The Bookshop's Nini KD Singh

Letter From Jor Bagh – Bahrisons Bookseller’s Aanchal Malhotra on The Bookshop’s Nini KD Singh

Bookshop woman to a bookshop woman. [Text and photos by Aanchal Malhotra] Note about the author: Aanchal Malhotra is an artist and writer living in New Delhi. She can be found at her photoblog, The Hiatus Project, which chronicles her…

City Moment - The Empty Table's Memories, Rue du Buisson Saint-Louis

City Moment – The Empty Table’s Memories, Rue du Buisson Saint-Louis

The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His dining table can accommodate at least six and yet he is seated alone at the head of the table. There are five more people in the house but they…

City Landmark - Librairie Galignani, Rue de Rivoli

City Landmark – Librairie Galignani, Rue de Rivoli

Better than Shakespeare & Company. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] No, not Shakespeare & Company. The best bookstore in Paris for readers in English is actually Librairie Galignani. Founded in 1801, it is the oldest English-language bookstore in…

Home Sweet Home – Michael David’s House, Rue de la Cité

Home Sweet Home – Michael David’s House, Rue de la Cité

A piece of the pavement. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A paperback is lying open beside him. It means that this pavement must be his study. Next to the book is a folded blue sweater. Now, the pavement…

Our Self-Written Obituaries – The Little Mynah birdie, Ambience Mall

Our Self-Written Obituaries – The Little Mynah birdie, Ambience Mall

The 114th death. [By the Mynah Birdie] The little Mynah birdie, an aviator and a soloist who often sang self-composed impromptu compositions to varied people of Delhi, died on March 8 on the concrete floor at Gurgaon’s Ambience mall. The…

City Landmark - Berkeley Books of Paris, Near San Francisco Book Company

City Landmark – Berkeley Books of Paris, Near San Francisco Book Company

The real Berkeley. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The silence is so intense that one’s own thoughts feel like noise. The Delhi Walla is at the Berkeley Books of Paris, one of the best secondhand English language bookstores…