City Season - The Floss-Silk Bloom, Outside Ambience Mall Driveway

City Season – The Floss-Silk Bloom, Outside Ambience Mall Driveway

Season’s gift. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So consoling to the eyes. It’s as if some secret Santa finally took pity on us hapless citizens slow-dying through smog, smoke and dust. And one late night he quietly descended…

City Nature - Sky Watching, New Moti Bagh

City Nature – Sky Watching, New Moti Bagh

Into the heaven. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi always presents some difficulties. Such as capturing an unhindered perspective of the sky. Apartment blocks and bazars partly block any view, while in public gardens the abundance of trees…

City Season - Monet's High-Rises, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon

City Season – Monet’s High-Rises, Golf Course Road, Gurgaon

Sky views. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is swathed in light pink. Some bits are purple, and others are washed in shades of red and misty blue. This is Gurgaon on a rainy evening. A timely…

City Nature - Alternative Roses, Gurgaon

City Nature – Alternative Roses, Gurgaon

Beauty without bloom. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is not the best season for roses. Not even at the rose garden in Gurgaon’s Sector 15A in the National Capital Region. And that’s why you ought to drop…

City Nature - Homeward-Bound Birds, Central Delhi

City Nature – Homeward-Bound Birds, Central Delhi

Bird watching. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Gazing upon thousands of birds returning to their evening nests sounds like a fine countryside experience. But in fact, it happens right here in Delhi. Our smoggy metropolis is probably home…

City Season - Auto Driver's Summer Heat, Around Town

City Season – Auto Driver’s Summer Heat, Around Town

Coping with the extremities. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] May and June in Delhi means scorching heat. Sometimes, the brain seems to dissolve if you happen to walk on the road under the noon sun. Every person in…

City Season - Amaltas Poems, by Delhiwallas

City Season – Amaltas Poems, by Delhiwallas

Golden heat. [Photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] We are sailing through midsummer. Amaltas trees, aka Indian Laburnum, are blooming across Delhi. The most beautiful places to view the fragrant golden-yellow flowers are: Amrita Shergil Marg, BK Dutt Colony Park, Hailey…

City Season - The Summertime Amaltas Flowers, Sukhrali Village, Gurgaon

City Season – The Summertime Amaltas Flowers, Sukhrali Village, Gurgaon

The first sighting. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is one of the few nice things about the summer. And it has arrived. The Amaltas trees are starting to bloom. The golden yellow flowers have just begun to…

City Season - Bougainvilleas in Bloom, Vasant Vihar

City Season – Bougainvilleas in Bloom, Vasant Vihar

The pink season. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Whatever else is going on in the world, there’s something that shouldn’t be missed at this time of the year. To be specific — the flowering of gorgeous bougainvilleas cannot…

City Season - Semal Trees in Spring Bloom, Around Town

City Season – Semal Trees in Spring Bloom, Around Town

Season’s gift. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A soft thud on the ground and a beauty is born. This phenomenon is unfolding again and again, day after day—thanks to a ceaseless “snowfall” of red and orange semal flowers…