City Faith – A Late night Encounter with Mast Qalandar Sufis, Mehrauli
Trance world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a scene with a timeless appeal. It would not have looked out of place even centuries ago. One night while walking down a lane in south Delhi’s Mehrauli village,…
City Faith – The Urs Qawwalis, or Death Anniversary Celebrations, of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Central Delhi
The Sufi date. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ranbir Kapoor. Rockstar. Kun Faya Kun. This particular actor and his 2011 movie and its chartbuster song, a qawwali, are what many of us think of when the Sufi shrine…
City Faith – Phool Waalon Ki Sair Festival, Mehrauli
The October occasion. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This festival with late-Mughal origins carries a flavour of the fast-fading Nehruvian legacy. Phool Waalon Ki Sair, or the procession of the flower bearers, is one of those annual rituals…
City Faith – Durga’s Leftover Paris, Matri Mandir, Safdarjang Enclave
The goddess of the Paris Opera. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s France. It’s Paris. It’s Palais Garnier. Or. It’s India. It’s Delhi. It’s Matri Mandir. One day after the conclusion of Durga Puja, The Delhi Walla enters…
City Faith – The Ballad for the Eid Goats, Old Delhi
The gifts of sacrifice. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They all will die. The goats, as well as the occasional camels and buffaloes. The Delhi Walla spent a week walking in the Islamic parts of the Walled City,…
City Faith – Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah’s Death Anniversary Celebration, Outside Jama Masjid
The Urs of a mystic. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The story of his life has long been forgotten, but his shrine in the Walled City continues to inspire devotion. Hazrat Hare Bhare Shah’s dargah lies just outside…
City Faith – The Jewish Woman’s Muslim Friend, Jew Town, Cochin
Hope floats. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There are religious wars going on in the world. Muslims hate Jews. Hindus hate Muslims. Yazidis are hated by Islamists. Sunnis hate Shiites. Many hate Muslims. This is the story we…
City Faith – The Little Eid Girl in Red, Old Delhi
The day’s outing. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s Eid today. The Delhi Walla spent the morning in the Muslim quarter of the Walled City. I walked along the alleys and also entered the homes of welcoming hosts….
City Faith – Ramzan Banquet, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Sufi Shrine
Sacred meal. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The tiled floor has got a new pattern. It is carpeted with hundreds of paper plates. Each plate is filled with sliced fruits and a piece of fried kachori. The Delhi…
City Faith – Praying for The Children, Behram Khan Tiraha
Mother’s festival. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They were performing a sacred ceremony in the middle of the road. One early morning The Delhi Walla saw about half a dozen barefoot women at Behram Khan Tiraha, a three-way…
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