City Landmark – Old Bungalows, Patel Nagar
Fading ghosts. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The faded yellow paint of the exteriors have peeled off in many places—is probably peeling off at this moment too, while you read these words. The old paint underneath the yellow,…
City Landmark – Turkman Gate, Old Delhi
The world of a living monument. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some beautiful places don’t have true beauty. Old Delhi’s Turkman Gate is that kind of a place. It is suffused with sadness. Take this chilly evening. A…
City Obituary – Dr. Prem Bhuttan, Old Delhi
Death of a living landmark. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The notices in Hindi, Urdu and English are taped on the shutters: “Dr. Prem Bhuttan has died. Shop closed.” The shop refers to the clinic. A living landmark…
City Landmark – Hazrat Chirag Dehli Shrine in Winter, South Delhi
Cold courtyard. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The air is windier than elsewhere in the city. The cold too is colder. With its vast courtyard, and its many trees, the sufi shrine of Hazrat Chirag Dehli is one…
City Landmark – Nizamuddin’s Curio Corner, Metropole Market
Alibaba’s cave. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A painted portrait of King “George Pancham” at the Delhi durbar. A Romeo y Julieta cigar box from pre-revolution Cuba. A helicopter model from some unspecified country. A metallic telephone with…
City Landmark – Sachdeva Book Shelf, Patel Nagar
Small wonder. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] So simple, the name of this bookstore. Here in Patel Nagar, by the stairs of the area’s gigantic metro station. Sachdeva Book Shelf have been occupying this tiny spot for 36…
City Neighbourhood – Last Bungalows, Hazrat Nizamuddin East
Era, passing. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Thak, thak, thak. The dusty air is reverberating with the sound of continued hammering. The source of the clatter is a white bungalow, here in Nizamuddin East. The bungalow is being…
City Landmark – Delhi Junction Railway Station, Kashmere Gate Side
The junction’s other view. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The hapless citizen is wading through Kashmere Gate chaos, unable to find a way out of the bazar’s loopy labyrinthine. Suddenly—escape! The land ends into multitudes of intersecting railways…
City Landmark – RK Mohan Musical Instruments, Hamilton Road
A city secret. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pinewood harmoniums are piled up one upon another. Over there: a sitar, a veena, a mandolin. Confined to a tiny space, this amazing Hamilton Road shop is densely crammed with…
City Landmark – Anil Book Corner, Connaught Place
The friend around the corner. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Volga river is in Russia. Connaught Place (CP) too had its Volga, the restaurant. A denim showroom exists on the site. Also a part of CP’s history: Gaylord…
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