City Life – Photographer Vendors, India Gate
An unusual tribe. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a lovely afternoon. India Gate gleams even in New Delhi’s winter haze. A boy with a hint of a stubble is lying lazily under a tree’s scented shade. His…
City Life – Waste Handlers, Bhopura
Lives of rag pickers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ms Nisha used to wake up an hour before dawn, make breakfast for her family, and then start her workday. Accompanied by her four small children (she couldn’t leave…
Letter from Noida – The Progress of Womanhood, Sector 34
Notes of a young mother. [By Manika Dhama] “It’s a girl.” Immediately after I heard her first cry the doctor informed me that I had given birth to a girl. Perhaps I was just imagining their lack of enthusiasm at…
City Life – Farmer’s World, Yamuna Bank
The good earth. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is beyond belief. The hut stands under a shade-giving mulberry tree, beside a field of red roses. The walls are thatched and the cow-dung flooring is polished smooth. Mr…
City Life – Wandering Vendors, Around Town
License to sell. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Laxmikant Shukla is as much a Khan Market institution as Dayal Opticals or Chonas restaurant. Since 1972, he has been coming to Delhi’s most posh market to sell dusters and…
Letter from England – Kaloo, Part II
Life in a new land. [Text by Mayank Austen Soofi; photos from Marina Bang] Can a Delhi dog feel at home in the smog-free English countryside? In October 2013, The Delhi Walla described his farewell meeting with Kaloo, a former…
City Life – Gay Delhi, Jantar Mantar
The long walk to freedom. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In July 2009, the Delhi High Court legalized gay sex among consenting adults. In December 2013, India’s Supreme Court turned down that progressive and just verdict, reinstating a…
City Life – Gay Delhi, Around Town
Homosexuality in the capital. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] In December 2013, India’s Supreme Court pronounced that gay sex is illegal. It has been a long journey for gay people in Delhi and across the country. “Looking for…
City Sighting – Arundhati Roy, Somewhere in Delhi
The dog of small things. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One winter morning The Delhi Walla sighted Arundhati Roy in a central Delhi apartment. According to reports in newspapers, the author of The God of Small Things is…
Hauz Khas Series – A House in the Village, Chapter 6
Life in Delhi’s prettiest neighborhood. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla has been asked to move out of his rented room in Hauz Khas Village. Ah, these greedy landlords! The rant of every artist/designer/hipster of Hauz…
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