City Monument - 40 Graves, Humayun's Tomb

City Monument – 40 Graves, Humayun’s Tomb

Beyond Humayun. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Humayun’s Tomb doesn’t have just Humayun’s grave—see the photo of his cenotaph (on the monument’s 70-feet-high chamber, real grave directly underneath). The 16th century mausoleum is home to 160 existing graves,…

City Monument - Bijri Khan's Tomb, RK Puram

City Monument – Bijri Khan’s Tomb, RK Puram

A mysterious ruin. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sometimes, a book cover can be more stirring than the book itself. This is certainly true for a monument in RK Puram — its exterior is more interesting than its…

City Monument - Lodhi Garden Ruins, Central Delhi

City Monument – Lodhi Garden Ruins, Central Delhi

The ‘qilas’ of Lodhi. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is a qila. That is a qila. And that also is a qila. Very common to overhear visitors to the world-famous Lodhi Garden call each of its monuments…

City Monument - Jagannath Temple, Hauz Khas Road

City Monument – Jagannath Temple, Hauz Khas Road

Vision in white. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid acres of dusty brown ruins, rises an apparition in spotless white. This afternoon, Sree Jagannath Mandir is looking like an edifice of ice. The only notable interruption to its…

City Monument - Summertime Baolis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah & Elsewhere

City Monument – Summertime Baolis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah & Elsewhere

That old AC. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some of us are dodging the summertime heat waves by self-exiling within AC rooms. AC existed in the very old days too. That medieval-era air-conditioner was of stone, a secretive…

City Monument - Barber's Tomb, Humayun Tomb Complex

City Monument – Barber’s Tomb, Humayun Tomb Complex

The other memorial. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] After the sun dips into the western sky, Humayun’s Tomb gleams with special lights installed at strategic positions around the monument. The gathering blackness dematerialises the tree-filled surroundings, making the…

City Monument - The Jali, Gurgaon & Elsewhere

City Monument – The Jali, Gurgaon & Elsewhere

The world of screen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Look at this derelict building. The central pattern is as intricate as an embroidered fabric. It is made of entwined quadrangles and circles, multiplying several times over, and spanning…

City Monument - Sequence of Taak, Deer Park

City Monument – Sequence of Taak, Deer Park

A disappearing element in architecture. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All are dusty, and some are cobwebbed. But it doesn’t matter. After all, it might be the most exquisite collection of taaks in the entire Delhi region. Taak,…

City Walk - The Lane Along Red Fort, Old Delhi

City Walk – The Lane Along Red Fort, Old Delhi

The best stroll. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sailing into the Red Fort used to be so smooth. You would buy the ticket, queue up by the entrance and slip in. This was before the pandemic. Now that…

City Monument - Anonymous Ruin, Mehrauli

City Monument – Anonymous Ruin, Mehrauli

A sad beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is there. And it is not there. Both assertions are based on ground realities. This severely damaged edifice in Mehrauli is the very essence of contemporary Delhi, where relics…