City Monument – Fatehpuri Mosque, Chandni Chowk
A simple poetry. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everybody knows Emperor Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal. He built her the Taj Mahal in Agra. Not many of us are aware of Fatehpuri Begum. She, too, was Shah Jahan’s…
City Monument – Sunder Mahal, Sunder Nursery
A palace of light. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Soft summer light is entering the dark cool corridor as discreetly as a dream invading somebody’s afternoon siesta. This is without doubt one of the most beautiful places in…
City Monument – The New Church of Epiphany, Civil Lines, Gurgaon
A contemporary monument. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So simple and yet so elegant and contemporary. The Church of the Epiphany in Gurgaon’s Civil Lines truly resonates with the spirit of this so-called Millennium City in the National…
City Monument – Jamaat Khana Mosque, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Shrine
Side beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Steeped in timeless art, the Jamaat Khana Masjid is perhaps the capital’s only mosque from the 14th century still used for prayers. If, of course, you’ll care to notice the redsandstone…
City Monument – Kashmere Gate, North Delhi
A broken dignity. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Kashmere Gate looks like a boring business indeed when first viewed from the busy street. But, take heart. Passing through the gateway’s corridor to the other side is a scene…
City Monument – Maulana Shaukat Ali’s Grave, Old Delhi
A milestone in history. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This morning the simple marble grave in Old Delhi is lined with rotting rose petals and not much else. A historic tombstone but its existence rarely registered. This is…
City Monument – Moti Bagh Gurudwara, South Delhi
A refuge in Sikhism. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Peace is softly settling about each person. This is how it appears to be during ordinary afternoons at this historic gurudwara in South Delhi—a site sanctified by the visit…
City Monument – Madhi Masjid, Mehrauli
So beautiful, so ignored. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Monuments aren’t only about stones, not always. Sometimes they are more about air and sky. Such is the case with Madhi Masjid in Mehrauli. Close to Jain Mandir Dadabari,…
City Monument – Unnamed Mosque, Agrasen ki Baoli
The beauty of an ignored ruin. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So melancholic and beautiful, and nobody bothers about it. The unnamed and unused mosque is tucked in a corner of the Agrasen ki Baoli, one of Delhi’s…
Mission Delhi – Imdad Barbhuyan, South Extension II
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Imdad Barbhuyan is so inspired by fine art that it sometimes gets very personal. Gets integrated into his very own personality. Like the pearl on…
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