City List - The Ghalibians, Ghalib Academy

City List – The Ghalibians, Ghalib Academy

People of Ghalib’s world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A long beard. A pointed Turki topi. That’s Ghalib, the illustrated portrait that adorns the cover of his poetry books. Many of us might not have read the city’s…

City List - Daily-Wage Carpenter's Kit, Sadar Bazaar

City List – Daily-Wage Carpenter’s Kit, Sadar Bazaar

Delhi by list. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You may know what it’s like at Central Delhi’s Sadar Bazaar, so congested you can literally crash into somebody. The Delhi Walla almost stumbled over Muhammed Jaafar, a carpenter sitting…

City List - Sufi Shrines Where Women Are Allowed, Around Town

City List – Sufi Shrines Where Women Are Allowed, Around Town

Feminism in Islam. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] “Ladies are not allowed inside.” This notice on a yellow board hangs outside the burial chamber of Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. The shrine is one of the many dargahs…

City List - Foodies of the World, Hauz Khas Village

City List – Foodies of the World, Hauz Khas Village

The hungry villagers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If a First World foreigner is airlifted from her land straight into Hauz Khas Village, she will find it next to impossible to believe it is Delhi’s coolest hangout. The…

City List – The 20 Lovely Shop Assistants of The Book Shop in Jorbagh

City List – The 20 Lovely Shop Assistants of The Book Shop in Jorbagh

You are remembered. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A nice bookstore is cherished not only for its collection of books and its charming owners, but also for its friendly shop assistants. Since the time it was founded by…

City List – Pradip Krishen's Most Suitable Trees for Delhi

City List – Pradip Krishen’s Most Suitable Trees for Delhi

Dry, deciduous. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Though Delhiwallas wilt in the sweltering heat, summer is also the season when a great part of the city comes to life in a magically beautiful way. Walk along the wide…

City List - The Morning Gifts of City Commuters, Near Barakhamba Metro Station

City List – The Morning Gifts of City Commuters, Near Barakhamba Metro Station

A woman’s friends. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The white-haired homeless woman is seen every morning by commuters in her usual place—a pavement close to Barakhamba Metro Station in Central Delhi’s Connaught Place. There she loudly sings sacred…

City List - The Everlasting Jews of Delhi, Jewish Cemetery

City List – The Everlasting Jews of Delhi, Jewish Cemetery

A Capital heritage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Capital’s only Jewish cemetery is walking distance from the Khan Market Metro station. It is a serene corner of Delhi, and 42 Jews rest here in peace. This is…

City List – Khan Market's Last Residents, Central Delhi

City List – Khan Market’s Last Residents, Central Delhi

End of story. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Khan Market suffers a great loss. Raj Berry of flat no. 37 died in November 2015; she was 86. With her departure, the number of Khan Market’s residents falls further….

City List – The Indian Blood in William Dalrymple's City of Djinns, On a Firangi's Delhi Book

City List – The Indian Blood in William Dalrymple’s City of Djinns, On a Firangi’s Delhi Book

Native influences. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla knows of many Delhiwallas who first discovered the beauties of their city through William Dalrymple’s travel book City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi. There are also a…