Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A halwai shop cook in a central Delhi bazar, he churns out 1,500 samosas daily. This cold night, while at work, young Abdul Rashid agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. A hope in my heart to become kamyab (successful). Your favourite qualities in a man. Polite manners. Your favourite qualities in a woman. The talent to wear nice clothes, and for a courteous way of speaking. What do you appreciate the most in your friends? The ability to be useful. Your main fault. I’m illiterate. My parents tried to get me educated,

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] All the 55 years of Rukhsar’s life have been spent in Old Delhi’s Turkman Gate area. This cold afternoon, ensconced within a small room, steps away from the aforementioned gateway, Rukhsar agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. I’m into naach-gana (singing and dancing). People like me are sometimes born with both the genders, and sometimes not. Let me be clear. I was born a male, and I think of myself as a male. Your favourite qualities in a man. He should talk with mohabbat (love). Your favourite qualities in a

Portrait of a mahila. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mahila is woman for Hindi, but there is only one woman bookseller in Sunday Book Bazar held every week at Mahila Haat. One more mahila actually sits just outside the Mahila Haat gate every Sunday, where she sells bags to book buyers. Yasmeen Begum agreed to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your favourite virtue. My mehnat, my hard work. Your favourite qualities in a man. He must be hard-working, his language must be dignified. Your favourite qualities in a woman. Whether she be illiterate or educated, she should always cook for her family. Plus, she should not hesitate

Portrait of a barber. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] On Diwali evening last week, Ramchander, a pavement barber, lit up two diyas and two candles on the exact spot of the darkened tree-lined Central Delhi pave where he daily operates his stall, although that day it stayed closed due to the festival. After offering his prayers (see photo), he agreed to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. My profession. I have been doing this work of hair-cutting and hajamati (shaving) as long as I can remember of my earliest days spent back home in the village. I would

Portrait of an ironing man. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] In his late 40s, Rajesh administers a long-time ironing stall on the deserted service lane of a posh Delhi neighbourhood. This mosquito-filled evening, with the day’s work accomplished, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. How should I begin to answer this question… as a young boy, I had to drop out of school due to problems at home. My pitaji Shri Kallu Ram, who was running this ironing stall, had an accident and was injured. Soon afterwards, one night when it was raining heavily, the

A woman in the Walled City. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The congested Chitli Qabar Bazar in the historic Walled City of Delhi is crammed with hundreds of showrooms. Each is presided over by a man. Except for Fancy Apparels—the boss here is a woman. Showroom owner and its administrator Shamaila Nasir agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. My sense of dressing. My self-independence. Your favourite qualities in a man. He should be caring towards his family, especially towards his wife—just as my husband, the late Muhammed Nasir, was. Your favourite qualities in a woman. She should have the ability

Glimpses of an iconic citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A familiar figure in turban and tie, Charanjeet Singh, 80, is the longtime face of Wenger's. The Connaught Place confectionary traces its inception to 1924, and the genial gent has been with it since 1965 (the young diploma holder from Khanna in Punjab arrived in Delhi in 1962, worked as a shift-in-charge at the Imperial hotel before being hired as a resident engineer for the cake shop’s then newly imported air-conditioning plant. He retired as a manager in 2004, but continues to work in his beloved workplace!). Over the decades, more than one generation of Delhiwale have accumulated fond memories of their cake shop chitchat with the soft-spoken “Sardarji.” He is

Into a bookseller's soul. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is a living landmark of Delhi’s iconic Sunday Book Bazar. The venerable Asha is not only among the longest surviving booksellers in the market (30 years and counting!), but also its first woman bookseller (even today the market has only three women booksellers). Last Sunday while attending to her stall, she agreed to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. Being an independent woman. Your favourite qualities in a person. The willingness to be cooperative to others, as much as circumstances permit. Your idea of happiness. Reaching a stage in life where

Into a time-repairer's soul. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The slim and dapper Javed Khan sells secondhand hand-wound Swiss watches as well as secondhand made-in-India HMT watches for a bargain. He also repairs watches and clocks. His silence-cloaked workshop in Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti’s New Markazi Market is like a shrine to an older time. Originally from Rampur, the soft-spoken gent is always seen working intently over family heirlooms, mending some tiny part of some old Swiss. This slow-moving afternoon, over a homemade lunch of dal and roti, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. My zindagi (life)

Into a newsstand person's soul. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] While his family is known by all as Buttonwale because of a shop specialising in buttons, Amir bhai himself administers the family’s other business, here in Old Delhi’s Pahari Rajaan, just beside Bhai Rajjo’s grocery. An electrician, he mends household appliances. Other than his usual customers crowding the repair shop with faulty toasters and mixies (and even handbags with dysfunctional zips!), the friendly man also draws the neighbourhood’s idle folks itching for timepass gupshup. This humid afternoon, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The natural talent you’d like to be