Into a bookseller's soul. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi’s backpackers’ district of Paharganj had many bookstores, each crammed with hundreds of used books. Many of those well-thumbed paperbacks would bear origins of exotic lands, often left by international travellers passing through Paharganj on way to Manali, Pushkar or Goa. All the shops are now history except for one. Jacksons Books is the only place in the capital to have a rich selection of books in French, German, Japanese, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, alongside English and Hindi. Deepak Dialani, who founded the shop in 1996, 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. Your

Fakeer gets frank. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He doesn’t have a mobile phone, he doesn’t have a bank account, he doesn’t have an ID card, he doesn’t have much cash either, he says. Even so, he is materialistic after his own worldly fashion—his daily wear includes many necklaces, many finger ornaments. The other principal possession is a knotted cloth bundle containing a couple of chaadars and a food bowl. A native of Kumula village in distant Tripura, Masti Anna Zaman calls himself a fakeer. A barefoot ascetic living in Delhi, he says he has no house. He frequently travels to other cities, performing pilgrimages in mandirs and dargahs, he says. In fact, he collected all his ornaments during

Into a citizen’s heart. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] She earns by singing and dancing and offering blessings in household celebrations such as weddings, childbirths and grih-pravesh. This afternoon, combing her long oiled hair in a Walled City barbershop, Reshma, attired in a green salwar suit and an unmatching dupatta, 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 patli-dubli (slim-thin). If not yourself, who would you be? I’m a transgender—we call ourselves kinnar. I don’t want to be anybody else. Your favourite qualities in a man. He must earn honestly, he must daily pray to God, he

Into a citizen’s heart. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He restores torn clothes, for he is a rafoogar—belonging to a diminishing segment of tailors who specialize in the art of darning. A yumna-paar dweller of Khureji, Inam Khan shuttles daily to Old Delhi’s Sir Syed Road, settling outside a dry cleaning establishment, with lazy well-fed street dogs lounging around him. After hushing a barking dog to quiet down, the soft-spoken gent 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. Your favourite qualities in a person. The ability to be happy. What do you appreciate the most in your friends? To attentively listen to

Into a cab man’s heart. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the essentials occupying an esteemed place in his car is the blue statuette of Dr BR Ambedkar holding a copy of the Indian constitution (see photo). Cab driver Rajneesh 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 a simple person, I have no personality. Your favorite qualities in a person. Insaniyat (humanity). What do you appreciate the most in your friends? He should be a partner of my sukh-dukh, for a true dost can create a greater rishta than what one might have with one’s own brother. Your main fault. I

Waiting for Godot. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The same handsome gaunt face, the same lean figure. The hawk-like eyes glinting in immersive thoughts, the meditative lines on the forehead, and the smart short-cropped grey hair. He is every inch a Samuel Beckett (have you read his Waiting for Godot?!). The only thing missing is the Gucci hobo bag that the great Irish playwright was seen holding in an iconic photograph. Gulam Muhammed Malik is a retired school teacher from Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir, who spends the winter months at his daughter’s home in less cold Delhi. Here, he often hangs out in a public library, poring upon books and newspapers. That’s exactly what he is doing this afternoon.

The parlour confession. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The hilly Pahari Imli gets its name from a tamarind tree that no longer exists. But Naeem Khan’s tailoring establishment serves as an idyllic substitute for that extinct imli ka ped. It is nestled at a perfect vantage point in the Old Delhi neighbourhood, giving a clear view of who is walking up the hill, who is walking down the hill (see photo: tea man Iqbal walking down the hill). Laughters and shouts from the surrounding windows echo. Passers-by stop to share gossip about the Pahari Imli society, as they might have done under that legendary Imli tree if it were still standing today. Naeem Khan agrees to become a part of

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is blue, the winter sun is shining, the daylight is warm. The stone staircase of Jama Masjid’s southern face is teeming with citizens. One of them is Sajjad Ahmad Banjara, attired in the customary red cap of professional ear cleaners who stroll through the lanes looking for customers. He agrees to become a part of The Delhi Walla's Proust Questionnaire series in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your favorite virtue. Not lying, though sometimes one is obliged to lie so as not to hurt a loved one’s feelings. Your favorite qualities in a person. Insaniyat (humanity), and devotion to one’s spouse. What do you appreciate the most in

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This afternoon for lunch she made the winter season’s first sarson ka saag, along with makke ki roti. Rekha Gupta lives with her husband Mahabir Prasad, a retired officer, in a first-floor apartment. Dressed in a green-and-red Banarasi sari bought 10 years ago for the teej festival, she agrees to become a part of The Delhi Walla's Proust Questionnaire series in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. (While her husband gets busy making adrak ki chai for her and her interlocutor). Your favourite qualities in people. Well-qualified in manners and education, simple nature, no dikhawa (show-off), devoted to the family. What do you appreciate the most in your

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Over the past few months she has been spotted at Lodhi Garden almost daily, always sitting on the same spot, behind a floss silk tree, across the walking track that goes past Sheesh Gumbad. Sometimes she is seen in deep chat with somebody or the other. One evening she was seen patting one of the park’s many dogs. Nora Swenson is a relatively new Delhiwale. She arrived from New York early this year. She 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. What do you appreciate the most in your friends? Honesty and integrity. I needed to