City Hangout – Best Reading Spot, Agrasen ki Baoli
Book lover’s space. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One can’t run short of words in praise of Agrasen ki Baoli—a stone step well so beautiful that it has often appeared even in Bollywood movies. The well’s 14th century…
City Hangout – Frangipani Island, Niti Marg
White stars. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Traffic islands seldom distinguish themselves as works of beauty. But then there’s that traffic island in Central Delhi that contains a grove of fulgent frangipani trees, laden with white flowers resembling…
City Hangout – People Tree Bookshop, Connaught Place
A ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ little store. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some bookshops exist outside the mainstream, and in which you’ll come across titles almost impossible to spot elsewhere. One such place exists in the heart…
City Hangout – Seema & Nasir’s Snack Stall, Ghalib Street
Stall of love. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s so appropriate. They live in a lane named after Delhi’s greatest love poet who penned many verses on mohabbat, mehboob and ishq. Seema and Nasir Nabi of Ghalib Street…
City Hangout – Bougainvillea’s Shaving Stall, Chelmsford Road
Barber’s paradise. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pavement shaving stalls are just about everywhere in Delhi—unlike western cities where the tradition has died out. These are patronised, among others, by a vast populace of hardworking male migrants who…
City Hangout – Ramlila Maidan, Central Delhi
The empty quarter. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The 2019 general elections are over. The iconic Ramlila Maidan, famous for its rallies, is free to be explored. The last big gathering it hosted was a campaign speech by…
City Hangout – W-Block Park, Greater Kailash-I
City escape. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The appeal of this place rests on a paradox. Parts of W-Block Park are a dusty terrain, so very bleak that it somehow conveys a kind of surreal beauty. Or so…
City Hangout – The Monsoon Bucket List, Around Town
Season’s getaways. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] As Delhi prepares to welcome another monsoon, here are places in the city where you can feel the season most intensely. Happy rains. History spot Carry along a thermos of piping-hot…
City Hangout – Plant’s Shade, Palika Bazaar Park
Summer escape. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the very best places to cool off in Delhi isn’t an air-conditioned mall. Nor some lovely monument in a park offering shade. It’s not even a tree. But instead,…
City Hangout – Live Music Hotspots, Paharganj
A world inside a world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So this is Delhi’s hidden Europe. That is, if you believe in the title of a recent Bollywood thriller, Paharganj—The Little Amsterdam of India. The central Delhi district—especially…
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