City Hangout – Muhammad Akhtar’s Book Stall, Near Aggarwal Sweets, Vaishali
Rare wonder. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s got almost everything a human being would need. This particular suburban zone in Vaishali in Ghaziabad suburb in the Greater Delhi Region is chock-full of malls, multiplexes, mithai shops and…
City Hangout – Lily Pond, Lodhi Gardens
Hideaway spot. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A few flowers stand erect, fresh and alive, with not a speck of dust on their wet petals. Others, half-drowned in water, look like broken dreams. For some reason very few…
City Hangout – Surinder Tea Stall, Gurgaon
Stall’s saga. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The pavement chai stalls are often a storehouse of hard-luck stories. Some are suffused with the life of their customers. Others are permeated with the hopes and disappointments of their owners….
City Hangout – Ashok Kumar’s Onion-Scented Tea Stall, Gurgaon
House of tea. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The idea of an onion-scented chai might not appeal to all, but it really is delicious. And, for the record, the chai doesn’t taste of onion. The unnamed tea stall…
City Hangout – Anupama Sweets, Kailash Colony
Homely eatery. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Visitors to Delhi who hang around for a few days can’t help noticing all those exotic restaurants in fancy markets and malls offering specialty dishes from around the world, and also…
City Hangout – Secondhand Bookshelf, Quill And Canvas, South Point Mall
Books with a background. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is true. The neighbour’s drawing room shelves do reveal a glimpse of their private life. That’s why it’s so tantalising to browse about the secondhand books stacked at…
City Hangout – Theater Traffic Circle, Mandi House
An unusual playhouse. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A handful of traffic circles in central Delhi have become something more than just that. The circle on Janpath is a sprawling garden with trees teeming with bats. While another…
City Hangout – Plane Spotting, Vasant Vihar
Air-borne thrills. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One’s heart goes out to the rich people of Vasant Vihar. There’s so much noise pollution in the genteel south Delhi enclave crammed with gracious bungalows and apartments. The very air…
City Heritage – The History of Daryaganj’s Sunday Book Bazaar, Central Delhi
History of a historic hangout. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Yes, it was dusty and crowded, and it was difficult to weave your way through the great mass of sweating people. But it was one of the most…
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…
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