Mission Delhi – Ram Kumar, Civil Lines, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Anyone can be sighted with them. Once even the World Bank chief (Paul Wolfowitz) was sighted with torn socks. Auto rickshaw driver Ram Kumar is…
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Afzal, Pahari Bhojla
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Old Delhi alleys are full of uncommon sights. People are often spotted with things not usually seen in other localities—a parrot in the hand, a…
Mission Delhi – Rahman Ali, Haveli Azam Khan
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The door is coated with dust. Its brown has faded into a kind of translucence. Yet, it looks distinguished, here in Old Delhi’s Haveli Azam…
Mission Delhi – Vidya Rao, Lodhi Gardens
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The city is losing a beat of its music. Delhi-based thumri singer Vidya Rao will no longer be based in Delhi, where she has lived…
Mission Delhi – Khajani, Old Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] His heart is pierced by Cupid’s arrow. And within the heart is inscribed ‘I Love You’. This is a tattoo on Khajani’s right arm —…
Mission Delhi – Mohmu, New Palam Vihar
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The land is sprawled across acres of openness, punctuated with scrubby bushes and stand-alone houses. Far away, the grey multi-storeyed buildings look like scarecrows. On…
Mission Delhi – Damil Ahmad Beg, Zeenat-ul Masjid
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Old Delhi’s Zeenat-ul Masjid is like a miniature version of the Jama Masjid. There is another monument inside, equally photogenic and more unique. This monument…
Mission Delhi – Bhola, Ashram
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Bhola is walking along a city street, carrying a wooden staff tied with plastic packets of pink and yellow cotton candies. The street is not…
Mission Delhi – Sanjay, Connaught Place
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is sitting outside a showroom in Connaught Place (CP). The gunny sack beside him is filled with street discards that he collected in his…
Mission Delhi – Raj Singh, Chuna Mandi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You might not easily spot this graceful gent amid the hubbub of the traffic intersection. But once you do, then it is difficult to be…
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