Mission Delhi – Vishal Nagraj, Daryaganj
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s his hand-drawn painting of poet Emily Dickinson. Here’s his portrait of poet Hart Crane. The next few loose sheets have his recreations of poets…
Mission Delhi – Vishal Kumar, Mathura Road
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His midday meal is always like a moveable feast, each day in a different setting. Vishal Kumar is lunching today here on Mathura Road. Yesterday…
Mission Delhi – Mukti Ram Parajuli, Delite Cinema
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tuesday afternoon. The balcony lobby is quiet. An attentive ear may hear the muffled sounds of film dialogues coming from inside the theatre’s thick doors….
Mission Delhi – Munawar Begum, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is grinning. Her smile is sparkling brighter than her tiny nose ring. Munawar Begum’s only son has successfully completed his 10th standard. “See, this…
Mission Delhi – Liyakatullah, Galli Choori Wallan
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like a cave, but completely of wood. The tiny store in Old Delhi’s Galli Choori Wallan street has its doorway flanked on either…
Mission Delhi – Puranchand, Hazrat Nizamuddin East
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The neighbourhood is very posh, very quiet. Only occasional bird sounds waft through the hushed air. The residences on either side of the lane project…
Mission Delhi – Aslam Khan, Joseph Stein Lane
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some people, both living and dead, embody within themselves the spirit of a place. Late architect Joseph Stein’s presence is intensely palpable about the corridors…
Mission Delhi – Ameer Dehlvi, Haaji Hotel
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They say that time assuages. But poet Ameer Dehlvi continues to be in mourning. “I’m not able to find myself these days,” he says, as…
Mission Delhi – Vikas, Gurgaon Bus Stand
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are. That’s the famous saying of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. The legendary French gourmand…
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Aaqib, Around Town
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nobody is accusing Muhammed Aaqib of being ungrateful to his adopted city. It’s just that he is too partial to Nagina, his home town in…
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