City Moment – The Bougainvillea Eater, Lodhi Road

City Moment – The Bougainvillea Eater, Lodhi Road

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla saw bougainvillea vines on Lodhi Road. The pink flowers were falling down on the pavement. Underneath, a man was performing his prayers. His coloured…

City Moment – Prayer for the Poet, Ghalib’s Tomb

City Moment – Prayer for the Poet, Ghalib’s Tomb

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is later afternoon. The Delhi Walla is in the tomb of poet Mirza Ghalib. It is in Central Delhi’s Nizamuddin Basti, which is home to the dargah of…

City Moment – Book Launch Ceremony, Matia Mahal

City Moment – Book Launch Ceremony, Matia Mahal

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is about noon. The Delhi Walla enters the home of Haji Miyan and his brother Amir Dehlvi. They live in Matia Mahal, a congested neighbourhood in the Walled…

City Moment – The Satanic Verses, Shahjahanabad

City Moment – The Satanic Verses, Shahjahanabad

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is late morning. The Delhi Walla is browsing for second-hand books in the weekly book bazaar of Daryaganj. Each Sunday the mile-long footpath between Delite cinema and the…

City Moment – The Delhi Metro, Ghazipur Road

City Moment – The Delhi Metro, Ghazipur Road

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One evening The Delhi Walla was on the pedestrian bridge built across the Ghazipur Road in east Delhi. It was twilight, the hour of commuters. Below, the road swarmed…

City Moment – Veiled Biker, India Gate Circle

City Moment – Veiled Biker, India Gate Circle

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla was walking on the circular road built around the India Gate maidan. Just after crossing the turning to Shahjahanan Road, I saw a woman…

City Moment – Holding Hands, Barakhamba Park

City Moment – Holding Hands, Barakhamba Park

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla entered Barakhamba Park, a public garden in Nizamuddin West that is an unofficial home to the homeless. Nisha Begum, a park resident, was standing…

City Moment – Sadia Dehlvi’s The Sufi Courtyard, Nizamuddin East

City Moment – Sadia Dehlvi’s The Sufi Courtyard, Nizamuddin East

The author with her new book. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One afternoon The Delhi Walla entered the home of author Sadia Dehlvi in Nizamuddin East. The house was all happiness. Ms Dehlvi’s publisher HarperCollins India had just…

City Moment – Portrait of a Marriage, Mandir Marg

City Moment – Portrait of a Marriage, Mandir Marg

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One sunny noon The Delhi Walla saw a bride and a groom at a temple in Mandir Marg, Central Delhi. The couple was in the temple’s lawn, along with…

City Moment – Feeding the Soul, Connaught Place

City Moment – Feeding the Soul, Connaught Place

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold morning The Delhi Walla saw a woman vendor in the F-block of the colonial-era shopping district Connaught Place. The showrooms were still closed. The Inner Circle corridors…