Photo Essay – Tourists in Their Own City, Agrasen ki Baoli

Photo Essay – Tourists in Their Own City, Agrasen ki Baoli

Discovering a monument. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Are there people who find monuments boring? One winter afternoon The Delhi Walla took a group of four – three women and a man – to the rarely visited Agrasen…

Photo Essay – The Shadow People, Lodhi Road

Photo Essay – The Shadow People, Lodhi Road

Homeless in winter streets. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] One cold December midnight, The Delhi Walla was walking on Lodhi Road. It had rained in the day. The homeless people were sleeping on the pavement, which was still…

Photo Essay – Are Newspapers Dead?

Photo Essay – Are Newspapers Dead?

The ‘daily’ life in Delhi. [Edited text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Mizo woman was walking towards her home in Moti village near Dhaula in south Delhi when the men in a vehicle abducted her and took turns…

Photo Essay - Blueline Buses, Around Town

Photo Essay – Blueline Buses, Around Town

They will be removed. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Till the 80s, the only city buses to rule Delhi’s roads were run by Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). In 1992, the bus service was privatised and Redline buses were…

Photo Essay – Raavan Spotting, Tagore Garden

Photo Essay – Raavan Spotting, Tagore Garden

The making of the devil. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] He will die. Again. On the evening of October 17, 2010, the effigy of Raavan, the 10-headed demon king of Lanka, will burn down with much cheer and…

City Culture - Ramlila, August 15 Ground

City Culture – Ramlila, August 15 Ground

The annual multi-starrer Hindu blockbuster. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Totally Shakespearean. It has love, jealousy, greed, lies, betrayal, revenge, war, death and redemption. Ramlila, the 10-day play on the exploits of Bhagwan Ram, which takes place every…

Photo Essay – Shera, Delhi Commonwealth Games

Photo Essay – Shera, Delhi Commonwealth Games

The making of the mascot. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Shera, the tiger, is the mascot of 2010 Commonwealth Games being hosted by Delhi. In this city of Very Important Persons, he has become the most important person,…

Photo Essay – Indian Coffee House, Mohan Singh Place

Photo Essay – Indian Coffee House, Mohan Singh Place

Evocation of a vanished time. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Indian Coffee House (circa 1957) expresses its extraordinary romantic atmosphere in its run down furniture. The café is a tribute to the dignity of old times when there…

City Moment – The Man With the Dog, Mathura Road

City Moment – The Man With the Dog, Mathura Road

The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Delhi Walla was walking one night in Mathura Road, central Delhi. I reached a pavement where a couple of homeless people were sleeping. One man was awake. Lying…

Photo Essay - Fast Food City, McDonald's Delhi

Photo Essay – Fast Food City, McDonald’s Delhi

The world of McDonald’s. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s easy to say why you think a McDonald’s burger is bad. It is unhealthy, fattening and industrial. But then all of Delhi’s traditional food too is fattening. Tell…