
City Neighbourhood – Pandemic Postcard, Hauz Khas Village
Juxtaposition of beauty and tragedy. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The evening breeze is cool. The blue sky is darkening. A pale moon has already surfaced. The air is filled with the incessant sound of ambulance sirens. The…

City Region – Slum and ‘Society’, Sector 15, Gurgaon
Our disparate lives. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The neighbours are loitering outside their homes, making small talk about the cold weather. Soon enough, the conversation veers towards a “multi-storey society”, or as they would like to call…

City Neighbourhood – David Street, Daryaganj
The mystery of a name. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Our fair city is adorned with landmarks bearing names that defy scrutiny. But you would think that David Street in Old Delhi’s Daryaganj could easily be traced. After…

City Neighborhood – Tihar Village, West Delhi
Not the famous prison, if you please. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Tihar Jail hardly needs any introduction. It is, after all, the largest prison complex in Asia, tending to thousands of inmates in various stages of “correction”….

City Neighborhood – The ‘Illegal’ LNJP Colony, Near 5-Star Lalit Hotel
Life in the invisible city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The place is like a kaleidoscope—the colours change swiftly. First, you are greeted by a yellow-painted brick wall. It turns pink around the corner. The next door is…

City Neighborhood – Batla House, South Delhi
The encounter district. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some of the lanes leading to his home are so dark that you can’t see your own feet. The Delhi Walla‘s internal GPS is seriously confused. It’s way beyond midnight….

Hauz Khas Series – A House in the Village, Chapter 9
Life in Delhi’s prettiest neighborhood. [Text by Nina Warglien and Charlotte Liebenow; photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Note to the reader: This piece is written by two young fashion designers from Europe. Nina Warglien and Charlotte Liebenow live in a…

Hauz Khas Series – A House in the Village, Chapter 8
Life in Delhi’s prettiest neighborhood. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] On a humid afternoon recently, Lal Pari, a vegetable vendor’s wife, unhurriedly walks down this tree-lined path to her village. Sometime later she is followed by Madan, a…

City Regions – Feminism, Rajouri Garden & Lajpat Nagar
Beyond the stereotypes. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A homely Punjabi girl in west Delhi’s Rajouri Garden is dumped by her fiancé hours before the wedding. The shattered girl flies to Europe, becomes her own woman, and returns…

Hauz Khas Series – A House in the Village, Chapter 7
Life in Delhi’s prettiest neighborhood. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sun leaves the winter sky. The air empties of all sounds. The lake by the village crystallizes into utter solitude. The Delhi Walla is walking around Hauz…
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