Photo Essay: Celebrating Australia Day In New Delhi

While India was celebrating Republic Day, Delhi’s small Aussie community did something different. [Report and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Even as India celebrated Republic Day on January 26, the Australian High Commission in the leafy Chanakyapuri provided a low-key…

Eating Butter Chicken in Kake Da Hotel – The Pains and Pleasures of Street Cooking in Delhi

Greasy food, rude service and unclean setting – an account of a meal taken in the legendary dhaba. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This account is based on the recollections of a meal taken during the summer of 2006. We were…

Photo Essay – Carrying a Coffin in Old Delhi

The Sunday calm, in the streets of the walled town, gets shattered by the grief of a funeral procession[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] “The eyes shed tears and the heart is grieved, but we will not say anything…

Special Photo Essay – New Year Do's in the New Central Park

Within a month of its re-opening, the revamped Central Park has become the social sea beach that Delhi never had.[by Mayank Austen Soofi] Last day of the last year forced the Delhites out into the newly revamped Central Park in…

Picture Essay – Poverty Pornography in Sarojini Nagar

Mother India looking sexy in poverty pornography. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Following a Beggar in Sarojini Nagar Market (S N), One of Delhi’s Busiest Bargain Bazaars India is now more than just a the flavor of the…

Photo Essay: Reading Past and Present in Humayun’s Tomb, India’s Most Melancholic Monument

Walking and talking history at a world heritage site that inspired the Taj Mahal. [Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Fall It was a cold winter night but the sky in Delhi was unusually clear and devoid of…

Photo Essay – Time Out Jama Masjid

Visiting the society of Muslims in the world’s greatest and grandest Mosque. [Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mecca has Masjid-al-Haram and Istanbul boasts of Blue mosque. The former has its ancient authenticity compromised by Petrodollar-funded air-conditioned renovations and…

'White Ghosts' at Red Fort: Late Evening Sufi Music Concert at a 17th Century Delhi Monument

Old Delhi charm; Ramadan night magic; Red Fort glitter; Pakistani pop stars’ charisma; and my digicam.– by Mayank Austen Soofi Since this was Delhi, we reached Red Fort one hour after the scheduled start of the concert. It is not…

Live From Jantar Mantar – The Iron Lady of Manipur Comes to Delhi

Far away from New Delhi, beyond the heart of mainstream India, forgotten in the eastern corner of the country, close to the Burmese border, lies a troubled Himalayan province with a population of around 2.2 million people, less than even…

A Dutch Diplomat Calls Delhi Filthy, and Its People a Nuisance

A Delhi-based Dutch diplomat is apparently so frustrated being a resident of this chaotic Asian capital city that he was moved enough to confess that "New Delhi is the most miserable place I have ever lived in". The venerable diplomat…