A flat of her own. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Perhaps The Delhi Walla is afflicted by an overly active imagination. But it does seem as though every second person on the street is young, has a tattoo…
The 10-minute thrill. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] One thing you certainly have to do before you quit Delhi for good is to experience the head massage by barber Naushad at his Smart Cut saloon in Central Delhi’s…
The world of Hindi books. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sad but true. This is a ‘kadva satya’. Our Hindi-speaking metropolis is a wasteland for book lovers reading in Hindi. You’ll be searching high and low for the…
Fish in the loo. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] To watch fish frolicking inside an aquarium is supposed to be soothing and hypnotic. May be that’s why quite a few hotels in the touristy district of Paharganj have…
A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some books are like family heirlooms passed down from one generation to another. And then they get lost and are washed ashore on some other coast. Such is the case…
The Bedil pilgrimage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Torn, faded silk fabrics are lying like shrouds upon the ruined graves, sheltering these relics from rain, sunshine and dust. And in one corner lies a grave with a roof….
The consolation of a temple tree. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This tree seems to be long gone but what’s left of it is certainly not neglected. Sacred red threads envelop the stump. While marigolds and sweet dishes…
Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sometimes Kundan Kumar Singh is filled up with confidence-shattering self-doubt. Not because his wife tells him “What will you get from these poems” but because he feels that “Anybody…
The fakir anthem. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The jagged folksy sort of a song is effortlessly streaming into the evening darkness, here on a sidewalk in north Delhi. The lyrics appear to be in Bengali. But who…
Summer’s treat. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amar Singh Gupta not only makes delicious milky kulfis—such well-controlled sweetness—but also pens thoughtful verses emblazoned on his cart. Although forever on the move, you’re likely to catch up with him…
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