One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A red rose is tucked into her hair. A green scarf is tied under her chin. Her wrinkled hands lie folded on her lap. Her…
First day, first show. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Very soon, his life will revolve around a single object—a book with 2,058 pages. And if in this world of million distractions he manages to read even five pages…
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Everybody who is somebody in Delhi is Sadia Dehlvi’s friend. That doesn’t mean that the author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam does not have important friends outside Delhi. One…
Small wonder. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a beautiful nothing. Chhoti Gumti in South Delhi’s Green Park Colony is of no historic consequence. It is such a tiny Lodhi-era ruin that its survival is a marvel….
The true city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The truth is that the actual city consists of only two bougainvillea trees—the rest of Delhi is an illusion. The two trees stand in Lodhi Gardens. One March afternoon The…
The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His palms were folded together; his lips occasionally trembled. The young man stood at one side of the courtyard. It seemed he was praying. The Delhi Walla saw him one…
A vanishing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The weekend edition of The International New York Times is lying in one corner. It has a story on the ancient Jewish district of Venice. The full-page feature, timed to…
A great landmark’s afterlife. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Once upon a time one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world was in the most beautiful part of beautiful Paris. La Hune, next to the historic Saint-Germain-des-Prés…
Poetry in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The tombs lay scattered across the grassy ground. Many of them were inscribed in Hebrew. A few showed the shield of David. A very few had small stones placed…
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a delightful gathering of beautiful people in a beautiful palace in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. One afternoon in Venice The Delhi Walla attended Somewhere in…
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