Atlas of the world.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Each time I long to fly to a foreign land, I simply go to Appetite German Bakery in Main Bazaar, Paharganj.

The locality is close to the New Delhi railway station and teems with cheap hotels that pull in a lot of international tourists. One of the many cafes in the area, the Appetite German Bakery has friendly waiters and its Honey Ginger Lemon Tea is divine. Another charm there is to gaze at the foreign backpackers as they struggle with spiced paneer paalak and aloo gobhi.

It is fascinating to watch the foreigners at the Appetite. Their private lives might remain elusive to us but their most mundane actions seem to be infused with the flavor of the place they have come from. Delhi being just a starting point of their long journeys, all these people go on to see more of India than we ever would. All of them eventually return to their home towns, which, too, we will never see.

Yet we can see something of all those worlds they have seen by simply seeing them at the Appetite.

Free trip

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