The remarkable Delhi instant.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

One evening The Delhi Walla enters The Big Chill Cakery in Khan Market. The bakery’s glass window proudly proclaims–‘Estd. 2015’.

Inside: carrot cake, banofee pie, frosted brownie, blueberry cake, butter cookies, coconut cookies and many other kinds of cakes, pastries and cookies. An ice-cream counter, too.

The bakery’s wallpaper is filled with birds.

The shop is empty for the moment. The staff soon starts to open up. Danish Lepcha, the man with a stylish haircut and a tattooed arm, says he is from Darjeeling in West Bengal. Suresh Kumar Mahato says his home is at the Chainpui village in Jharkhand. Sanya Tamang, the only woman behind the counter, says she is from Nepal. Ms Tamang is a Kathmandu girl. Yule says he came from Senapati district in Manipur. And Vikram Gurung says he grew up in the Chitwan valley in Nepal.

A few minutes later a stream of rush-hour customers enter. The staff scatters to deal with each of them, except for Mr Mahato, who stations himself beside the billing desk.

All of these five young people are in Delhi to make a life for themselves. To have a glimpse of them at work, thousands of miles away from their homes and families, is a classic Big City moment.

New lives in the city

1. (Danish Lepcha)

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3. (Suresh Kumar Mahato)

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6. (Sanya Tamang)

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8. (Yule)

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11. (Vikram Gurung)

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