Mission Delhi – Arjun Sagar Gupta, The Piano Man, Safdarjung Enclave Market
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is a pianist. Tall and slim. His fingers are slender and long; his hair a forest of ringlet curls; his wrists as delicate as…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Shweta Kumari Sharma, Bangalore
The 139th death. [Text by Shweta Kumari Sharma; author photo by Unknown] This morning the sun was glistening brighter than ever. It was glowing fervently as it was going to embrace the soul of Shweta Kumari Sharma who just left…
City Food – Bedmi Poori, Shyam Sweets
The classic Old Delhi breakfast dish. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Deep-fried, crisp and very puffy, bedmi poori is a bread made of wheat flour and ground urad lentil. Served with aloo subzi (potato gravy), it is heavier…
Home Sweet Home – Moongey Wali Kothi, Katra Khushal Rai
A whole world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is easy to identify a haveli in Old Delhi. The tell-tale sign is an archway that usually hosts a half-awake stray dog. Within, a passage leads to a forecourt…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Maria Faraz, Cantt., Lahore, Pakistan
The 138th death. [Text by Maria Faraz; photo by Faraz Jahangir] Everyone thinks a psychologist knows everything, a proverbial mind-reader, magical being, twister of fates…. But she was an ordinary woman. Drawn to her destiny by the strings of circumstance…
City Food – Muhammed Rafi’s 40-Year-Old Rooh Afza Drink Stall, Turkman Gate
Summer’s great hero. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The arrival of Delhi summer can be ascertained in a number of ways. A poetic way is to look for the yellow flowers of Amaltas trees. The Delhi Walla’s summer…
City Season – Discovering The New Summer Through Delhi Sky, Around Town
Intimations of a new season. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi’s seasons are extreme. Winters are so freezing that it is impossible to imagine that this city could ever survive even a gentle rise in temperature. Summers are…
City Monument – Sunehri Masjid, Chandni Chowk
Remembering the Delhi massacre. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was from Sunehri Masjid that the Persian invader Nader Shah watched the massacre of Delhi in March, 1739. In his book The Sword of Persia: Nader Shah, from…
Netherfield Ball – The Invasion of the Bearded Men at Sanjay Kak’s Book Launch, India Habitat Center
The party secrets. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Even the mere thought triggers hair-raising pain. Were Kashmir to break off its marriage to India, and the Indian army were to quit Kashmir, our beloved motherland would lose its…
City Life – La La Land of The NDMC, VIP Delhi
The great gap. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is no place for the aam aadmi, or common man. A sign near the Supreme Court declares the limits of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) zone, which has…
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