Mission Delhi – Aqil Ahmad, Ghalib Academy
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He arrived in Delhi years ago with just two sets of clothing and a much-thumbed paperback dealing with Urdu literature. Forty years later, poetry critic…
City Life – Listings for Living, Local EMU Trains
Local dreams. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Perhaps you too have noticed that the advertisements on those nice air-conditioned Metro coaches tend to involve big companies or big-budget movies? That can’t be said of informal advertising flourishing on…
City Culture – Artful Pavement, IFFCO Chowk
A roadside with stories. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The sidewalk is as wide as a bazaar lane and a paved one at that. But it’s stinking of urine. And yet you ought to come here. Because this…
Mission Delhi – Akash Kanaujia, Outside Lodhi Gardens
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Akash Kanaujia attracts attention, no question about it. As though every atom comprising his ripped body is pure muscle. It’s also certain that Mr Kanaujia…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Arushi Thapar, Bombay
The 207th death. [Text and photos sent by Arushi Thapar] Arushi Thapar will always be remembered as someone who remembered too much. She was never good at making small talk because she was a fan of the real stuff, of…
City Hangout – A Railway Station Book Stall, Gurgaon
The consolation of a bookshop. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There is no shortage of folks who look down upon Delhi’s satellite city of Gurgaon. You just have to spend time with those snobbish Delhiites. One of the…
City Monument – Three Unbreathing Soldiers, Teen Murti Traffic Circle
Souvenirs of a war. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Almost everybody knows that Teen Murti Memorial derives its name from those three statues plonked in the centre of the landscaped garden… right? But many of us probably haven’t…
Mission Delhi – Haaji Mian, Old Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A pilgrimage to Mecca is, of course, a must for Muslims the world over. But many grow old and die without being able to realize…
City Food – Gol Paape, Farash Khana
The tea-time tradition. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The Walled City is changing furiously. The old is speedily giving way to the new. But the historic district’s traditional bakeries have somehow been allowed to survive. For now. Unlike…
Our Self-Written Obituaries – Pooja Priyamvada, Patparganj
The 206th death. [Text and photos sent by Pooja Priyamvada] This poet-lady was always fascinated with obituaries, writing her own is almost a poet’s lifelong dream come true. Newspapers count alphabets and you pay by the word, isn’t it? If…
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