City Hangout – Dilli Gate Graveyard, Near ITO
The Old Delhi underground. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] An archipelago of graves scattered in a sea of grass This is as haunting as any graveyard, intensely evoking a sense of loss, impermanence, fragility and beauty. Dilli Gate…
City Life – A Hotel Room, Paharganj
The world inside a hotel room. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sunlight is streaming in through the blue curtains. The double bed is crowded with four pillows. A small coffee table looks lonesome with two glasses. An ash…
Mission Delhi – Vijay Kumar Sharma, Oxford Bookstore
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Living on one’s own is not always easy. Bookshop staffer Vijay Kumar Sharma knows the feeling. “Sometimes I don’t feel like going back to my…
Mission Delhi – Sikander Aaquil, New Palam Vihar, Gurgaon
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Can a building contractor write poems? Why not! Here’s Sikander Aaquil of Gurgaon. “You will not believe but it’s true that my business helps refine…
City Hangout – Foot-Over Bridge, Indraprastha Metro Station
Disconnected from the world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Buried in antiquity, the legendary city of Indraprastha is thought to have thrived near the Metro station bearing the same name. Archaeologists are still puzzling over the clues to…
City Life – Labourer’s Backpack, Central Delhi
A piece of working life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like some sort of backpack, but it isn’t. “It’s called a pithalla, and without question makes it so much easier to carry heavy loads on my…
City Landmark – Ice Stall, Gurgaon
A journey to Iceland. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Iceland is far towards the polar north of the globe, and the flight tickets aren’t cheap to its capital, Reykjavik. But then there’s another land of ice, and that…
City Food – Mathew’s Masala Dosa, RK Puram
The real dosa. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s tough to find a masala dosa in Delhi that isn’t compromised with the city’s over-spiced aesthetics — the dosa served in the Indian Coffee House has a potato filling…
City Moment – Guns ‘N Books, Central Delhi
The memorable instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] On just about any day of the week, this second-hand bookstore in Central Delhi is packed with rather bored shoppers. Maybe browsing for an old 2018 diary for some reason….
City Food – Snack Cart Pots, Mathura Road
The great Indian pateeli show. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You would expect to find this kind of huge brass container on display in the museums on Rajasthan kings instead of a Delhi pavement stall. This pateeli for…
Recent Comments