Mission Delhi - Rakesh, Central Delhi

Mission Delhi – Rakesh, Central Delhi

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A man without a house. How could he possibly stay at home, like all of us citizens were repeatedly instructed to do during the beginning…

Mission Delhi - Summer, Sector 45

Mission Delhi – Summer, Sector 45

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s difficult to say if Summer is aware that the world is passing through a tectonic shift due to the coronavirus pandemic. Summer’s vocabulary is…

City Series – Beenish Zehra in Noida, We the Isolationists (350th Corona Diary)

City Series – Beenish Zehra in Noida, We the Isolationists (350th Corona Diary)

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Beenish Zehra] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see myself observing in the darkness the things I wanted to do starting to stare at me one by one. Silence…

City Landmark - A Light Blue Mansion, Pahari Rajaan

City Landmark – A Light Blue Mansion, Pahari Rajaan

A piece of beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The mansion looks like an aristocratic lady dressed in sun rays, fussily re-arranging them about her from time to time. The afternoon light—and its shifting shadows—have ignited a gentle…

Mission Delhi - Dharmender Kumar Verma, Kadipur Chowk

Mission Delhi – Dharmender Kumar Verma, Kadipur Chowk

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You might think of Gurgaon in the Greater Delhi Region, with its many malls and high-rises, as the Millenium City. But he calls it a…

Mission Delhi - Saumya Pande, Noida

Mission Delhi – Saumya Pande, Noida

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The coronavirus-triggered closure of the world is doing different things to different people. Many citizens are rushing back to their distant homes in great difficulties….

Mission Delhi - Rajesh, Around Town

Mission Delhi – Rajesh, Around Town

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He has been driving an auto rickshaw through the smoggy roads of Delhi for 35 years. But this evening, he says he has been driving…

Mission Delhi - Om Prakash Ram, Sector 43, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Om Prakash Ram, Sector 43, Gurgaon

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Om Prakash Ram, 35, is feeling lonely these days. Not because he lives alone in a small jhuggi — a jhuggi that he built for…

Living History - Asavari Joshi, DLF Phase 4

Living History – Asavari Joshi, DLF Phase 4

Life during Corona. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The lockdown is easing, but not the coronavirus. Even so, this “mahamari” too will one day become yesterday’s news. That doesn’t change the fact that we are living through a crisis the like…

City Series – Medhavi Kumawat in Jaipur, We the Isolationists (349th Corona Diary)

City Series – Medhavi Kumawat in Jaipur, We the Isolationists (349th Corona Diary)

Our corona diary. [Text and photo by Medhavi Kumawat] I close my eyes in self-isolation from corona… and I see my beloved niece’s beautiful little face. She is indeed the most peaceful sight to the eye, and to not just…