City Landmark – The So-Called “Mayank Austen Soofi’s Attic”, Hauz Khas Village
A new AirBnB destination. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a small room, just enough for one person to co-habit with some books—ok, many books. Its window enjoyed a direct view of Emperor Feroze Shah Tughlak’s Tomb….
City Hangout – Cafe Karvaan, Abul Fazal Part 1
The river-side haven. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is it Volga or Thames, Nile or Seine? What is this watery world? With bits of dry land jutting out here and there, the landscape looks like a vast archipelago….
Mission Delhi – Lal Babu, On the Road
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s freezing at the moment, around 8.30 pm. “You should see the roads at midnight, when it’s totally foggy,” mutters auto rickshaw driver Lal Babu,…
Mission Delhi – Bhoora, Turkman Gate
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Histories and havelis, kebabs and tikkis, bazars and lanes. People flock to Old Delhi from all over for these attractions. But nobody comes here to…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – A Poem Written During the Metro Commute, Vikaspuri
Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] She is an engineer in a Noida-based multinational, but has been working from her home in Vikaspuri since March last year, because of you-know-what. But Jyoti Vij Ahuja is also a writer,…
Atget’s Corner – 1176-1180, Delhi Photos
The visible city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi is a voyeur’s paradise and The Delhi Walla also makes pictures. I take photos of people, streets, flowers, eateries, drawing rooms, tombs, landscapes, buses, colleges, Sufi shrines, trees, animals, autos, libraries, birds,…
Mission Delhi – Shankar Kumar Shah, Mehrauli Road
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s late morning and he is quietly arranging his cart, here on Gurgaon’s Mehrauli Road in the Greater Delhi Region. He is picking up each…
City Life – Ramrati in the Pandemic, Connaught Place
The living landmark returns. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here she is. “I came back one or one-and-a-half months ago.” For years, Ramrati’s morning routine stayed the same: reading aloud passages from the sacred Ramcharitmanas, her upper-half rocking…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Dhruv Sangari-Bilal Chishty, Jangpura
The parlour confession. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is special. Not only for being an acclaimed Sufi musician but because he is our living link to the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. Dhruv Sangari-Bilal Chishty trained under…
Mission Delhi – Pooran Chandra Melkani, Paharganj
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lamps are off. Tables are empty. Old posters on the wall are showing photos of Buddha and Benares, palak paneer and vegetable burger, etc. A…
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