City Hangout – Matkaman’s Water Point, Panchsheel Park Hangouts by The Delhi Walla - February 26, 20210 Art for water's sake. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here’s a place to briefly escape from all the negativity. This refuge is by a busy road, on a pavement in south Delhi’s Panchsheel Park. The seat is... an ambassador car, the yellow cab often identified with Kolkata. Actually, it’s just the front of the cab; its middle portion lopped off and a nice cushiony seat fitted into it (which could as well be the back-seat of the same cab). Here you sit, quietly watch the traffic go by, while beside you the pavement is decked up with inspiring inscriptions like this one—“Our prime purpose in life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.” This
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Naeem Khan, Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s Dargah Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - February 26, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His face exudes immense calm, and sitting beside him is somewhat relaxing. He has the vibes of a fakir, an ascetic, which is nothing surprising when you know that he spends his days sitting in one of the courtyards of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s sufi shrine, in central Delhi. “I’ve been a khidmatgar in the dargah for decades,” says Muhammed Naeem Khan, referring to himself as a server of the shrine. It is a pleasantly cool evening. The worst part of winter is gone. The brilliantly blue sky has receded into hues of darkness. Mr Khan is sitting by a grave, alone. The shrine houses the grave