Mission Delhi – Mangey Ram, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Mission Delhi by The Delhi Walla - October 3, 20210 One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mark the scene carefully. You rarely see it these days. Here’s the low table. It’s covered with a mat. Six small glass bottles are arranged on the top, each filled with a solution of different colour. This is masseur Mangey Ram’s mobile stall. He roams about the Ghalib Street in central Delhi’s Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, silently offering his services to passersby. Sometimes he’s sighted massaging the bare back of haleem cook Mustakeem. Sometimes he unrolls the mat on the pavement, and is seen treating a client’s tired limbs with a selection of his relaxing oils. Each potion, he says, has a unique characteristic. One early morning the moody
City Walk – Red Fort’s Backside, Ring Road Walks by The Delhi Walla - October 3, 20210 A different perspective. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Great stories, they say, can also be told backwards, or sideways. Like the Red Fort. You must have seen the Mughal-era monument in all its red glory—the sandstone ramparts spread out along a great length of Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Marg. Now start afresh by heading to the Ring Road, behind. Launch a leisurely walk from Raj Ghat towards Kashmere Gate. Here the Lal Qila is sans its Lal. The Red Fort appears pale white. This is back of the fort. Indeed, the Red Fort has the distinction of being the only monument in the Capital whose rear doesn’t appear like a rear at all (try that with Jama Masjid or Hauz Khas