Home Sweet Home – A Mansion for Labourers, Mohalla Qabristan
Old house, new home. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like a museum. Nothing like this old-fashioned balcony exists anywhere else in the immediate vicinity. What is it like to actually live in this building? It turns…
Mission Delhi – Monty, Roshan Pura
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His face is invisible. Even his black mask cannot be seen because of the tall tower of pink cotton candies—each wrapped in a separate plastic—that…
City Monument – Ruined Graves, Lodhi Garden
Links to past. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Squirrels, a great many of them, are prancing about the dusty stone slabs. Water pitchers—probably kept for birds—are reflecting the cold cloudy sky. Dry leaves litter the ground. And there’s…
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…
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