City Season - Gulmohar Sightings, Gulmohar Park & Elsewhere

City Season – Gulmohar Sightings, Gulmohar Park & Elsewhere

Red rising. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This tree has such a bad timing. Each year, as the gulmohar begins to bloom, a more forceful distraction arrives: The bystander gets dazzled by the yellow blossoming of the Amaltas….

City Landmark - Tolstoy's Statue, Janpath

City Landmark – Tolstoy’s Statue, Janpath

On reading War and Peace. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] And what does he make of his country’s war against Ukraine? But Leo Tolstoy is remaining as silent as a statue. With arms crossed on his chest, the…

Mission Delhi - Ram Bran, Hazrat Nizamuddin West

Mission Delhi – Ram Bran, Hazrat Nizamuddin West

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is almost midnight. The neighbourhood groceries have closed for the day. The area’s sole eatery too has downed its shutters. The three attendants at…

City Obituary - Raju Pandey, Amrit Book Company

City Obituary – Raju Pandey, Amrit Book Company

Life of a bookseller. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He was made of air, and hovered about like a djinn. At least, those were the vibes he exuded. For he materialised by your side just as you felt…

City Landmark - Perfume Cart, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

City Landmark – Perfume Cart, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

The cart of scents. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Our Delhi streets can tick you off. But at least one of the city’s street corners is permeated with perfumes. Roadside carts tend to be loaded with fruits, vegetables,…

Mission Delhi - Anand, Sultanpuri & Elsewhere

Mission Delhi – Anand, Sultanpuri & Elsewhere

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Isn’t he a Hemingway lookalike? But he only looks like the great American writer from a distance, perhaps because of his beard, or because of…

City Monument - Memorial Benches, Sunder Nursery

City Monument – Memorial Benches, Sunder Nursery

Ode to loves. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] KD Singh was an iconic Delhi bookseller who passed away in 2014. The inscription reads: “Husband, Father, Grandfather & Bookman Extraordinaire.” Beneath runs a verse by poet Pablo Neruda: “When…

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – School Student Amaan Saifi, Central Delhi

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – School Student Amaan Saifi, Central Delhi

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The household is all astir at this early morning hour, here in central Delhi. 9th standard student Amaan Saifi has his English exam today. As he prepares to leave for the school on…

City Food - Khajla, Ameer Sweet House & Elsewhere

City Food – Khajla, Ameer Sweet House & Elsewhere

Season’s delicacy. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It looks like a giant golgappa, or an extra-large raj kachori. Some might confuse it with the enormous bhathura served in a landmark Connaught Place restaurant. But it is neither of…

City Hangout - Brown Break Bakery, Paharganj

City Hangout – Brown Break Bakery, Paharganj

A pandemic-era life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Once upon a time, Paharganj’s heart used to pulsate in two cafés. True — the entire Main Bazar in this hotel district of backpackers teemed with foreign backpackers. But it…