Mission Delhi – Om Prakash, Opposite Civil Hospital
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] No customers are coming to Pandit Om Prakash. The astrologer’s pavement stall is very modest, but a longtime landmark in the area, here in Gurgaon,…
Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Asmaul Husna’s Poem City of Djinns I, Chanakyapuri
Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Her Dhaka is full of rickshaws. She often took late night rides in them to the old city, for a quick seekh at Bismillah hotel, or for a sherbet at Royal. It…
Mission Delhi – Bharati, Central Delhi
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Bharati is 24. She lives in Delhi with husband, Ravi, who is 27, and their son, Bhupen, who is 3. Her other son lives with…
City Walk – Regal Cinema Back Lane, Connaught Place
Not so regal. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The back lane of the Regal cinema building appears timeless. Long before the cinema shut down, in 2017, the area’s architecture already looked as shabby as it does today. The…
City Life – Handmade Helmets, Bazar Sirki Walan
Their protective headgear. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They say the world is the size of each man’s head. For daily-wage labourers in Old Delhi’s Bazar Sirki Walan, it might be truer of their headgear. Almost every man…
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
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
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
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
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,…
Recent Comments