City Monument – Sequence of Taak, Deer Park
A disappearing element in architecture. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All are dusty, and some are cobwebbed. But it doesn’t matter. After all, it might be the most exquisite collection of taaks in the entire Delhi region. Taak,…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Maliha Sultan, Gurgaon
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] She spent her growing years in a home that overlooks Humayun’s Tomb. Perhaps it was the perfection of the Mughal-era dome that inspired her to become an architect. Maliha Sultan’s work has straddled…
City Hangout – Exercise Trail, Deer Park
The language of health. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s not rocket science. Try deciphering the directives painted on the board: • Stand erect • Feet together • Jump stride • Bringing arms to shoulder level Follow these,…
Mission Delhi – Muhammed Zafar, Chitli Qabar
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] You rarely see him talk. His silent face expresses enigma, and thoughts difficult to decipher. He must be an introvert, ill-at-ease with communication. That’s a…
City Season – Leaf Fall, Around Town
Season’s losses. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] See—a biscuit packet, a chips packet, a juice tetra-pack, an orange sachet, two paper cups, a plastic thaila, another plastic thaila, one more plastic thaila… all empty. These discards are many…
City Home – House for Four, Hazrat Nizamuddin East
Home sweet home. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The small cooking gas cylinder is limply hanging down the wall, as casually as a cotton gamcha from a wardrobe hook. A chequered gamcha is hung similarly, in fact. There’s…
City Moment – Annie Ernaux Starts Singing, Lodhi Gardens
The perfect Delhi instant. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] “The black, pensive, dense, domes of the mausoleums suddenly shot birds into the unanimous blue” This is the entirety of “In The Lodi Gardens”, a poem by a Nobel…
City Season – Annie Ernaux & Bougainvillea Blossoming, Around Town
The face of bougainvillaea. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Now we know the true face of bougainvillea. It has searching eyes, blond hair, a glorious glow, and, on cool evenings, it holds a glass of white wine and…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Annie Ernaux, Gali Kebabiyan
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the world’s greatest living authors, French novelist Annie Ernaux is in our city to attend the Delhi Book Fair, in which France is the guest of honour. The 2022 Nobel laureate…
Mission Delhi – Annie Ernaux, Gali Kebabiyan
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Here she is, a few hours after travelling from Paris in an Air India flight, walking in Purani Dilli, between Matia Mahal and Jama Masjid,…
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