Hauz Khas Series – A House in the Village, Chapter 4
Life in Delhi’s prettiest neighborhood. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hauz Khas Village has become a ‘hang out’. Artist types still come but the ageless rich have infiltrated in large numbers. These people look successful, cocky and aggressively…
City Culture – Delhi’s Emerging Lingo
Signs of our times. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] News flash on a website: 2G:BJP demands probe against PM, PC. The meaning of the cuss word Chutium Sulphate, explained in an online dictionary: “Complete moron, as in, That…
Mission Delhi – Dr Ubaidul Aleem, Chiniot Basti
One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] As the lungi-wearing young man complaining of a sore throat leaves with medicines, Dr Ubaidul Aleem turns to the small TV placed beside his…
City Life – Diving & Swimming, Nizamuddin Baoli
The spring of life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He raises his arms, lowers his head, stays still, takes a deep breathe and jumps from the roof and… SPLASH! He crash lands into the cold dark brown water….
City Hangout – Basant Lok Market, South Delhi
Once it was happening. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Dry fountain, broken benches, shoe shine boys, doped beggars, stray cows, and palmists making suspicious predictions. Don’t judge Basant Lok Market by its rundown look. In the heart of…
City Monument – Firuz Shah Kotla Ruins, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
The fifth city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Built as the citadel of Firoz Shah Tughlaq, along the banks of the Yamuna, this is now a ruin. Firuzabad, the fifth city of Delhi, once extended from Hauz Khas…
Photo Essay – In Search of Lost Time, Shahjahanabad
The black & white Delhi. [Text by Mayank Austen Soofi] A city is built of dreamed memories. More than three centuries have elapsed since the founding of Shahjahanabad on the banks of the Yamuna. Shahjahanabad today is a different country….
City Food – Julia Child Makes Chana Dal Gosht in Civil Lines
The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of Civil Lines, a genteel neighbourhood of bungalows and apartments in north Delhi. Passionate about writers like Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, George Bernard…
City Obituary – Zubeida Bano, Shahjahanabad
Death of a Delhiwalla. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Zubeida Bano, a cultured dweller of Shahjahanabad, died on August 9th, aged 72. The Delhi Walla had profiled her in the website’s Mission Delhi project. The arc of Ms…
City Moment – Street Lost & Regained, Nizamuddin Basti
The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is evening. The Delhi Walla is walking down the principal lane in Nizamuddin Basi, a 14th century village in central Delhi, named after a sufi saint. The street…
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