City Landmark – Delhi Junction Railway Station, Kashmere Gate Side
The junction’s other view. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The hapless citizen is wading through Kashmere Gate chaos, unable to find a way out of the bazar’s loopy labyrinthine. Suddenly—escape! The land ends into multitudes of intersecting railways…
City Landmark – RK Mohan Musical Instruments, Hamilton Road
A city secret. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pinewood harmoniums are piled up one upon another. Over there: a sitar, a veena, a mandolin. Confined to a tiny space, this amazing Hamilton Road shop is densely crammed with…
City Landmark – Anil Book Corner, Connaught Place
The friend around the corner. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Volga river is in Russia. Connaught Place (CP) too had its Volga, the restaurant. A denim showroom exists on the site. Also a part of CP’s history: Gaylord…
City Obituary – The Book Shop, Jor Bagh Market
Passing of a place. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Miles Davis’s moody music fills the room. An elegant woman is sitting, surrounded by books. The rest is silence and sakoon. This was an evening scene from some years…
City Landmark – Ramlila Maidan, Central Delhi
Living to its name. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Break Dance, Joy Wheel, Columbus, Cross, Tora Tara… such are the names of the joy rides that have sprung up here. There’s a toy train too. Sandwiched like a…
City Landmark – Muhammed Rafi’s Shaving Stall, Ajmeri Gate
Time’s veteran. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Look at this monument. It has been standing on this spot for years and years. An unsuspecting person will naturally mistake the monument in question for Ajmeri Gate, one of the…
City Landmark – Bahrisons Booksellers, Khan Market
Icon at 70. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is 48. He joined the bookshop when he was 21. Today, Bahrisons Booksellers turns 70. And Mithilesh Singh (see photo) is its longest serving and most senior staffer. Founded…
City Landmark – Maktaba Jamia Limited, Urdu Bazar
The book house. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid shelves packed tight with books, two men in white kurta-pajama are browsing intently, their bodies barely moving. In a darkened book-lined chamber within, a ladder is going up to…
City Landmark – Lodhi Colony Railway Station, Central Delhi
Where time stops. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The railway station’s façade is tiny, cute, toy-like, comprising of two windows and a short flight of staircase. The foyer inside is dusty, littered with heaps of dry leaves. A…
City Landmark – Mobile Phone Statues, South Extension
Installations in a changing world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] See the smiling woman on the bench staring at her mobile. Maybe she’s reading a WhatsApp joke, or binge-watching those funny Instagram reels with high-pitched laughing sound effects….
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