City Landmark – Faces of Israeli Backpackers, Faruk Leather Shop
The souvenirs of the travellers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The shop is empty. The same shop is also full. It is full of Israelis. Theirs faces are everywhere. Hundreds of passport-sized photos are spread across a large…
City Landmark – Tajuddin Vegetable Shop, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti
Here veggies meet art. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The plastic container, filled with neatly stacked green shimla mirch, is defying gravity by clinging vertically to the wall. Little plastic packets, containing corn, are hooked along the wall…
City Landmark – Old Well, Hauz Khas Village
A souvenir with living memories. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] They are known for their restaurants and boutiques, their lake view rooftops and their loud music. But the lanes of Delhi’s HKV, the fashionable Hauz Khas Village, have…
City Landmark – Sapru House, Barakhamba Road
Of post-independent history. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A dome that’s like a Buddhist stupa. Pillars resembling those at ancient Hindu temples. Designs on the gateway inspired by Islamic monuments. This red-and-white sandstone edifice is permeated with the…
City Landmark – Sonu Kalai Wale, Lambi Walli Gali
Coppersmith’s world. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The empty haveli has lost its grandeur. A part of its wall collapsed some months ago during a night of lightning, here in Lambi Walli Gali, a few steps away from…
City Landmark – Dharmender Kumar Soni’s Goldsmith Workshop, Nai Basti
Of slow time. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] So tiny, so pretty—these objects, piled up on the mantlepiece. While a large wooden board adorned with an array of rings and pendants invite a second look for their delicate…
City Landmark – Muhammad Ateek Chawbiwale, Tiraha Behram Khan
The key man. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s like discovering all the passwords of your online existence copy-pasted into a stranger’s laptop. Such is the alarm one feels on coming face-to-face with hundreds of keys hanging in…
City Landmark – Old Doorway, Sadar Bazar, Gurgaon
A leftover beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Eighteen little squares are sculpted into each of the door’s two kiwaars, the shutters. A metallic chain is attached at the top. The side jambs—the chaukhat—are carved with intricate patterns….
City Landmark – Siri Fort Auditorium, South Delhi
Out of time. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] When icons fall out of use, what shall we turn them into? Named after a centuries-old ruin, the iconic Siri Fort Auditorium is lying in ruins, metaphorically speaking. This afternoon,…
City Landmark – Joseph Stein’s Tomb, India International Centre
On New Delhi’s iconic architect’s 20th death anniversary. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a sunny evening, here in the members-only India International Centre (IIC). The Lounge by the poolside is teeming with softly-chatting tea-drinking ladies in handloom…
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