City Obituary - Film Poster Seller Shanky, Old Delhi

City Obituary – Film Poster Seller Shanky, Old Delhi

A life in cinema. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lean and boyish, Old Delhi’s Shanky wasn’t famous like a Bollywood star, but was well known among the collectors of Bollywood memorabilia. He traded treasures for a bargain—once he…

City Life - Bamiyan Boys, Sunder Nursery

City Life – Bamiyan Boys, Sunder Nursery

The dreams of some Afghans. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] When you hear the word Bamiyan, what do you see in your mind’s eye? May be, the Buddhas of Bamiyan. These were two monumental statues of Gautama Buddha,…

City Life - Shakespeare in Pandemic-Era Delhi, Hauz Khas Enclave

City Life – Shakespeare in Pandemic-Era Delhi, Hauz Khas Enclave

Shakespearean scholar on corona. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Shakespeare invented the human — at least this is what is suggested by the title of an acclaimed book on the great playwright. Although he presumably never left his native England, Shakespeare’s…

City Life - Poetry after Second Surge, Ghalib Academy

City Life – Poetry after Second Surge, Ghalib Academy

Like a condolence. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Each person is separated from the other by a seat plastered with a printed leaflet cautioning “Please do not sit here.” They were put up last year during the first…

City Life - Back of Labourers, Entire Delhi Region

City Life – Back of Labourers, Entire Delhi Region

Back story. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Parked outside a narrow lane in Gurgaon’s Bhim Garh Kheri in the Greater Delhi Region, the handcart is stacked with bricks. Two labourers are carrying these to a house being built…

City Life - Somebody's Photo Album, Sunday Book Bazar

City Life – Somebody’s Photo Album, Sunday Book Bazar

Life’s souvenir. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cover is black. The album’s hundreds of photos are in black and white. The back label says—Made in England. This photo album is discovered by The Delhi Walla one afternoon…

City Life - Voices from Covid, Around Town

City Life – Voices from Covid, Around Town

An anthology of our feelings. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is perhaps the first time that the entire Delhi, with all its diverse complexities, has come around to a singular theme—of grief and fear about the ongoing…

City Life - Covid's Street Life, Old Delhi

City Life – Covid’s Street Life, Old Delhi

Life in the pandemic. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This narrow lane in the Walled City doesn’t go past any historic monument. No beautiful doorway opens into it. And yet, the lane shows so much. Especially these days,…

City History - Souvenir No. 1, In Search of Central Vista Lost

City History – Souvenir No. 1, In Search of Central Vista Lost

The place that was. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi’s Rajpath and the India Gate Grounds are being renovated as part of the Central Vista project. The beloved place as we knew it will cease to exist, but…

City Life - Maryann Taylor's Pandemic-Day Diary, DLF Phase 5, Gurgaon

City Life – Maryann Taylor’s Pandemic-Day Diary, DLF Phase 5, Gurgaon

Her life, these days. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] No home is left untouched, directly or indirectly, by the current surge in the coronavirus pandemic. So how’s our daily life like? Freelance writer Maryann Taylor, 36, in Gugaon’s DLF Phase…