City Life – Rain Basera, Chandni Chowk
The home for the homeless [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] An abode that comes alive when birds return to their nests—this is the poetic imagery that the term rain basera evokes in an online dictionary. To the prosaic,…
City Life – Glorified Golf Carts, Around Town
The New York Times on Delhi autos [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s like Edward Said’s Orientalism, part two, and it tickles. Until now they were only after our pet snakes and harem women. Now they are also…
City Life – Delhi Lovers, Lodhi Gardens
The geography of love. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some say that love’s a little boy. Some say it’s a bird. Some say it makes the world go round — so mused a long dead poet. In Delhi,…
City Life – Living with Cats, Old Delhi
Kitty’s own city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Mehvash Sattar lives with her scholar father and his hundreds of rare Urdu books; the 25-year-old is a master’s student. She has many friends. The closest is the homeless Laali,…
Letter from Montreal – Unpartitioned Things, Delhi & Lahore
Old objects in a post-partition world. [Text and photos by Aanchal Malhotra] When I was young I never thought about the past; it barely ever weighed down on me. In fact, back then it was all about the now. The…
City Life – Photographer Vendors, India Gate
An unusual tribe. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s a lovely afternoon. India Gate gleams even in New Delhi’s winter haze. A boy with a hint of a stubble is lying lazily under a tree’s scented shade. His…
City Life – Waste Handlers, Bhopura
Lives of rag pickers. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Ms Nisha used to wake up an hour before dawn, make breakfast for her family, and then start her workday. Accompanied by her four small children (she couldn’t leave…
Letter from Noida – The Progress of Womanhood, Sector 34
Notes of a young mother. [By Manika Dhama] “It’s a girl.” Immediately after I heard her first cry the doctor informed me that I had given birth to a girl. Perhaps I was just imagining their lack of enthusiasm at…
City Life – Farmer’s World, Yamuna Bank
The good earth. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This is beyond belief. The hut stands under a shade-giving mulberry tree, beside a field of red roses. The walls are thatched and the cow-dung flooring is polished smooth. Mr…
City Life – Wandering Vendors, Around Town
License to sell. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Laxmikant Shukla is as much a Khan Market institution as Dayal Opticals or Chonas restaurant. Since 1972, he has been coming to Delhi’s most posh market to sell dusters and…
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