City Monument – Summertime Baolis, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah & Elsewhere
That old AC. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some of us are dodging the summertime heat waves by self-exiling within AC rooms. AC existed in the very old days too. That medieval-era air-conditioner was of stone, a secretive…
City Monument – Barber’s Tomb, Humayun Tomb Complex
The other memorial. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] After the sun dips into the western sky, Humayun’s Tomb gleams with special lights installed at strategic positions around the monument. The gathering blackness dematerialises the tree-filled surroundings, making the…
City Monument – The Jali, Gurgaon & Elsewhere
The world of screen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Look at this derelict building. The central pattern is as intricate as an embroidered fabric. It is made of entwined quadrangles and circles, multiplying several times over, and spanning…
City Monument – Sequence of Taak, Deer Park
A disappearing element in architecture. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] All are dusty, and some are cobwebbed. But it doesn’t matter. After all, it might be the most exquisite collection of taaks in the entire Delhi region. Taak,…
City Walk – The Lane Along Red Fort, Old Delhi
The best stroll. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sailing into the Red Fort used to be so smooth. You would buy the ticket, queue up by the entrance and slip in. This was before the pandemic. Now that…
City Monument – Anonymous Ruin, Mehrauli
A sad beauty. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is there. And it is not there. Both assertions are based on ground realities. This severely damaged edifice in Mehrauli is the very essence of contemporary Delhi, where relics…
City Monument – Winter-Time Ghamand Sarai, Gurgaon
Stones of November. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Without fail, the malleable winter light always softens the jagged stones, lying on the top, into a texture that appears only partially solid. As if a mere touch of the…
City Monument – Sunheri Masjid, Near Red Fort
A lesser known monument [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Three domes, two minars. That’s the Jama Masjid, the Old Delhi centrepiece. Three domes, two minars. This is the Sunheri Masjid. It is similar to the famous mosque, but…
City Monument – Joseph Stein’s Legacy, Central Delhi
An architect’s world [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Pierced with elongated holes, this otherwise simple wall can also be perceived as a maze of air. And along a portion of the staircase, the ordinary afternoon light has miraculously…
City Heritage – Nadira’s People, or People of Delhi’s Jewish Cemetery
The capital heritage [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Nadira, Sulochana and Pramila. These long-ago Hindi film actors adorn a recently painted Connaught Place mural. All three were “Indian-Jewish,” as an accompanying plaque points out. Nadira’s original nome was…
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