Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Tansy Troy's Khan Market Poems, Front Lane

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Tansy Troy’s Khan Market Poems, Front Lane

Poet in the city. [Photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Their silks and shoes are as shiny as new money from the mint. They go about the lanes, democratically (and sportingly) breathing the city smog, before retreating back into their moneyed…

City Life - Pollution Postcard, 2023 Delhi

City Life – Pollution Postcard, 2023 Delhi

Prose and poem on the Delhi smog. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The mourning (sorry, morning!) sky is sandstorm yellow, so is the earth and everything between the sky and earth, though no storm is brewing. The distant…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Esha Rajan, Najafgarh

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Esha Rajan, Najafgarh

Poet in the city. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She is a poet and she lives in Najafgarh, so it is logical to call her a poet of Najafgarh. But the assertion holds true only up to a…

City Hangout - Meraj Guest House, Ballimaran

City Hangout – Meraj Guest House, Ballimaran

An extraordinary lodging. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The staircase is ordinary. So is the ensuing corridor. Ditto the tiny reception. The best room is basic, a double bed with white sheets. No AC. Even so, this is…

City Life - Ghalib's Graveyard, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

City Life – Ghalib’s Graveyard, Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti

One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] You cannot get close to Mirza Ghalib by sitting beside his marble grave. That intimacy can only be attained by reading the poet’s ghazals and…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Jonaki Ray's Rain Poem, Chirag Enclave

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Jonaki Ray’s Rain Poem, Chirag Enclave

Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] It was raining heavily on Sunday afternoon. That didn’t stop Jonaki Ray from carrying on with her business, which is poetry. Ensconced under an Amrita Shergil (“Three Girls”), in her Chirag Enclave…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Parth Sarathy Sharma's Poetry Prints, Around Town

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Parth Sarathy Sharma’s Poetry Prints, Around Town

Poetry in the city. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Some say love looks like a pair of pyjamas, and some say it’s a bird… oh, see, here’s love! Stuck on a Lodhi Garden tree, having the size of…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Sweety Mamta's Love Poem, Cyberhub

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Sweety Mamta’s Love Poem, Cyberhub

Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Cheery, chatty and confident—her friendly voice and her gently streaming batcheet are like that of a radio jockey. But then she is one of those RJs, and works in a “web radio,”…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Asmaul Husna's Poem City of Djinns I, Chanakyapuri

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Asmaul Husna’s Poem City of Djinns I, Chanakyapuri

Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Her Dhaka is full of rickshaws. She often took late night rides in them to the old city, for a quick seekh at Bismillah hotel, or for a sherbet at Royal. It…

Delhi's Bandaged Heart - Dr. Esha Jamal's's Poem on a Delhi Afternoon, Batra Hospital

Delhi’s Bandaged Heart – Dr. Esha Jamal’s’s Poem on a Delhi Afternoon, Batra Hospital

Poetry in the city. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] At the time, she was doing her Master’s (specialisation in ophthalmology) in coastal Pondicherry. One evening, after returning to her non-sea-facing apartment following another hectic day of work in the hospital, Dr…