Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire - Rajneesh, Around Town

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Rajneesh, Around Town

Into a cab man’s heart. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] One of the essentials occupying an esteemed place in his car is the blue statuette of Dr BR Ambedkar holding a copy of the Indian constitution (see photo)….

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire - Gulam Muhammed Malik, Public Library

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Gulam Muhammed Malik, Public Library

Waiting for Godot. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The same handsome gaunt face, the same lean figure. The hawk-like eyes glinting in immersive thoughts, the meditative lines on the forehead, and the smart short-cropped grey hair. He is…

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire - Naeem Khan, Pahari Imli

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Naeem Khan, Pahari Imli

The parlour confession. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The hilly Pahari Imli gets its name from a tamarind tree that no longer exists. But Naeem Khan’s tailoring establishment serves as an idyllic substitute for that extinct imli ka…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Sajjad Ahmad Banjara, Jama Masjid

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Sajjad Ahmad Banjara, Jama Masjid

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The sky is blue, the winter sun is shining, the daylight is warm. The stone staircase of Jama Masjid’s southern face is teeming with citizens. One of them is Sajjad Ahmad Banjara, attired…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Rekha Gupta, Ghaziabad

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Rekha Gupta, Ghaziabad

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This afternoon for lunch she made the winter season’s first sarson ka saag, along with makke ki roti. Rekha Gupta lives with her husband Mahabir Prasad, a retired officer, in a first-floor apartment….

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Nora Swenson, Lodhi Garden

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Nora Swenson, Lodhi Garden

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Over the past few months she has been spotted at Lodhi Garden almost daily, always sitting on the same spot, behind a floss silk tree, across the walking track that goes past Sheesh…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Rupin Walter Desai, East Patel Nagar

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Rupin Walter Desai, East Patel Nagar

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] This retired English Literature professor is India’s greatest living Shakespeare scholar (he is also an authority on Yeats!). Rupin Walter Desai founded the legendary Hamlet Studies, “an international journal of research on The…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Aarti Talwar, Somewhere in Delhi

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Aarti Talwar, Somewhere in Delhi

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Besides having a day-job in the corporate world, Aarti Talwar is the co-founder of The Dandelion Collective, a book club that completes a year this October. She agreed to become a part of…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Zahid Ali Khan, Somewhere in Delhi

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Zahid Ali Khan, Somewhere in Delhi

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] He joined the All India Radio as an Urdu news reader in March, 1965. He retired in April, 1999. He hasn’t retired from hyperactive life. At 86, he flits around the city everyday…

Delhi's Proust Questionnaire - Muhammed Saleem, Connaught Lane

Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Muhammed Saleem, Connaught Lane

The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] A glass cabinet containing dozens of keys forms the backdrop of his pavement kiosk. Key maker Muhammed Saleem have been manning this modest Connaught Lane landmark for decades. A while ago, this afternoon,…