Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Labourer Salman Abbas, Around Town
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Salman Abbas’s day is full of physically exhausting work. In between assignments, the young labourer lies down on the long wooden bench of his employer’s warehouse in central Delhi, and instantly falls into…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Flute Seller Qurban Ansari, Around Town
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] All day long he saunters along the streets selling flutes. Qurban Ansari, 19, lives in Gurugram’s Madipur Chowk in Sector 19 with parents, who are retired labourers, and wife, Noorsaba Khatoon, whom he…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Booksellers Swati Roy & M Venkatesh, Greater Kailash II
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Their business is something rare. Swati Roy, a former marketing manager, and M Venkatesh, a former journalist, co-run a bookstore specialising in children’s books. They opened Eureka in 2003 in B Block, CR…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Michelle Sanya Tirkey, Not in West Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] She lives in west Delhi’s Janakpuri and admits of having a problem with west Delhi. “It has to do with the way this part of the city is laid out. I cannot just…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Nameer Alvi, Pahari Rajaan
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] He is 21 and his mother calls him “mera achha wala beta,” my good son. Youngest of three brothers and a sister, he is the only one to go out of his way…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Nadira Khan, Central Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Nadia Khan is leaving Delhi. After six years as a research fellow in Jamia Millia Islamia university where she finished her PhD on “expats assigned to India,” the Srinagar native is herself to…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – School Student Amaan Saifi, Central Delhi
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] The household is all astir at this early morning hour, here in central Delhi. 9th standard student Amaan Saifi has his English exam today. As he prepares to leave for the school on…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Bookseller Ajay Jain, Ansari Road
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Does he himself read such heavy-duty books? Ajay Jain deals in scholarly books on Indian history and politics. His shop—Manohar Publishers & Distributors—is frequented by scholars from India and abroad. In his 50s,…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Mirza Ghalib, Ghalib Academy
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Mirza Ghalib is eternal. The Agra-born poet lived in Old Delhi’s Ballimaran; his sasural was in modern-day Haryana (Loharu). While lying long buried in our city, Ghalib still gamely agreed to become a…
Delhi’s Proust Questionnaire – Gulesh Chauhan, On the Road
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Almost everyone in Ghaziabad’s Karkar village can tell you the directions to her house, she says. Gulesh Chauhan is admired in her neighbourhood as the woman who drives an Uber cab in the…
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