City Hangout – Kashmere Gate, North Delhi
In search of lost time. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] With sloping tin roofs, decorated iron columns, terracotta jaalis, independently-owned stores and a 19th century church, Kashmere Gate in north Delhi suggests a small-town setting, in which the…
City Hangout – Change of Guard, Rashtrapati Bhawan
The Raisina show. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sleekly muscled. Powerful. Well-groomed. These were some of the assertions made in a letter sent by Rashtrapati Bhavan in December 2012. The invitation to The Delhi Walla was for a…
City Hangout – Wild Life, Lodhi Gardens
Rats, ducks, dogs, birds of our oasis. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lodhi Gardens is a land of Very Important People and very showy lovers — as any regular visitor will testify. Also, according to figures provided to…
City Hangout – National Museum, Janpath
Historic treasures. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The past gets tangible here. With over 200,000 exhibits, spanning over 5,000 years, the National Museum, India’s largest, is a storehouse of heritage. The museum has three floors. Its corridors are…
City Hangout – Night Time Delhi, Around Town
On the road. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Friday. 10.30pm. Hauz Khas Village. The street lamps are not working. The headlights of passing cars briefly illuminate the faces of a chic crowd on the roadside, returning well-fed from…
City Hangout – The Park, Outside Humayun’s Tomb
A free land. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Look. That man standing alone behind that tree. Over there, that gloomy-faced gentleman with his black briefcase… he is looking lost. That young woman, her arms folded. That backpacker with…
City Hangout – NGMA, Jaipur House
India’s modern art. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Set up in 1954 at Jaipur House near India Gate, the National Gallery of Modern Art’s old wing has stately marble flooring and arched corridors. One of the wing’s two…
City Hangout – Palika Parking Park, Connaught Place
A refuge for rejects. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The most liberating space for Delhi’s social rejects lies in the heart of the capital. The park above Palika Bazaar parking in the colonial-era Connaught Place is one of…
City Hangout – National Science Center, Pragati Maidan
Believe it or not. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A ball floating in air with no regard for gravity; a seat of nails actually comfortable to sit on. Discovering science at the National Science Center is fun. The…
City Hangout – National Zoological Park, Mathura Road
Into the wild. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Situated between Purana Qila and Mathura Road, National Zoological Park has 75 species of animals, birds and reptiles. The area is wooded. Squirrels hop across trees with slanting branches. Tired…
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