Mission Delhi - Jinachandran Nair, South City 2

Mission Delhi – Jinachandran Nair, South City 2

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Jinachandran Nair’s farewell party was celebrated in a restaurant not far from his office. Colleagues from various departments, including his own, arrived in groups. There were sandwiches, pastries, samosas, biscuits, coffee and tea….

Mission Delhi - Joban, Khan Market

Mission Delhi – Joban, Khan Market

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Even during the best times of the pre-Covid era, Khan Market was a bleak place in early mornings. There would be no crowd, and only a few cafes would be open for early…

Mission Delhi - Nisha Gandhi, Sector 54, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Nisha Gandhi, Sector 54, Gurgaon

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She sure is an artist but something’s not right with the frog she has drawn. The eyes are popping out in opposing directions. The nose is looking somewhat odd. Surely she’d be better…

Mission Delhi - Sunil Kumar Singh, Karawal Nagar

Mission Delhi – Sunil Kumar Singh, Karawal Nagar

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His life was not much different from that of Ulysses, in Homer’s Odysseus. As you know well, Homer’s classic is about the hero’s long and epic journey to home. Regarding Sunil Kumar Singh…

Mission Delhi - Muhammed Sadiq, Central Delhi

Mission Delhi – Muhammed Sadiq, Central Delhi

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] There’s a new guy in florist Muhammed Sadiq’s shop. He is without a face, and he’s without clothes. This morning, Mr Sadiq is dressing him up in front of his pavement stall, in…

Mission Delhi - Leo, Sector 30

Mission Delhi – Leo, Sector 30

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is only three years old but has already been with four different families, in four different cities — all of them in the Greater Delhi Region. Leo was living in Delhi, Ghaziabad,…

Mission Delhi - Billi, East of Kailash

Mission Delhi – Billi, East of Kailash

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The cat quietly ambles towards him, circles around his feet—slowly and thoughtfully—as if she were an elderly neighbor taking a walk in the park. The masked man in red sandals doesn’t seem startled…

Mission Delhi - Hrishikesh Shende, Gurgaon

Mission Delhi – Hrishikesh Shende, Gurgaon

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Every night around ten, after his daughter Kimaya has been tucked into bed, and while his wife, Sumran, is watching TV in the guest room, he walks up to his living room. He…

Mission Delhi - Shiraz Muhammad, Central Delhi

Mission Delhi – Shiraz Muhammad, Central Delhi

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The walker can have many uses. Shiraz Muhammad discovered it not long after acquiring one for himself, following a leg injury. “You cover the walker with a cloth, sit down under it and…

Mission Delhi - Priyanka Chauhan, Golf Course Road

Mission Delhi – Priyanka Chauhan, Golf Course Road

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] She has been writing since she was a student attending Raghunath Girls College in Meerut town. “But I don’t consider myself a writer,” says Priyanka Chauhan. She’s chatting this morning on WhatsApp video…