City Moment – Annie Ernaux Starts Singing, Lodhi Gardens
The perfect Delhi instant. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] “The black, pensive, dense, domes of the mausoleums suddenly shot birds into the unanimous blue” This is the entirety of “In The Lodi Gardens”, a poem by a Nobel…
City Moment – Sense of a Place, Kabir Marg
Life of a traffic island. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A city gets truly authentic when it is not on show. Easier to find its soul in ordinary places, during ordinary moments, when nothing is happening. When one…
City Moment – The ABCD Boy, Near Oberoi Hotel Flyover
A poignant traffic light instant. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The evening showers have stopped one hour ago, but the roadside ditches are still full of rainwater. Some prudent scooterists have actually kept their protective plastic capes wrapped…
City Moment – Syed & Bhuriya, Ansari Road
A Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Rickshaw puller Syyed lives alone. That’s not entirely correct, he clarifies. “I’m not completely alone. I have a saathi (companion).” Syyed explains that at night he sleeps on his rickshaw….
City Moment – Prayer Witnessed, Outside Jama Masjid Gate No. 2
A Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is morning and the newspaper vendor, passing on his bicycle, is carrying front pages filled with dreadful news on Covid-19. The narrow lane is otherwise empty of people more…
City Moment – Writer Arundhati Roy Visits Her Father, Indian Christian Cemetery, Burari
A daughter’s pilgrimage. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is afternoon. Writer Arundhati Roy is wading through tall, disheveled grass here in the Indian Christian Cemetery, in north Delhi’s Burari. She is carrying a few long stems of…
City Moment – Dog Loves Cat, Near Golcha Cinema
A beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] More than 70 years after gaining their freedom, India and Pakistan are still hostile towards each other. But they aren’t the only countries with such a tradition. Turkey and…
City Moment – Winter Sunset, Jama Masjid, Gurgaon
The perfect Delhi moment. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is winter and the sun is at long last our friend. But some things don’t change: the most poignant time of the season is still the twilight hour,…
City Moment – Dance in the Park, Lodhi Gardens
The beautiful Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A romantic pair is holding hands, etc. An overly-dressed couple is posing for pre-wedding photography. A noisy family is busy over chips packets. Two guys are playing badminton. A…
City Moment – Leaf Gatherer’s Daughter, Deer Park
The perfect Delhi instant. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] This afternoon, leaf collector Mahesh is making a round of the central Delhi park where he works, dragging his bicycle cart behind him. He occasionally stops, picks up the…
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