Rush hour commuters in the capital cope with street weddings - along with everything else.[By Mayank Austen Soofi]They emerged from the five-star Ambassador Hotel a few hours after sunset. The handsome groom, turbaned and dressed in a cream-colored sherwani, climbed onto a white mare. Like a warrior-prince of yesteryear, he would ride to claim his bride: along with an entourage of uncles, aunts, cousins and well-wishers.A band of professional musicians led the baraat - the wedding procession. Starched uniforms clung unnaturally to their slender bodies. Their sunken cheeks blew air into saxophones to produce ear-splitting Bollywood chartbusters. The entire party was surrounded by miserably-clothed laborers carrying stylish lamps on their thin shoulders. These lamps were powered by a noisy generator

A girl's life in Delhi's premier college for women.[By Manika Dhama; she is a Delhi-based media professional.]I'm lucky to be a Delhi girl. Many women colleges here are considered the best in the country. However, recently there were rumors of converting them to co-ed institutions. While it surely excited men, most feared a decline in the "standards". The co-ed advocates counter-argued that the same sex colleges discourage "healthy interaction" between men and women. It could be true but whether that affected my mental or physical health remains debatable.You see I'm a product of one of these colleges.Oh, You Are From Miranda House!Few years back, when I secured admission in Miranda House, a women college, my parents were more than thrilled.

While India was celebrating Republic Day, Delhi's small Aussie community did something different.[Report and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Even as India celebrated Republic Day on January 26, the Australian High Commission in the leafy Chanakyapuri provided a low-key alternative: Australia Day. The High Commission's members-only Henry Lawson Club was lit in orange, while a classic Australian film The Castle - with comic lines best appreciated by Australians – played mutely on a wide screen television.Guests had gathered in groups. Whites and reds splashed in wine glasses as arms gesticulated in argumentative conversations. Expatriate families munched on French fries, sandwiches and steaks as Cabernet Sauvignon flowed freely. A Japanese woman with red spaghetti straps rolling down her shoulders played billiards with

Greasy food, rude service and unclean setting - an account of a meal taken in the legendary dhaba.[By Mayank Austen Soofi]This account is based on the recollections of a meal taken during the summer of 2006.We were standing outside Kake Da Hotel at Connaught Place in New Delhi. Moaned over by food critics, the legendary eatery – its name implying ‘Uncle’s Restaurant’ in Punjabi - is supposed to be a carnivore's delight. Amateur gourmands drive great distances to feast on its celebrated Butter Chicken.But Kake Da Hotel was a mere shack beside a smoggy highway. Worse, it was summer and the restaurant was full so we had to wait and perspire outside with many others.A bearded man at the entrance,

The Sunday calm, in the streets of the walled town, gets shattered by the grief of a funeral procession[Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]"The eyes shed tears and the heart is grieved, but we will not say anything except which pleases our Lord."Prophet Mohammad on the passing away of his son IbrahimSunday morning in Old Delhi. Someone has died. A handsome young man with a day-old stubble is leading the funeral procession. His eyes are vacant. It could not have been a child’s death. The body, covered in a green cloth, is more substantial. Half a dozen sad shoulders are perspiring under the weight of the coffin as it bobs up and down on its last journey.The procession halts

Within a month of its re-opening, the revamped Central Park has become the social sea beach that Delhi never had.[by Mayank Austen Soofi]Last day of the last year forced the Delhites out into the newly revamped Central Park in Connaught Place. The air was cool and the mood warm. Holidaymakers feasted, laughed and chatted. Love birds from the humble Hansraj College joked in Hindi. Snobbish students from the uppity St. Stephen’s College conversed in English. A red-shirted man from small town Rohtak walked around with dazed eyes.Nuclear families drove all the way from middle-class neighborhoods like Janak Puri and Punjabi Bagh to lay down on the grass – their children shrieking and running. A large family sitting in a circle

Mother India looking sexy in poverty pornography. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi]Following a Beggar in Sarojini Nagar Market (S N), One of Delhi's Busiest Bargain BazaarsIndia is now more than just a the flavor of the season. Superstar columnist Thomas Friedman got the title of his latest bestseller The World is Flat from an Indian CEO - Nandan Nilekani of Infosys. Brangelina chose to shoot their latest film – A Mighty Heart - in Mumbai, the heart of the Indian filmdom. Most of the AIDS drugs for the world’s poor are manufactured by Cipla, a pharmaceutical firm of India. The world no. 1 steel baron, Lakshmi Mittal, holds an Indian passport. The historic Boston hotel, Ritz-Carlton, is all

Walking and talking history at a world heritage site that inspired the Taj Mahal.[Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi]The Fall It was a cold winter night but the sky in Delhi was unusually clear and devoid of the predictable fog. After watching the rise of the planet Venus from his library's pavilion, he prepared to leave for his private quarters. As he walked down the stairs, the muezzin started calling all the Muslims of the world to remember Allah. Being a pious believer, he stopped and was about to kneel down in respect when his foot got caught by the folds of his magnificent robes. He slipped down the stone stairs, blood dripped out from his right ear, and

Visiting the society of Muslims in the world's greatest and grandest Mosque.[Pictures and text by Mayank Austen Soofi]Mecca has Masjid-al-Haram and Istanbul boasts of Blue mosque. The former has its ancient authenticity compromised by Petrodollar-funded air-conditioned renovations and the latter's magnificent splendor pales under the brilliant glow of the much older basilica of Hagia Sophia.Delhi's Masjid-i-Jahan Numa - the mosque commanding a view of the world - neither tolerates nor suffers such ignominies. Standing erect on a high ground, the grand mosque is the sole custodian of all that is beautiful, commanding, powerful, and historical about Old Delhi.Welcome to Jama Masjid, so called because of a large prayer congregation that gathers in its great courtyard in the Fridays or Jummas

Old Delhi charm; Ramadan night magic; Red Fort glitter; Pakistani pop stars' charisma; and my digicam.- by Mayank Austen SoofiSince this was Delhi, we reached Red Fort one hour after the scheduled start of the concert. It is not considered respectable in the status-sensitive society of India's capital to arrive at a venue on time. Red Fort is Old Delhi's most imposing architecture - a 17th century monument of sandstones excavated from the burning deserts of Rajasthan. Constructed during the reign of Shahjahan, the emperor who gave Taj Mahal to the world, Red Fort was the grand palace of the great Mughals from whose ornate chambers they used to rule over the immeasurable expanse of their gigantic empire in South Asia.Feeling smug and arrogant, we held our chin up high as we allowed