City Walk – The Lane Along Red Fort, Old Delhi
The best stroll. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sailing into the Red Fort used to be so smooth. You would buy the ticket, queue up by the entrance and slip in. This was before the pandemic. Now that…
City Walk – Gali Syed Rafai, Old Delhi
This way to Gali Syed Rafai. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] All is quiet. All is empty. Except for a black-and-white billi nosing around. No human is crowding this narrow gali, though it is lined with many doorways….
City Walk – Galli Maulana Muhammed Saleem, Old Delhi
This way to Galli Saleem. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Is it a calle in Venice, or a rue in Paris, or a sokak in Istanbul? This Purani Dilli galli might be mistaken for a lane in the…
City Walk – World-Class Sidewalk, Aurobindo Marg
Footpath no. 1. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Come alone. You wouldn’t want a friend to see you gushing over a footpath. But then this redeveloped footpath is so tiptop. True, Gurgaon boasts a set of three new-age…
City Walk – Lal Galli-Part 2, Old Delhi
A passage in the Walled City. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Cities are such a messy cobweb of truths and legends. Almost impossible to distengale the two. Such as our labyrinthine Purani Dilli. Last week The Delhi Walla…
City Walk – Lal Galli-Part 1, Old Delhi
A passage in the Walled City. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is late morning and M. Zameer New Fashion is still shuttered. But the boutique’s banner (“costume designer in gents & all rounder”) is painted in red,…
City Walk – Narrow Lane, Hazrat Khwaja Mir Dard Colony
A passage to life. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Delhi encompasses millions of us, nameless masses. But know better: our lives might be countless but they are as distinct, rich and profound as any epic. And they vividly…
City Walk – Kucha Saad Ullah Khan, Old Delhi
A lane of beauty [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The dusty iron door is padlocked with a crude made-in-China lock. Yet looking so pretty with floral motifs. Even so, no passerby is caring for this poor beauty. Neither…
City Walk – Kucha Lal Man, Old Delhi
A cozy refuge [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] A packed bus finds itself unable to move; a cab is blowing a brain-splitting horn; a bike suddenly shoots through the narrow gap between two cars. Only a daredevil will…
City Walk – Phatak Ram Kishan Dass, Old Delhi
A cold alley [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The air is stale and damp, like bathroom towel during the monsoon. Phatak Ram Kishan Dass comprises of a dimly lit lane with no existing phatak, or gateway. The alley…
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