Angels of the darkness. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] 8pm, a roadside close to the Rose Garden, Sector 15 Part 1, Gurgaon: Gilded petals stranded in mid-air. These are Amaltas’s golden-yellow blossoms at night. The tree itself is…
A hyoerlocal icon. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Evergreen Sweet House has been a Green Park Market icon since 1963. Jama Masjid too hasn’t budged from its Old Delhi GPS since 1656. Ditto for the derelict Kaman Sarai…
Passing of a book man. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] His bookstore rarely pops up in cool slick Instagram stories.. But then venerable scholars are not known to be social media savvies. And they are the exalted ones…
The parlour confession. [By Mayank Austen Soofi] Buzzy, affordable, unpretentious, class-transcending, iconic, and unique to the megapolis. The Indian Coffee House, established in 1957, at Mohan Singh Place. A living landmark here is the cheery-chatty head bearer Rajesh Kumar, a…
‘Hood on the hill. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The congested mohalla of Pahari Bhojla is nestled about a pahari, a hill, and is said to have been the hideout of Bhojla daku, back when the Walled City…
Vision in white. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Amid acres of dusty brown ruins, rises an apparition in spotless white. This afternoon, Sree Jagannath Mandir is looking like an edifice of ice. The only notable interruption to its…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] First, he plotted an escape from his Old Delhi. Then, he plotted a return. Sharib, 29, draws an arch of his eventful round journey. “My…
Today with yesterdays. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Sail boats in the harbour. Their white sails arrayed beside each other—see photo. But there’s no hulk, no deck, no mast, no river. No boats either. The sail-like objects are…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Footstep sounds. At once blood rushes up his brains. He jumps off the bed, flees the room, rockets through the tiny sehan, locking himself into…
The bridges of highway county. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] So you too reach out for the tissue paper while watching reruns of Meryl Streep’s The Bridges of Madison County? That evergreen tearjerker is an adaptation of Robert…
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