Life of a gentleman. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] If you were to visit him after a prolonged period, he would frown at you with stern eyes, but his face would instantly dissolve into a welcoming smile. Haji…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] She lives with Hayati, her cat. This is her parents’ house in Noida’s Sector 19. Both passed away last year. Sitting in the bedroom, Saumya…
Juxtaposition of beauty and tragedy. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The evening breeze is cool. The blue sky is darkening. A pale moon has already surfaced. The air is filled with the incessant sound of ambulance sirens. The…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] If this doesn’t work out, then maybe she can do something else — but no. Nazm Kaur has no plan B. Neither do her parents,…
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…
One of the one percent in 13 million. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is 13, old enough to realise that “eating my favourite veg pizza is not wise these days”. A typical pizza is expensive, Om Kumar…
The world of salty savouries. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] You might never know the names of all the birds, or all the flowers, or all the trees, or all the constellations in the sky. But to learn…
Life of the cart. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Carts are regular sights in this city of street hawkers. Usually they are but a broad plank of wood plonked over four wheels. But Veeru Bhai’s fruit cart—or thela,…
A roadside resting place. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It lies by the roadside, looking abandoned, ringed by weedy bushes and by hints of all sorts of litter and hidden lives crawling within. This striking-looking stone grave, in…
The Bengal country. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] The men look carefree, playing cards by the pavement. The vegetable seller is napping by his cart. A balloon hawker is slowly dragging his bicycle and the helium balloons, tied…
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