Delhi’s best jalebi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Thick and juicy, it is food porn at its best. Jalebis, the golden-coloured rings of deep-fried maida batter, soaked in sugar syrup, fill the mouth with a warm liquid of…
One of the one per cent in 13 million. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Lying on the grass, he is looking up at the sky. There are no stars to be seen yet. The evening’s gathering darkness, however,…
A home away from home. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Evening. June 11, 2010. The Jor Bagh resident is in her living room, in front of the television. She is waiting for the inaugural ceremony of the FIFA…
Death is beautiful. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] The aroma of freshly cooked mutton biryani is wafting in the air. The old woman in white is whirling round into a blur. Two boys are lighting candles. Qawwals are…
The 7 idiots. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Their shoulders are swinging softly, their feet are tapping on the stone floor and some of them are shutting their eyes in intense passion. This is a group of seven…
Searching for the stylish. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Are you classy? Have you read Marcel Proust and Munshi Premchand? Can you distinguish Bach from Beethoven? Do you feel joy listening to Raag Malhar? Do you feel a…
They will soon be gone. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] There is a land of Daryaganj and Paharganj, of Fact & Fiction and Mid Land, of dusty wooden shelves. Here in this pretty world of second hand bookstalls…
Cheap but with character. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] They are a rare sight. Roshni Kapoor, a post-grad student of international relations, and Priya Bhattacharji, an advertising professional, are the only two Indian girls in My Bar. It…
The other woman in her life. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Vidya Rao, thumri singer, actor and part-time editor at Orient Longman, lives with Sufi in a sunny second-floor apartment, not far from Qutub Minar, in Mehrauli, south…
The great chef’s life in Delhi. [Text and pictures by Mayank Austen Soofi] Meet the Julia Child of Nizamuddin East, an artsy neighbourhood of bungalows, ruins and gardens in central Delhi. The author of Sufism: The Heart of Islam, Ms…
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