Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Stopping the white car by the smoggy roadside, cab driver Abid Khan gets out of his vehicle, and walks over to the tree-lined pave. This overcast afternoon, despite the discomfort caused by extreme humidity, the nearby view of Yamuna river appears serenely picturesque. So does the sight of Akshardham Mandir. The soft-spoken man agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. What do you hate the most? When a man kills another man, whether bodily or emotionally. The principal aspect of your personality. I’m humble. Your favourite qualities in a man. The ability to be kind to others. Your favourite

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Jaswinder Singh Khurana is a print media traditionalist. The auto rickshaw driver daily reads newspapers, always the paper editions. His auto in fact tends to be decked with the day’s many dailies—see photo. “I like to keep myself informed of what is happening in the world… and reading the news on print helps me grasp the issues more deeply,” he says, adding that he reads the newspapers between the rides, while waiting for customers. “Newspapers are also a good timepass.” This afternoon, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your idea of

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] After attending a panel discussion on “Artificial Intelligence and Northeast” at the India International Centre, Tassadaque Hussain walks into adjacent Lodhi Garden for an evening stroll. Sitting on a bench, the Dwarka dweller agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your favourite occupation. I retired in 2020 as deputy director of the National Archives of India. Having worked there for 32 years, one gets used to seeing old documents. But I vividly remember the thrill when I touched, for the first time, the handwritten 18th century manuscripts on the weekly activities of the East

Proust questionnaire with a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] After flying 5,000 miles from Delhi, The Delhi Walla landed two days ago in Dublin. The Ireland capital is the legendary setting of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, the great modernist novel that entirely unfolds within a day—16 June. The date is celebrated worldwide as Bloomsday, named after the novel’s hero. To celebrate arguably the world’s greatest city-novel, The Delhi Walla is briefly becoming The Dublin Walla. So, say namaste to Leanne Chapman, a receptionist who first read Ulysses as a teenager (see her photo holding the said novel). She lives in the Dublin suburbs with her Indian partner, a native Mumbaikar. This afternoon, sitting by Harcourt Street, facing the tramway

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] A citizen of impeccable style, tea stall owner Shakir Hasan always wears ironed pants-shirt; the formal full-sleeve shirt neatly tucked into his belted pants. The slim, elegant man looks truly exclusive, for nobody around him here in Old Delhi’s Bulbuli Khana neighbourhood is ever dressed like him. Most men here are seen either in traditional kurta-pajamas, or in ubiquitous denim jeans.. This afternoon, while making his nth round of chai, Shakir Hasan agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. Your favourite drink. Doodh. The principal aspect of your personality. It has to be my passion to

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] In the afternoon heat of late April, Hadees, a rickshaw puller, is waiting for his next customer. Seated on the backseat of the rickshaw, parked under the shade of a peepal tree , he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. What do you appreciate the most in your friends? When needed, they quietly lend me money… and quietly take it back when I return the amount. Your main fault. Being unable to rise in life is my big fault. I started as a rickshaw walla 23 years ago, and I’m still a rickshaw walla. Not

Two Lives. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Viren says he is a grad student. Shaan says he works in a hospital. Although residing in adjacent East Delhi neighbourhoods, they initially met on Instagram. The two eventually interacted outside the virtual world for the first time in the distant Tughlakabad Fort. Now they meet regularly, they say, usually in the evening after being done with the day’s obligations. This warm weekday evening, they are in Connaught Place, silently sitting by the side of a small plaza in Middle Lane, facing the white columns of the colonial-era shopping arcade. The 8pm traffic rush is moving on the smoggy road behind them. Viren and Shaan agree to jointly become a part of

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] With his long grey beard, the calmly book browser is resembling literary lions like Tolstoy and Tagore. Poet Ashok Kumar Malik is a faithful patron of Delhi’s Sunday Book Bazar, commuting almost every Sunday from his Ghaziabad residence to the market in Mahila Haat. This afternoon, he agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. I’m continually absorbing and being absorbed by nature. Your idea of happiness. Happiness has to be redefined… I think it is more important to cultivate our sensitivity at the risk of ending up hurt or sad.

Portrait of a citizen. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He is one of Delhi’s most enigmatic booksellers, dealing online in precious editions of classic novels. He tends to abruptly disappear from society causing a puzzled distress to his fellow booksellers, customers and acquaintances. As abruptly he re-emerges. This afternoon, Vishal Nagraj is sighted in a city bookstore after a long spell of disappearance. He agrees to become a part of our Proust Questionnaire series, in which citizens are nudged to make “Parisian parlour confessions”, all to explore our distinct experiences. The principal aspect of your personality. I’m mostly lost. Your chief characteristic. I’m a sketcher. I like drawing sketches of writers… Emily Dickinson, James Baldwin, Szymborska, Joan Didion, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath, Anna