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Delhi through the seasons
This is the diary of a nature lover, patterned like the traditional Baramasi of Indian poets. It speaks of trees, flowers, fruits, birds, snakes, insects and animals that populate Delhi and its surroundings through the twelve months of the year. It is a book of wonder, noting the beauty of the many fairs and festivals celebrated in the country; telling the story of clouds, of what their shapes and movements mean; investigating why hailstorms come in spring and early summer and not in winter; writing about how bird communicate with each other and why their calls vary with the seasons. Woven into the text are poems by Kalidasa, Guru Nanak, Meyer Taqi Meer, Mirza Ghalib, Akbar Allahbadi, Rabindranath Tagore, Rudyard Kipling and many others. Delhi through the seasons is Khushwant Singh's collaboration with Suddhasattwa Basu, one of India's finest painters of the natural phenomena. A rare treasure.
112 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2015
12 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Khushwant Singh
298 books1,433 followersKhushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 27, 2024
"Although bauhinias grow all over the country, it is largely in the north that people know that the buds of the kachnar make a tasty addition to curry as well as a delectable mix with yogurt."
I had nicked this book from my wife's collection just because of two things - Khushwant Singh and the beautiful illustrations. And yes, what a lovely experience it was!
Dil waalo ki Dilli: This book is a love letter from the Padma Vibushan awardee Mr. Khushwant Singh to the city of Delhi. Each month brings it's own charm with respect to it's flora and fauna along with the weather. In today's fast paced life, most of us had forgotten to live on weekdays. We have no time for nature except during the vacations. I have loved the way Mr. Singh tries to nudge the readers to enjoy the life at it's own pace; whether you are watching flowers bloom, trees grow, clouds form and listening to the birds sing their heart out. Because of such a tone, the book feels nostalgic to the core even though it is written by a nonagenarian.
Lovely, lovely illustrations: Suddhasattwa Basu has done an incredible job of those beautiful watercolor paintings on each and every page. Whether it is a plant or a butterfly or a scene from the main road, every illustration adds more poetry than the poems quoted in the book.
This is a collectible item which can definitely adorn your coffee table!
I had nicked this book from my wife's collection just because of two things - Khushwant Singh and the beautiful illustrations. And yes, what a lovely experience it was!
Dil waalo ki Dilli: This book is a love letter from the Padma Vibushan awardee Mr. Khushwant Singh to the city of Delhi. Each month brings it's own charm with respect to it's flora and fauna along with the weather. In today's fast paced life, most of us had forgotten to live on weekdays. We have no time for nature except during the vacations. I have loved the way Mr. Singh tries to nudge the readers to enjoy the life at it's own pace; whether you are watching flowers bloom, trees grow, clouds form and listening to the birds sing their heart out. Because of such a tone, the book feels nostalgic to the core even though it is written by a nonagenarian.
"In the evenings, while the poor shiver under the culverts and flyovers, I sip my Scotch before a blazing log fire, then snuggle into a warm bed with a hot water bottle at my feet."
Lovely, lovely illustrations: Suddhasattwa Basu has done an incredible job of those beautiful watercolor paintings on each and every page. Whether it is a plant or a butterfly or a scene from the main road, every illustration adds more poetry than the poems quoted in the book.
This is a collectible item which can definitely adorn your coffee table!
September 21, 2016
Authored with a scientific temperament and deep love for the Capital, the book is a fine account of Delhi through the 12 months of the year. The edition has some remarkable illustrations of the city's numerous landscapes, along with individual oils of its flora and fauna that feel right out of biology textbook with a hint of aesthetics.
Perfect coffee table collectible.
Perfect coffee table collectible.
April 7, 2018
This book is as much about nostalgia as it is about Nature. It took me back home to the garden of my childhood. A sibling, a playful cat, a mulberry tree, two mango trees, a beautiful neem, a lemon tree, a jackfruit tree and the quintessential coconut trees. We had a whole lot of ornamental and flowering shrubs, the showy ones usually, because my mom is no practical gardener. Most of the trees were planted by my Dad's mother. Vines would come and go - the more exuberant and prettier ones lasted. I remembered a gooseberry tree that simply refused to fruit. And the day she threatened to cut it off if it was planning on being so useless. It fruited soon after and never failed after that. These threats were rare, I mostly saw her coaxing them with words. It was a beautiful world where something was always happening. Visiting birds, nests, stealthy cats, fruits, seeds, squirrels.
Coming back to the book and Khushwant Singh - it's achingly similar but with much, much more. And years and years of data gathered from his notes. It begins with his garden and spreads out to envelope verdant Delhi itself or what it once was. What a remarkable observer and a witty narrator. He's got a smile playing there in his words every time he describes the stray cats that frequent his garden. There's love and favouritism when it comes to big old trees. The birds get a big chunk of his attention and you'll be looking out more out of your windows after reading this book. Screaming kites, owls that don't hoot by the book, conniving koels, the carefree monsoon bird, the cuckolded crows, barbets, lapwings. All this with liberal doses of translated Sanskrit poetry from the greats. Beautifully illustrated and absolutely a treasure.
Coming back to the book and Khushwant Singh - it's achingly similar but with much, much more. And years and years of data gathered from his notes. It begins with his garden and spreads out to envelope verdant Delhi itself or what it once was. What a remarkable observer and a witty narrator. He's got a smile playing there in his words every time he describes the stray cats that frequent his garden. There's love and favouritism when it comes to big old trees. The birds get a big chunk of his attention and you'll be looking out more out of your windows after reading this book. Screaming kites, owls that don't hoot by the book, conniving koels, the carefree monsoon bird, the cuckolded crows, barbets, lapwings. All this with liberal doses of translated Sanskrit poetry from the greats. Beautifully illustrated and absolutely a treasure.
January 5, 2022
For someone who loves watching the changing seasons over and over again, with an eye for intricacies in such subtle changes, this book is a feast! Although the changing seasons herein observed are exclusively that of Delhi, nevertheless it is a glimpse of what the subcontinent offers in its flora and fauna… The book in itself is like a whiff taken from a freshly made assorted bouquet… I’d say this is a collectible, to go back to whenever one feels like connecting with the strumming of nature’s changing seasonal chords…
September 21, 2023
Good books I just dive into.
But better books I save for good occasions. Like this one, that I saved for my trip to the mountains.
🌸
'Delhi through the seasons' by Khushwant Singh
🌸
Having aptly been called the modern Barahmaaha, with a theme of nature, DTTS talks about the rotating wheel of seasons in Delhi and North India, in general.
Having been written by the maestro Khushwant, based on his diary entries and his observations as a bird watcher (it was a surprise for me too to find another feather in his hat), it addresses one aspect that all other Barahmaaha treatises of the past chose to ignore - nature - flowers and birds and animals.
I'm not an outdoorsy person per se, and my meagre knowledge of flowers and trees is something I've given up my hope on. But thanks to the divine illustrations by Suddhasattwa Basu, I felt as if I was sitting in Lodi Gardens while reading this one, surrounded by fragrance and chitterings.
🌸
So read this one to get to know more about flora and fauna as they change throughout Indian Seasons, or to get to know the Dilli of olden times, or to add a picturesque piece to your collection.
My rating - a bouquet of a thousand roses 🌹
🌸
#anamslibrary #anamsreview #nerdfest #delhi #khushwantsingh #khushwant #dilli #frangipani #seasons #monsoon #weather #rain #indianmonsoon #colors #beauty #nature
But better books I save for good occasions. Like this one, that I saved for my trip to the mountains.
🌸
'Delhi through the seasons' by Khushwant Singh
🌸
Having aptly been called the modern Barahmaaha, with a theme of nature, DTTS talks about the rotating wheel of seasons in Delhi and North India, in general.
Having been written by the maestro Khushwant, based on his diary entries and his observations as a bird watcher (it was a surprise for me too to find another feather in his hat), it addresses one aspect that all other Barahmaaha treatises of the past chose to ignore - nature - flowers and birds and animals.
I'm not an outdoorsy person per se, and my meagre knowledge of flowers and trees is something I've given up my hope on. But thanks to the divine illustrations by Suddhasattwa Basu, I felt as if I was sitting in Lodi Gardens while reading this one, surrounded by fragrance and chitterings.
🌸
So read this one to get to know more about flora and fauna as they change throughout Indian Seasons, or to get to know the Dilli of olden times, or to add a picturesque piece to your collection.
My rating - a bouquet of a thousand roses 🌹
🌸
#anamslibrary #anamsreview #nerdfest #delhi #khushwantsingh #khushwant #dilli #frangipani #seasons #monsoon #weather #rain #indianmonsoon #colors #beauty #nature
August 17, 2024
'Delhi through the seasons' was a complete delight to read. I deliberately spaced out reading this and didn't want to finish it, even though one can easily go from cover to cover in less than a day!
As someone who has called Delhi home for majority of her life, I was delighted to find vivid descriptions of flora, fauna and avian life. It reads chronologically through the months of the Greorgian calendar but takes you back and forth in time highlighting important historical and political events that marked these months. Not just the text but even the carefully curated watercolor illustrations helped in seeing the world through Khushwant Singh's keen observations on the natural world that he initially made as diary entries throughout the course of his life. The text and visuals are peppered with season specific excerpts by Indian poets.
The book reads like a conversation with a Delhi lover, taking many twists and turns to tangential thoughts, often reminding me what a joy it is to pause and notice other than human life around me. It's good to know that unbearable summer heatwaves and monsoon waterlogging bringing the city a halt aren't novel hiccups!
I could keep going on, but it's safe to say the many memories I've gathered over time make me biased.
As someone who has called Delhi home for majority of her life, I was delighted to find vivid descriptions of flora, fauna and avian life. It reads chronologically through the months of the Greorgian calendar but takes you back and forth in time highlighting important historical and political events that marked these months. Not just the text but even the carefully curated watercolor illustrations helped in seeing the world through Khushwant Singh's keen observations on the natural world that he initially made as diary entries throughout the course of his life. The text and visuals are peppered with season specific excerpts by Indian poets.
The book reads like a conversation with a Delhi lover, taking many twists and turns to tangential thoughts, often reminding me what a joy it is to pause and notice other than human life around me. It's good to know that unbearable summer heatwaves and monsoon waterlogging bringing the city a halt aren't novel hiccups!
I could keep going on, but it's safe to say the many memories I've gathered over time make me biased.
April 28, 2020
I grabbed this book simply because of its beautiful cover. Little did I know that each and every page of this book will enchant me, making me stop and pause, just to sink in its beauty, just to gaze at the marvelously created illustrations. I haven't read something so mesmerizing (quite literally). The book talks about the flora and fauna that are seen during the twelve months in Delhi. Hence, the name, Delhi through the seasons.
It takes you through each and every season of the year, one by one. Khushwant Singh manages to capture all beautiful things of mother nature that we tend to ignore and pay no heed to. His perceptions are well-woven together with verses and bards of Kalidasa, Mirza Ghalib, Rabindranath Tagore to name a few. (I would have loved the book even more if these verses were given in their original form, and not translated.)
The spectacular illustrations by Sudhhasattwa Basu, like a finely-tuned instrument, add to the beauty of this masterpiece in a way that every word, every prose becomes miraculously synchronous with his illustrations.
It takes you through each and every season of the year, one by one. Khushwant Singh manages to capture all beautiful things of mother nature that we tend to ignore and pay no heed to. His perceptions are well-woven together with verses and bards of Kalidasa, Mirza Ghalib, Rabindranath Tagore to name a few. (I would have loved the book even more if these verses were given in their original form, and not translated.)
The spectacular illustrations by Sudhhasattwa Basu, like a finely-tuned instrument, add to the beauty of this masterpiece in a way that every word, every prose becomes miraculously synchronous with his illustrations.
February 15, 2022
When I won a giveaway on #Bookstagram, I chose this book as my prize simply because of what a beautiful cover it had. And my, oh my! I regret nothing! I've been meaning to read it since the time the bookmail arrived, but couldn't...'cause it's just too pretty!
The illustrations by Suddhasattwa Basu fill page after page of this book with a riot of life and colour. Every time I opened the book to read it, the illustrations caught and captured all of my attention. And each time, as I feasted my eyes upon the beautiful flowers, birds, butterflies and detailed landscapes, I would forget to read!
This month, I tried again. This time, it was time for me to paint these vivid images myself, in my imagination, through the words of Khushwant Singh.
What is the book about? The answer is in the title of the book - Delhi through the seasons. I've never been to Delhi, but the Delhi through Khushwant Singh's eyes seems starkly different from the Delhi that tops the list of most polluted cities I see through the media. Have times changed so drastically?
Khushwant Singh enjoyed observing nature and recording the different changes he noticed all year round. From sunrise timings to when certain birds mate to when the flowers bloom on which tree, he speaks of them all. The book is divided into chapters and named after the months of the year to make it easy for us to follow along on his year-long journey with nature.
There were times when I got lost because I didn't understand which bird or plant he was talking about. That's when the little labels on the illustrations really came in handy.
This book is a nature lover's delight and an art lover's delight. Children will love it too, and so will the child in you!
My rating
3.5 ⭐for the writing (because it wasn't gripping enough for me, although I don't think it was meant to be)
5+ ⭐ for the illustrations (simply brilliant!)
The illustrations by Suddhasattwa Basu fill page after page of this book with a riot of life and colour. Every time I opened the book to read it, the illustrations caught and captured all of my attention. And each time, as I feasted my eyes upon the beautiful flowers, birds, butterflies and detailed landscapes, I would forget to read!
This month, I tried again. This time, it was time for me to paint these vivid images myself, in my imagination, through the words of Khushwant Singh.
What is the book about? The answer is in the title of the book - Delhi through the seasons. I've never been to Delhi, but the Delhi through Khushwant Singh's eyes seems starkly different from the Delhi that tops the list of most polluted cities I see through the media. Have times changed so drastically?
Khushwant Singh enjoyed observing nature and recording the different changes he noticed all year round. From sunrise timings to when certain birds mate to when the flowers bloom on which tree, he speaks of them all. The book is divided into chapters and named after the months of the year to make it easy for us to follow along on his year-long journey with nature.
There were times when I got lost because I didn't understand which bird or plant he was talking about. That's when the little labels on the illustrations really came in handy.
This book is a nature lover's delight and an art lover's delight. Children will love it too, and so will the child in you!
My rating
3.5 ⭐for the writing (because it wasn't gripping enough for me, although I don't think it was meant to be)
5+ ⭐ for the illustrations (simply brilliant!)
October 17, 2024
"All that is in the past. Now I spend New Year's eve by my own fireside drinking my own scotch and musing over the days gone by."
Delhi through the seasons reads almost like a diary, a nostalgic ride through the gregorian calendar, with every month Delhi unveiling something new and that is so perfectly illustrated by Suddhasattwa Das.
Delhi through the seasons reads almost like a diary, a nostalgic ride through the gregorian calendar, with every month Delhi unveiling something new and that is so perfectly illustrated by Suddhasattwa Das.
November 12, 2025
Even with all the pollution and trouble, Delhi and the areas around it are very habitable and lovely. One who has spent his childhood in these places and is sensitive to nature, never forgets the scent of the earth, the calls of known birds, the golden sunlight of the winters, and the lush colors in the flowers. And then, 'how can he think of living anywhere else!'
December 15, 2023
One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read! Illustrations perfectly complement the story.
Although I live in Pune, not in Delhi, I still could relate to the descriptions of the seasons and months and also remember my rare visits to Delhi during some of those periods.
Although I live in Pune, not in Delhi, I still could relate to the descriptions of the seasons and months and also remember my rare visits to Delhi during some of those periods.
October 22, 2017
Absolutely gorgeous and an engaging read. This book will make you fall in love with Delhi's flora and fauna - or what is left of it.
December 27, 2023
It is a wonderful book , beautifully illustrated. Loved reading and re-reading the monthly diary of seasons - birds and trees of Delhi.
April 12, 2024
book that made me fell in love with delhi. This book definitely brings you closer to the nature of delhi.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews