It may be the way the air chills softly under great neem trees, cackling with parakeets, or the eagles that swoop calmly over the roses as the sun sets. Bamboos create archways between fields dotted with the crumbling stone of tombs from empires past. The scent of jasmine lifts the air from the smell of wet earth. The chaiwallah calls from behind you, offering tea to either warm or cool the evening. Geese squawk on the pond. Lovers sit in silence. Lawns stretch before nightfall. A dog trots by.

It is still the most beautiful urban park I have seen anywhere. The Lodhi Garden is a meditation unto itself and an oasis in the midst of the polluted chaos of Delhi.

I would love to be more ambitious, but if you asked me what I want to do on vacation, the truth is that a nice lunch in Khan Market and a walk in the Lodhi Garden is just fine, thanks. Nothing else.

I have taken many of the same pictures over the years, but seasons change, light changes. When I think I’ve seen it from ever angle, I always notice something new. I never tire of the park. It will always remind me of irreverent and questioning writer, Khushuwant Singh, who had sat quietly most evenings in the Lodhi Garden to observe nature – for doing so was the better than any “silly” religious practice.

Sit quietly. 30-minutes. Watch nature. Everyday.