To a green thought in a green shade

Delhi may have been declared unlivable by those who can afford to escape, but for those who have to stay on, respite comes in the form of the city's gardens.

- Chintan Girish Modi

Delhi may have been declared unlivable by those who can afford to escape, but for those who have to stay on, respite comes in the form of the city's gardens. A new coffee-table book, Gardens of Delhi, written by the sisters Swapna Liddle and Madhulika Liddle, chronicles 14 of them. Swapna is a historian who leads heritage walks in Delhi and advocates for the urgent need to preserve the city's historic sites. Madhulika is a writer of historical fiction and an amateur naturalist, who is particularly interested in trees and birds.

"We have tried to include a variety of gardens — from historic palace gardens to those that originally lay on the high road, some laid out by royal patrons, others as outcomes of commemoration or even litigation," they say in the introduction. Their research is based on government files from the Delhi State Archives, and conversations with naturalists, historians, guards, caretakers, and other staff at various gardens.