Is Nature My Boyfriend?

The answer is yes.

I have a giant crush on nature. There's a 400-acre forest not far from my home that I’m very obsessed with. A few times a week, I'll take a long, leisurely walk there. Sometimes I go after lunch, and other times, I go after what feels like seventeen thousand work calls.

The forest never fails me. It makes me feel tiny and humble, like a speck in a vast cosmos. But it also makes me feel expanded and inspired and like I'm a part of something bigger. The forest is where I go to calm my inner clamour. It's where I go to escape myself and find myself.

The mulberry tree canopy at Hauz Khas forest across August, February and October.

On the days I pay special attention, I notice that the play of light and the turn of the seasons makes it look and feel a little new. That is because it is.

The forest supports a staggering amount of life. No one should objectify nature. But after many, many walks, I have some decided favourites:

Ashoka Trees: One part of the park is lined with dinosaur-sized Ashoka Trees. After tension with the crows, the mynas have successfully claimed these trees. They are now overcompensating. Walking by the trees at dusk, the mynas will be all you can hear.

Very very tall Ashoka trees. Sometimes I have anxiety about them falling turn by turn like dominoes.

According to the Jataka Tales, the Buddha reached enlightenment under an Ashoka Tree. This is per my one friend who claimed to read the Jataka Tales, so make of that what you will.

Spotted Owlets: One time, during an evening run, something made me take a different route than usual. It was the early days of the pandemic, and nothing then gave me more joy than discovering a new bird species. At the turn of a corner, there she was. An owlet. She looked very irritated and unimpressed by me. I guess it was still well before sunset. But I had caught her, haha. I even took this photo.

Owlets are cute and they know it.

Spotted owlets are amazing. They are crepuscular, monogamous and form long-term pair bonds. My mom and Gabrielle Bernstein are both confident that they bring good luck.

Common Gull butterflies hanging out on an Ixora Bush. They come to Delhi from Europe during the winter. The pollution scientists need to explain this better.

Common Gull and Lemon Migrant Butterflies: My other favourite forest residents are the butterflies. I don’t know a lot of butterfly types, but the Inaturalist app tells me that Haus Khas forest is home to the common gull and the lemon migrant.

Both butterflies are migratory. They travel over 2000 miles during winter from Europe to Asia. I can’t even begin to fathom what that journey looks like.

These tiny beauties sparkle about bushes and make the already glorious park feel whimsy and dreamlike. They are a joy to watch.

I find that nature is a bit of a paradox. It is a site of safety and a site of mystery. On occasion, mid-walk, I’ll feel this transient type of existential bliss. To have a full experience of life, we must fully activate our senses. We need to feel, smell, see, taste and hear better. To that extent, the forest is medicine.