I don’t enjoy Mumbai’s sweaty summers and since college days, I have found that to be the best excuse to escape to the Himalayan highlands. I almost literally seem to be following the winter migratory birds from my garden into their breeding grounds. The Hoopoes, wagtails, shrikes, Brahminy ducks and warblers all fly away into alpine lakes and meadows to feast on those early worms that temperate summers have to offer.

Laburnum flowers are golden honey pots for bees and butterflies