If you have not taken the autumn walks at Winkworth Arboretum, you have missed something in life. That’s the verdict.

It was a long drive to Winkworth but with good roads it was a good ride. We arrived at the Arboretum. That was a new word. Arboretum. I picked up my phone and checked the meaning. Old habit of a student who studied in Marathi medium schools. Unknown word? Check the dictionary, my father would say.

Arboretum. A modern arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants and is intended at least in part for scientific study. The Gardener’s Magazine used the term arboretum first in1833, but the concept was already long-established by then.’

The question is when a simpler name ‘Botanical Garden’ is available why use this relatively unknown one? And remember it was a famous Englishman who said, ‘What’s in a name.’

We parked the car and walked to the main gate. You have to book your time slot. Authorities had Covid considerations in mind.

The beauty of the place strikes you immediately as you walk a few steps.

We go downhill and I found a bench placed in the open space. A perfect location for photographs. We did not miss it.

Then we found a small lake on one side and a small hill on the other. The hill had all colours – green, yellow, pink and red. The lake had reflection of the sky to make it blue.

Occasionally the sunlight would come in like a flash bulb of the old cameras and the entire scene would look different.

Then began a walk gradually going up the hill.

The ground was yellow and red. It was like Haldi-Kumkum.

They say Haldi is a symbol for the sun, purity and good luck. Kumkum’s red color denotes energy and power.

And finally, this photograph will remain etched in my memory for ever. Our autumn of our life is beautified by autumn colours.  

Happy Diwali

Vivek S Patwardhan

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”