To you with love.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Yay, The Delhi Walla found it. I have discovered the most romantic garden bench in the entire capital. It’s in Nehru Park, and it sits alone under a grove of jasmine trees.

This is a sprawling expanse of greens but the cluster of jasmine trees is easy to find. It is on the garden’s southern edge, the side that faces The Ashok hotel. Come in the evening when the entire corner is perfumed with jasmine fragrances. Looking at the trees is heady enough to start with: they are covered with hundreds of these white flowers. So is the ground, with fallen jasmines littered all over. During the first few minutes of my arrival, I tried my best to avoid stepping on the flowers, but finally gave up for there were too many of them.

Paradise is reached by sitting on the bench. While you’ll be reading poetry (for this place wants only poems, no prose), the jasmines will keep falling on your lap. Don’t leave until the evening sky darkens and the flowers begin to sparkle like stars. It is the perfect moment to be alone with yourself–or with the person closest to your heart.

A benchmark of serenity

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