At the launch of the Khushwant Singh's Delhi through the Seasons, the illustrator of the book Suddhasattwa Basu reminisces the time when he illustrated the book for the first time and how it took him five years to re-work on this version. By Riya Sharma

How did the illustration of this book happen for youIJ

First time I illustrated the same text was twenty-five years ago. The book was titled Nature Watch. Back then I was a raw talent. The publishing industry was in its infancy. Our printing technology was primitive. Then publishers were hesitant to enter any ambitious project. Nature Watch was published partly colour partly black and white. Even then the book was received well. After some years the publisher brought out a cheap paper back edition. That was the beginning of my sufferings. More I looked at the butchered book more I got convinced that this text deserved much better treatment. Around 2008, I expressed my willingness to re-work on the book.  I starting working on Delhi through the Seasons in the year 2010. As Khushwant Singh and Mala agreed, it took me five long years to complete the book.

nWas it difficult to illustrate a book by Khushwant SinghIJ

Not at all. In fact Khushwant Singh is an illustrators’ delight. His narrative is so full of imageries, it automatically lends to illustrator’s visual narrative. However, in this case my purpose was to do faithful representation of the flora and fauna that are mentioned in the text. Some elements like a tiny Qutub Minar at the bottom of the page, or discarded puja materials lying around a Peepul tree are added to bring the ambiance of the city.

While you were illustrating his book, did you get to meet him for his inputsIJ Was there any specific way in which he wanted the final resultIJ

The last time I interacted with him was the time I was working on Nature Watch. This time I could not see him. He liked the pages that he saw at the beginning. He was never demanding and always full of appreciation.

What did you keep in mind while illustratingDelhi through the seasonsIJ

I deliberately avoided the recent urbanisation of Delhi and maintained the essence of Khushwant Singh’s unadulterated love for nature. Interestingly he who was always critical of humans, never out of reverence for nature. At one point he expresses his disagreement with none other than Guru Nanak dev ji for  the latter’s comparison of the Silk cotton tree with something huge but useless.

The book represents different seasons of Delhi, what were the other details that you worked on while illustrating the bookIJ

This text is a proof of Khushwant Singh ’s holistic understanding of (Delhi) nature. He finds reflection of nature every where, from religions to rituals, from Sanskrit poems to English prose, from Urdu couplets to the dusty history. I merely kept the sole alive. His sole was a sole of a country folk. Any one who knew him would vouch for this.