India, March 22 -- Now that Holi is over, we must steel ourselves for the blazing summer months ahead (though no amount of planning can really prepare one).

Perhaps, as we wait, the memory of spring may sweeten the stifling months to come.

Spring in Delhi is fleeting but extraordinarily lovely (as it is across much of northern India). The winter chill gradually abates until, seemingly overnight, the city is ablaze with flowers. The sky is a bright blue, with a frisky breeze. Even the dreaded pollution takes a backseat.

The Hindi word for this season is basant or vasant. But I prefer the Urdu word bahaar, because it is such an evocative umbrella term. It means springtime, but also beauty, plenty, the prime of one's life, resurgence, hop...