A stunning, brilliant book. It is utterly refreshing to read a book like this from an Indian perspective rather than the usual western point of view. And given that India is home to some of the oldest, visible elements of the planet - including right in Bangalore's Lalbagh park - it makes perfect sense. Lal's writing is delightful. He makes everything comprehensible for lay readers. often using fun pop cultural references to things like the film Sholay. Even more than that: he invites you into the weekend of natural history by writing as if it were also a travel narrative at times - complete with longitude and latitude markers for people who want to see what he's talking about in person. Accompanying all this fascinating text are gorgeous illustrations, many of which Lal did himself. It's a must read - for everyone, but I hope especially for every Indian child. I do hope it will be translated into all Indian languages soon!