CHERISH

 Pawan Bhatia's Cherish is a wide-ranging celebration of autumn and other fleeting natural wonders. It begins with the science of leaf color: chlorophyll fades, carotenoids reveal yellows and oranges, and anthocyanins create reds and purples. The preface frames autumn as a season that teaches by subtraction; the yellows were always present, while reds are a last-minute farewell gift.The book then travels continent by continent. Asia covers Japan's momijigari, Korea's danpung, China's Mid-Autumn Festival, Kashmir's chinars and saffron, Himalayan harvests, Siberian larches, and Central Asian apple forests. Europe follows beech, larch, vineyards, truffles, chestnut festivals, Samhain, and Alpine cattle drives. North America moves through Canada's provinces and territories, then all fifty U.S. states, from New England maples to Southern cypress swamps, Rocky Mountain aspens, Pacific larches, Alaska's tundra, and Hawaii's Makahiki. South America, Africa, Oceania, and Antarctica each receive chapters, showing Patagonian beech, Cape vineyards, Tasmanian fagus, New Zealand poplars, and Antarctica's leafless autumn of light and ice.The book is organized in thirteen parts: leaf chemistry; regional tours; a cultural section on food, wildlife, painters, poets, and words for autumn; a planning section; and a final section on other spectacles. Original poems appear throughout, often tied to specific places and traditions—Japan's momiji, Korea's songpyeon, Kashmir's chinar, Georgia's qvevri, Canada's Group of Seven, Mexico's monarchs. The prose blends travel writing, natural history, food writing, and reflection.Following the Season offers practical tools: leaf-watching tips, classic walks, scenic drives, photography advice, climate change discussion, tree identification, foliage forecasts, itineraries, packing lists, and trip planners. Nature's Calling expands beyond autumn to auroras, cherry blossoms, tulips, wisteria, wildflower super blooms, blooming deserts, bioluminescent beaches, seas of clouds, snow and ice, great migrations, monarch butterflies, and eclipses. Ten long poems and a garland of short poems close the journey.Throughout, Cherish argues that impermanence makes beauty precious. Autumn teaches how to end well: gather what matters, release the rest beautifully, pay attention, travel gently, and cherish what is here before it vanishes. Its final lesson is simple: stand under a tree, watch one leaf fall, and let that be enough.