The growth and decay of surface wind-waves during one-month period in a typical Indian summer monsoon is investigated based on the data collected at 9 to 15 m water depth at 4 locations in the nearshore waters of the eastern Arabian Sea covering a spatial distance of ~ 350 km. The significant wave height varied from 0.7 to 5.5 m during the data collection considered in the analysis. The heights of waves during the measurement period often exceed 3 m. The most extreme wave height is 1.50 to 1.62 times the significant wave height and the most extreme crest height of the wave is 1.23 to 1.35 times the significant wave height of the same 30-minutes record. The average ratio of crest height of the wave to the height of the same wave is 0.58 to 0.67. The height of waves having maximum crest height is smaller than the maximum wave height during 30 minutes period. Measured waves are predominantly swell, but since the majority of wave generation during the monsoon is adjacent to the study area and the wind–wave coupling is strong, wave periods are rarely above 15 s. The numerical wave model could estimate the wave height reasonably well during the wave growth compared to the wave decay period. Hovmöller diagrams show a considerable spatial variability in the wave and wind pattern in the Indian Ocean during the high wave event at the eastern Arabian Sea.