The electricity went out this evening at 8:45. No lights in the house and no street lights either. But I still wanted to go for my usual post-dinner walk. I put Moy Moy to bed, strapped on my glow-in-the-dark reflectors (a gift from my friend [...]

I am an ardent admirer of safety pins. I love the small ones especially, for their sweet look and elegant design, but these large diaper pins are amazing too. I have any number of clothes which would fall off me without safety pins. Mostly, this [...]

A funny thing. Life has been so busy lately (facebook, free cell, you know – important stuff) I’ve not been reading as much as usual.  But then Rachel arrived in town and I orchestrated my trips to Delhi to coincide with [...]

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about Generosity and How It Happens. I talked about the citizens of Delhi who seemed to have a more highly developed spirit of generosity than we do here in Dehradun. I’m afraid I have to withdraw that impression. [...]

Train travel is what you make it. In the old days, when we first came to India, one of the best parts of travelling was planning for the journey: the food we would prepare, the entertainment we would carry, the small comforts we would pack. In [...]

Many years ago, I studied to become a midwife. Most of the teachers were old hippies and their teaching style was predictably loose and relaxed. One, however, in addition to being a midwife, was also a nurse. She took pride in her fierce, rigid [...]

Either name is too exquisitely perfect for the breathtaking beauty of this flower. Have you seen one? It is a profound experience. It is also a commitment. Although we have had this plant in our garden for two years I saw it in bloom for the [...]