Erotic Rain: Apr. 1st April Fool’s Day! Mother nature is definitely playing a trick on us. Today we are going on holiday. But as a send off we got rain! The first rain since September. After a few weeks of 105¡+ weather we have rain. Blessed, cooling, refreshing rain. I think I am beginning to understand why monsoon poetry is so erotic and ecstatic in its nature. India Abroad: Apr. 11th Back from a week long vacation to la belle Italia. After experiencing Indian and American cultures, Italy seems just right — enough anarchy to be flexible and convenient, but enough civility and gentility to be pleasant. In Bombay airport we saw a German couple, about 50 years old; they were well off, well dressed and well preserved. She sported a lemon-colored leather suit designed to show off her legs, thighs, rear, and cleavage. As she entered the hall, every Indian head turned and stared in disbelief. Imagine the average person entering a temple in India. They have to remove their shoes (leather); maybe a belt (leather); possibly a wallet/purse or watch (leather). Now imagine this woman totally dressed in leather...Sue and I were agog. Everyone was staring at this curious species of human. All we heard about while in Italy was about "mad-cow disease". The politicians haven’t missed an angle on this issue, and neither has the press. Anthropologically speaking, the most interesting news item was about different countries’ responses to Britain’s decision to slaughter the 12 million or so old cows that could be possibly infected. France immediately banned all British beef, including leather, and articles made from leather. On the other hand, India, which has approximately 300 million cows (1 for every 3 people), offered religious asylum to the British bessies. Sadly, Cambodia asked that the cattle be exported for use in clearing land mines. Life goes on back in India. Jude fixed up the various dents in our car. At home this would cost about $800. Here it cost 1,050 rupees (about $35). "I took it to my cousin" was Jude’s proud reply on our commenting on the excellent quality of work. On the home front, our mango tree is now sporting 5"-6" green mangoes. We can hardly wait till June! At work, the engineers are all excited about their first trip to the US. Srinivas, Sneha, and Siddarth are all going together. Sneha and Srinivas plan to visit Niagara Falls on the way back. Tongue-in-cheek, I acted surprised and told Srinivas that Niagara Falls was a favorite place for honeymooners, and was there something he wasn’t telling me. He was surprised, and said no, he wasn’t interested in honeymooning with Sneha.