April 2009 On this trip to Mullumbimby I received a present that must surely be unique to Australia: a pair of flip-flops with a bottle opener built into the sole, to ensure that when you settle down onto the beach you'll be able to open all the stubbies that you packed on ice in your eskie.

While in Australia I was pleased to learn of the publication (on April 5) of my first-ever article in the venerable Times of India (Sunday supplement), entitled "Duty, Destiny, Dharma ...", and I read When Memory Dies (by A. Sivanandan), a long and sobering book about the beginning of the civil war in Sri Lanka as told from the Tamil side. As I traveled to Oz I finished Small Gods, and shortly after departing thence I had completed Witches Abroad, both part of the Discworld series created by the prolifically hilarious Terry Pratchett. Discworld is (as its name suggests) a improbably flat planet, being transported through the universe toward the Goal on the backs of four gigantic elephants who stand atop the Great A'Tuin, the Cosmic Turtle.

If you are not yet familiar with Mr. Pratchett?s work, you could well introduce yourself to him via his trilogy Truckers, Diggers, and Wings, but let me suggest that you begin with The Wee Free Men, the first of three books (Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith being the other two) that star Tiffany Aching, apprentice witch, who is assisted in her work by a jolly gang of six-inch-tall blue pixies who specialize in stealing, brawling, and drinking (hence the title of the series opener). Sadly, Mr. Pratchett has announced that he suffers from the first stages of early-onset Alzheimer's, which means he may not be with us (at least in form capable of novel-writing) for much longer.

It's enough to make you want to spit the dummy.

January, February, March 2009 2009 being already well begun, the events of its first three months must needs be condensed into one blog entry, the better to make way for April. Here goes:

In Oxford, overnighting between North America and India with Robert and Gill, I discover Gill?s new video of the Dalai Lama: http://www.amazon.co.uk/His-Holiness-Dalai-Lama-Compassion

In Bombay, one month after the terrorist attack (a significant percentage of whose victims were Muslims), the mood was generally upbeat; in a conurbation that has weathered numerous previous acts of violence (including most notably the March 1993 explosion of fifteen powerful bombs, leading some wags to rename the city Bomb-ay), the chief lasting effect of the latest outrage seems mainly to have been making the entering of the Taj Mahal Hotel more time-consuming, and the reinforcing of the general hope among Bombay?s citizenry that the United States has now realized more fully the ominous implications of its decades-long ongoing indiscriminate support for the nuclear-armed, near-failed-state of Pakistan.

In Kerala, my annual Ayurvedic oiling, followed by an event with Zhander and Emma at Chrissie?s (http://www.chrissies.in/); if you?d like to enjoy Chrisie?s hospitality do so promptly, as Chrissie & husband Adil are planning to move to Egypt, Adil?s native land (and if you ever had the notion to own a hostelry in India now is your chance, as Chrissie?s is up for sale). I reached Kumily (where Chrissie?s is located) before my sister, and our friends Mollie & Bob, who currently reside in New Delhi, arrived there from our initial rendezvous in Fort Cochin; and I remained there after they departed for Coorg. When I did depart it was with Dr. Scott Blossom, for Coimbatore, and Vaidyagráma, a project of the indefatigable Dr. Ramkumar (http://punarnava-ayurveda.com/centers). Among the ways in which Vaidyagráma (nearly ready for occupancy) is innovative include its use of rammed earth as a building material, its small power-generating windmill and solar street lighting, and its horticulture based on the work of Masanobu Fukuoka (see The One-Straw Revolution).

In Benaras, I met again with my sister, and Mollie & Bob, and Dr. Scott and our friend Jessie Jo, and Mrs. Punshi from Bombay; we did all the things one does in Benaras. Probably the most striking event among the many events which struck us was the musical revue presented by 140 students of Mrs. Connie Rao?s Asha Deep Vidyashram (http://asha-deep.com/default.aspx), on Assi Ghat. Scheduled for 4pm, the program did not of course begin before 6, but once begun it was enjoyed by one and all, by me while I shuttled between the ghat and the nearby Harmony Book House to enjoy tea & conversation with Navneet Raman (www.kritigallery.com).

In New Delhi I was hosted by Adam Grotsky, Executive Director of the Fulbright program in India (www.fulbright-india.org), and his wife Olga; in addition to the delicious food and witty conversation they served me, in an assortment of cuisines and languages, the couple also gifted me two passes to attend the excellent concert featuring Zakir Hussein, Herbie Hancock, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and several other multiple Grammy winners in honor of the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King?s visit to India.

In Uttar Kashi I was finally able to meet the proprietor of the popular Monal Guest House (ph 01374-222270, 09412984183), and celebrated Mahasivaratri quietly on the banks of the Ganga.

Then back to Bom, and a rendezvous with Dinesh Parakh at an excellent concert by his sitar teacher Irshad Khan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irshad_Khan), before departing for a month in Europe.

In London I met Dr. Claudia Welch, and we commenced there an extensive speaking tour, which we spiced (while in London) with the thought-provoking Babylon exhibit at the British Museum, and the amazing puppetry of The War Horse at the National Theatre.

In Belgium, we enjoyed between lectures the striking medieval city of Ghent; in Amsterdam, the canals, and the welcome availability of all manner of organic products (in particular, a most toothsome ale).

In Prague: the city?s hundred towers, the astronomical clock, The Charles Bridge and the view from the Hrad, the food at Lekha Hlava (http://www.lehkahlava.cz/), the beer, and most especially our excursion to Kutná Hora to Kostnice, the bone church (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedlec_Ossuary).

In Budapest, coffee and pastries at Kovacs, the award-winning lobby of the Gresham Palace, the image of the crucified Christ in St. Stephens Basilica, and Café Kor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review); in Austria, our geological walk and alchemical talk (AlchemiaNova (http://www.alchemianova.com/); in Germany, an evening at the local spa.

Through it all my companion was Flat Stanley, that intrepid traveler who though flattened gets around (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley). In fact, by the end of that month I had started to feel a bit like Flat Stanley myself.

I?m writing this in the Australian rain forest, the rain falling gently but persistently; interrupting my typing every couple of minutes to dab up the blood that is gently but persistently welling up from a leech bite to my left index finger. This particular exsanguinator slipped unnoticed under that finger?s conch ring, and dropped off again before being seen or felt, my first tip-off to her presence coming when I happened to look down to find the ring?s customary whiteness obscured by tell-tale red streaks. More on Oz in next month?s installment ?

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