In a Nutshell: Thanksgiving with the Indians

Flights: amazingly well spent and pleasing. I used to not sleep in planes; now I can for a couple hours.

Movies and TV viewed en route: Quand J’étais Chanteur (The Singer) featuring Gérard Depardieu as an aged lounge singer opposite his young love interest. I watched bits of this repeatedly and finally admitted he is an endearing character.
The Page Turner (also French), a mean-spirited film of a young pianist who is disillusioned during a recital/judging and gives up the piano. She later comes into the life of a family (the pianist mother being the one who dissed her at the judging) as a nanny and ruins their lives through treachery. She turns composition pages for this woman at a piano performance, hence the title.
The Break-up with Jennifer A. and Vince V. I tired of their constant bickering but approved the performances of the art shop receptionist and Jennifer A’s “brother.”
Fifteen minutes of Pirates II. Did not enjoy this and thought I would have nightmares of the tentacles. Yick.
One whole episode of MacGyver and a bit of The Love Boat (Doc was jumping up and down on a mini tramp by the pool. All the men had on tiny shorts. Long shorts are a pleasing change).

Illegality: snapping two pictures inside the Taj Mahal. My guide hissed to quickly take a picture of the inlaid stones while he shone a flashlight on them. I obeyed but these images will not implicate me being that I needed a flash (had my bulky camera with me).

What a huge proponent of light packing wishes she had packed: a nail brush (I simply walked outside and my nails became filthy) and a heel pumice (my poor feet were clad in sandals most of the trip (and most of my life); would that I could have filed them).

What I wish I hadn’t brought: multiple long pants and long sleeved shirts. The weather for the most part was hot and humid, especially in the south (Hawaii like climate). Knee-length skirts would have been perfect. (I had brought one and bought one there. I also wore long shorts some of the time.)

Bookshelf (in order of attack): Climbing the Mango Trees by Madhur Jaffrey (recent Knopf bio with recipes of the cookbook writer and actress); The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (winner of 2006 Man Booker Prize); half of V.S. Naipaul’s India: A Wounded Civilization; half of A Princess Remembers: The Memoirs of the Maharani of Jaipur (purchased in Mumbai on a recommendation after I had visited the Rambaugh Palace, now a hotel, in Jaipur).

Animal Fair: elephants, camels, goats, cows, bulls, monkeys, cats, dogs, birds, two dead rats, one or more live rats.

Casualty: one black hair clip (see also claw) that is integral to my being. It was mercilessly crushed on the flight from Delhi to Cochi.

Loss: black yoga pants used for running around. I believe they must have been left in Jaipur, hung out to dry (literally).

Flavorings acquired: two packets of black peppercorns and 10 vanilla beans (gift of Nimmy Paul, cooking instructor). Two packets of whole cardamom and one packet each of nutmegs and fenugreek.

Spices I wish I had bought (what can I say . . . I was overwhelmed): chili powder, curry powder, and black mustard seeds.

Other purchases: textiles (Gandhi proclaimed the answer to India’s ills is the spinning wheel) and two pieces of cookware, one aluminum pot and one steel uruli, a flat bowl for stovetop (I will try to post an image) for a combined weight of about 4 kilos.

Brought home: a taste for marble.