Phew—finally recovering from a dreadful bout of the “welcome back to India G-I tract of doom” meltdown. Thank God for allopathic drugs.

It’s sundown in Delhi on the day of Holi, the spring color festival—actually, a good day to be hunkered down inside away from the “freed from the fetters of decorum” crowds. The only Holi I’ve really enjoyed has been either a very friendly family-style Holi in Rajasthan or the true temple Holi I’ve enjoyed a couple times with Shyamdas out in the Krishna temple towns in and near Nathdwara in deep Rajasthan. But my experience is that the mix of too much alcohol with the special kind of permissiveness that Holi allows can degenerate rapidly into a toxic and sometimes dangerous brew—best avoided as a rule.