At 11:57 AM 2003-08-19 +1200, I wrote {at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LessIsMore/message/11305 after signing-in} :- At 04:32 PM 2003-08-17 +0530, Nandita wrote: Hi! Thank you Jill, for your reply. I paint (a little, should do more) and do collages. Regards, Nandita · Thanks for reminding us, Nandita. Earlier: At 03:36 PM 2003-08-06 +0530, Nandita wrote {in: "A longer intro and about Indus Valley Civilization", at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LessIsMore/message/11185 } :- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hello Friends! ... Also, I changed my ISP and getting online again took much longer than expected. ... I am ...[c]urrently working as the editor of a children's magazine. I love my work, but I love many many things besides; and since work is very seductive, I have been refusing to work fulltime. Currently I work 30 hours a week and planning to cut back to 24... My mother was a professor of Hindi Literature, my father taught Indian History and Culture, World Religions, Gandhian Philosophy AND Ecology. Both are retired now, and living with me. I am single, and love it. I am very concerned about the rise of the right- wing politics in my country and especially in my state (I think you all know about horrifying communal riots [in Gujarat] of last year) and about the erosion of Gandhian ideals. David, I live not in Ahmedabad; but in Bhavnagar, a small city on the coast of the Gulf of Cambay (Khambhat) opening into the Arabian Sea. Grew up on a rural college campus (with a fantastic library), and moved to Bhavnagar only after my parents' retirement a few years ago. There is nothing very interesting about Bhavnagar at present, although the same cannot be said about its history. ... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - · I apologise, Nandita; I had intended to respond to your 6 August letter but forgot to re-set it as "unopened" after my first quick check (as I do when I want to look again at an e-mail). · I applaud your "30 hours a week and planning to cut back to 24". As I commented in my "lots of bits: David's life" LIM post {after signing-in, at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LessIsMore/message/11261 }, I've often said: we "need to drastically reduce both our consumption and what we do! Doing too much (while there are too many people) should be reduced, since this is the origin of most of our excess consumption." We: the rich world. · Having a smaller-than-you-could-get income must require cost reduction. · Conversely, you being a magazine editor, and the rest of your family having created for themselves lives in education and academe ("Hindi Literature, ... Indian History and Culture, World Religions, Gandhian Philosophy AND Ecology"), is all eminently sustainable. · I suspect you, taking to yourself one third of the cost of the three of you maintaining your existence, are living sustainably right now. Remarkable! · "I am single, and love it." Bravo! My three children (26, 30 and 31) are also single; I suspect they _may_ marry (or equivalent) but at least one may choose not to. Perhaps all three; and that'd be fine with me. Having a bunch of good friends, even in a somewhat distant city, can be enough when parents die; my daughter has been talking to us about what her home-base is likely to be after we two die, in the last day or two. · And getting married as Molly and her husband have, with _no_ children, is a really _good_ thing to do. While my three are excellent "future people", getting them there has been 15 years of work that nearly drove me mad; I wouldn't do it again if I had my life over. (That's largely a consequence of my introvert nature: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LessIsMore/message/7668 ) · "I live ... in Bhavnagar, a small city on the coast of the Gulf of Cambay" Here are snippets from our Lonely Planet guide to India: {starting on page 428: } * Lothal was the site of a Harrappan or Indus Valley Civilisation city over 4000 years ago. ... it is thought Lothal may have survived the great cities of the Sind by as much as 500 years. * Gujarat also played host to the great Buddhist Emperor Ashoka ... one of his rock edicts is near Junagadh. * Later Gujarat was to suffer Muslim incursions ... on through the Moghuls * [under the Moghuls] Surat {across from Bhavnagar} soon became a wealthy city and in 1612 the British established a trading factory there. ... In 1759 [when] Moghul power was long past its prime, the British virtually took full control ... {page 447: } - Bhavnagar: pop. 250,000 - * Founded as a port in 1723, Bhavnagar is still an important trading post for the cotton goods manufactured in Gujarat. The Gandhi Smitri is a library, small museum, gallery, and memorial to the founder of India. * Places to Stay: ... The “Natraj Guest House”, Nirmalnagar, Diamond Market, is a 10-minute walk from the bus station and has rooms for Rs20 and a dorm. It's a good place although it doesn't (or didn't) have a sign, but everyone knows the diamond market, and once there, it's easy. Yes there really are lots of little shops that sell diamonds. Why in Bhavnagar? -{no answer}- · I encourage _all_ Americans to do at least what Molly did, and get out of the USA (even for a few weeks), and see what the real world is like. David.