Holi

Our office was closed on Wednesday for the Hindu festival Holi. I joined in the festivities at a friend's flat. It was a great day-definitely different than anything I've experienced before. Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment.



The day concluded with a three on three game of soccer on the roof of a 9 story building. I'm happy to say the ball only went over the side once.

We have visitors!

Andrea's parents are visiting, and we just got back from Udaipur, in the state of Rajasthan. Here are some teaser photos from our weekend at the old (pre-colonial) guest palace.

Galloping gaily astride the unruly horse of youth...

Some of the case law that I read feels like relatively generic criminal litigation. Sometimes, I am that I'm in a different world. In a 1991 decision by the High Court of the Indian state of Orissa, the judge berated the parents of a high school girl murdered by her tutor-turned-lover:

The accused may be legally responsible for the heinous and blood-curdling crime. We find that the parents allowed the relationship to blossom...
The family members of the deceased unmindful of the consequences allowed the deceased and the accused to have unguarded togetherness. They had time to soar high in the flights of fancy. ... An imaginative young mind was galloping gaily astride the unruly horse of youth. The consequences were expected, and it is not unnatural that there was emotional upheaval when the insolent parents suddenly woke up from their stupor, and tried to keep the deceased away from the company of the accused. Morally and ethically, therefore, the members of the family are as much responsible for the tragedy as the accused. ....We hope that this case shall be an eye- opener to the insolent parents and families, who in the name of modernity of society, shut their eyes to the realities and consequences.... As stated before, a bright young life has been lost, and the merits and talents of another young person are likely to be wasted. (Ashok Kumar Barik v. Orissa, 1992 Cri. L.J. 1849)

Let that be a lesson to you, insolent parents! How dare you hire a tutor for your merit scholar daughter. The decision goes on to quote an issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette from 1775, the Bible, several classical poets, and a variety of other sources decrying the decay of society.

Who cares what the girl's parents did--this kid hacked/stabbed a high school girl to death because she wouldn't talk to him!! I'm not sure whether it was hacking or stabbing because I don't know the English translation for "Bujili"--the weapon. I must remind myself that judges, lawyers, criminals are not necessarily great measures of a society. Maybe I'm failing to read between the lines and there is some other issue at work that isn't plainly obvious...

On a lighter note, I/we've taken the train down to central/south Mumbai several times in the past few weeks. It was great to get out of the suburban traffic and smog. Andrea and I walked the boardwalk at Chowpatty Beach, found some fun shops, and walked a few miles.