I just finished Karma Cola by Gita Mehta. It was recommended to me by my therapist, when we were discussing my current Indian fiction fetish. Written in the late seventies it is a collection of essays or musings on American and European hippies in India. Some of it quite funny and some quite sad – people being sucked in by corrupt Gurus and drugs. She can be quite condescending. It’s a quick read. I think that Gita Mehta is a very well respected writer but I tried reading her famous novel A River Sutra and I hated it. Something about the way it was written. It really bothered me but then I usually like art that is a bit rough around the edges.

We went to the Haight and Golden Gate Park today. The SF Opera was playing in Sharon Meadows. It's a great San Francisco event -- people of all ages and colors come out. It's really lovely. On the edges of the park and the Haight there are still burned out hippies. Made me think of Karma Cola. Are hippies eternal? They even kind of have them in Star Trek (I know you've been dying for me to make a Star Trek reference.)