This morning I feasted on light. After a series of either cloudy or soggy or foggy skies, today the Sun rose in all its mighty splendor. As I entered my study in my exercise wear (chaddi-bra) I felt the rays caress my brown skin. It made sense to me, suddenly, why last summer I'd seen so many women at the public swimming pool taking off their bikini tops. The thought seemed so lavish - sunning one's body in the naked outdoors and letting the warmth seep into one's bones.

So much in contrast to back home, especially in Goa, where you are encouraged to cover yourself well to avoid getting tanned when you ride your scooty. I don't think I'll ever feel nostalgic about being told to cover my body in order to protect my skin from getting darker than it already was or to not go to the beach in the afternoon because there was too much sun. I do wish I had been better cautioned about wearing sunscreen. That was wisdom I had to acquire on my own, unlike all the shame that was, on the other hand, only too willingly passed down in the guise of unsolicited advice.