Top Spot for High Tea

This being rural India, the 9 a.m. bus to Top Station didn't leave until a quarter to 10. In that sweltering interim I had plenty of time to stare at the pane of glass that separated the driver from the passengers. It was adorned with a large, gaudy image of Jesus, and above the messiah's headjust where a halo ought to bewas a sign that read, disappointingly, "No Smoking." A pity. One garners plenty of saintly patience traveling on Indian buses; a few hard drags on a Marlboro Light would be even better.

The nanoscopic hamlet of Top...