Janalyn, I was travelling alone both times, the first time semi-independently (arrived there with a group I travelled with overland from Denmark and then we split up for several weeks, regrouping for the journey back). The second time I planned and travelled all by myself. I did take advantage of day tours offered by the state tourism bureaus in Jaipur and Mysore and saw some of the India that Indian tourists like to visit. On the second visit I had some Indian friends showing me around their home cities and that made a lot of difference. I think group tours are a good idea for India, especially if you have limited time. Although they tend to cost more, they save you both time and trouble. One of my colleagues recently went on a group tour to India and she did mention the crowds and dirt and poverty, but all in all she found it enjoyable. The group leader/guide made sure they weren't hassled too much and took good care of them. They covered the "Golden Triangle": Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, with Fatehpur Sikri and Varanasi, and also visited Nepal. That tour is a good introduction to northern India.

In case anyone was curious about my comment about a possible murder in a university library where I once worked... I only found out when I came back from a few days off that a student had been found unconscious between some stacks with a nasty wound on the back of his head. This was reported to the police and questions were asked as the deep blow appeared deliberate. Nothing was proven so the possible murder attempt was written off as an accident. I wondered if what had happened was the result of the student climbing onto one of the drum-stools which were old and had almost bare rubber footing. This could have slipped on the polished wood floor and the fall could have resulted in a bad crack to the head. ****************************************************************************************** On a lighter note, I ran a Community Library set up in a row of small shops and other businesses. One evening a woman strode in and asked me about a conference being held in the area. I knew nothing about it and couldn't answer her various questions. She sneered that for an Information Officer I had a poor knowledge of what was going on. This was my cue to reply with great dignity "That is because you are in the library! The Information Office is next door!" She had obviously missed the large sign on the window....also the stacks of books behind my desk which might have given her a clue!

I picked up an historical novel from my Retirement Village library with no return date as I am having to read slowly, still without my proper reading glasses. I have finally been able to get tested by an optician after a sudden Lockdown delayed my second eye operation and new ones are being made and on their way from Germany as soon as possible. I have to attend my youngest GD's wedding on Easter Saturday and would like the glasses by then. The book is "The Boleyn Inheritance" by Philippa Gregory. It is written by three Tudor women so is easy to put down between chapters. I seem to recall RP'ers being rather dismissive of this author on the grounds of accuracy, I think? She included a chapter about Anne of Cleves and her brother I thought distasteful and unnecessary! I nearly dumped the book then but kept going as the rest was quite interesting.

Carolyn, thanks for reminding me. On gothic covers, it is all about the house! Then there is the one lighted window -- it has to be a high window, at least on a top floor but preferably in a turret if there is one. The funniest cover I've ever seen shows the typical 'young thing' (this time clad in a costume that looked straight from Star Trek) fleeing from a house . . . no, wait! Is it a house or a rocket ship? There's an obligatory light high up in the nose cone if the rocket ship was standing upright. I'll never give a spoiler, however. Actually, I don't remember what the cover was meaning to convey. Speaking of cliched covers: In the 1950s and '60s, my father enjoyed hard-boiled detective books (e.g. Mickey Spillane and Erle Stanley Gardner) and thrillers, such as those by Ian Fleming. He kept them up on a high shelf in his closet. However, I had big eyes and readily observed the main tropes: usually a man with a gun -- always fully clothed -- and a scantily attired or naked woman with strategically placed bits to suggest her most alluring features. I asked my father why the men had clothes on but the women did not. My mother overheard this uncomfortable exchange and said that she had to smother her laughter over daddy's disconcerted explanation. To think, though, the same men who thought the covers of books aimed primarily at men existed with good reason, but bodice-ripper covers because they were aimed at women were abominations. Oh well! The double standard still exists, but it seems to be watered down nowadays.