On the way back to Delhi

On the Tuesday Continental flight from Newark to New Delhi, which clocked in at just over 13 hours from takeoff to touchdown, I sat in seat 23F. To my left, in 23E, sat a man in his late 30s or early 40s dressed in a blue-and-white striped button-down shirt and slacks. To his left, in 23D, sat his daughter, who was no more than 6.

About one hour after we took off, the man and I struck up a conversation. He and his daughter lived in Michigan, he said, where they had just bought a house valued at $500,000 for $300,000. "It is a great time to buy," he said, grinning widely. He went on to say that they were on their way to Andhra Pradesh, his home state, to attend the funeral of his father.

The man, who has lived in Michigan for the past six years, then asked how I was finding India. I gave him my stock response, which is that the summer had, for the most part, gone as expected, that the company accommodations had made for a fairly painless move and that I was looking forward to seeing more of the country -- particularly the south -- in the fall.

Then he decided to give me some tips to help me make the most of the rest of my stay.

"You know, one Muslim in India is worth 10 Hindus," he said. "They have the power. But they think... they think like animals. They do not act right. You have to watch out. They will try to take advantage of you."

I looked at him but didn't say anything. "It's like the blacks in the U.S.," he said, nudging me with his elbow as though we were in on a shared secret. "You know better than I do that you have to be careful around them."

I smiled at him briefly and then began rooting around in my backpack for my headphones.

"I am sorry to disturb you," he said 30 seconds later. "But I have to tell you: Don't go into Pakistan. They are like animals up there in Pakistan." I told him I had no plans to go into Pakistan. Then I put the headphones in, swallowed two Excedrin PM tablets and went to sleep, thinking as I drifted off that it would be easier to learn something from such exchanges if I didn't find them so offensive.