Morning: DROPPING IN ON THE THANG-TA GIRL

Zette, my mother and I set out to look at the bridal dress Zette is acquiring for the Newark Museum. We drop in on Erin first. The earnest young men are all there, on time as usual. I don’t they are what people have in mind when they say “Manipur Time”. Whatever.

Erin is not half bad. I mean, she’s been at it for just a week. She does the swordfight routine with another girl. They use canes. We talk to Oja Debabrata. He promises to give her a set of four canes to take back to New York. He tells me about this young Army fellow who’s been at it much longer and has not made as much progress as Erin has.