Parting is such sweet sorrow, but coming back is a hoot. A few weeks ago I was in Java and Sumatra on one of those travel-writing assignments that make it worth getting up in the morning. It&rsquo;s been 25 years since I stepped on Indonesian soil, as regular readers of this column may recall-and by that I mean readers of this column when it last appeared on a weekly basis, which was 19 months ago. Given the pace of life these days, those readers will long since have grown up, gotten married, become disillusioned with their career choices, gotten divorced, had hip replacement surgery, and moved countries to get away from their poxy grandchildren.

Mitali Saran

Mitali Saran

Page 13 - Mitali Saran

Return of the native