India, June 15 -- One by one, creeping out of cosmic crevices, the stars appear out of nowhere to chandelier our night. Just as the meadows and moors of the mountains are all starred over by tiny flowers in a trice of spring's sun rays. Blood-deep corn poppies love churned up soil. These iconic flowers had sprung virtually overnight from the torn asunder battlefields of Europe in World Wars I and II. The instant poppies had inspired the in situ poem, 'In Flanders Field', and the Polish war song, 'Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'.

I was in the foothills of Siswan, stealing in by twilight to watch fireflies by a minor check-dam. As the moon deepened ray by silver ray, one by one the jugnoos came to flicker on bushes as if an invisible hand ha...