Variety is supposed to be the spice of life…but it is both the blessing and bane of life in America. When you enter a supermarket, when you want a service, indeed, at every turn…you are faced with a myriad choice, every one clamouring for your attention and promising the world at your feet. And if it makes me feel good to have 33 different varieties of milk to choose from, I can’t help feeling that I am paying much more for the cost of the supermarket carrying all that inventory….

But being still used to limited choices in India (“Voh nahin milega” or “Athu sikkillaa”), I find the smazing variety in America staggering….goods made the world over and filling the shelves to bursting. Certainly it gives me the feeling of plenty.