A dog licked ice cream off a baby’s face. An older man and a young woman were jamming on guitar and banjo, and a few kids danced around them on the sidewalk. The aroma of sizzling veggies on the grill mingled …

On a hot tip from a friend, I brought one of my favorite pairs of jeans to India last year to be custom-embroidered by one of the local tailors. I chose the Tibetan knot design from one of the many they …

