If there's one thing India has more of than gods, it's travelers advisories. From intestinal parasites to devastating earthquakes, the subcontinent might as well be roped off with a yellow "Police Line: Do Not Cross" tape.

Last month, a three-day stretch of bad luck brought India a building collapse (50 dead), a refinery fire (death toll 35+) and a train wreck (80 killed in an accident blamed on "30 feet of missing rail"). Even mishaps that would seem manageable become mind-bogglingly fatal when flavored with curry (if that 1993 earthquake had hit the US - whose building codes are the envy of the world - it would likely have killed dozens rather than tens of thousands).

Futurists might argue from India's Himalayan misfortunes that the US technocracy must continue to set the standard for the developing world. Believers in divine justice might conclude that there is only one God, and He's no cow. We prefer to draw the simplest lesson of all - when a subcontinent offers innumerable reasons to stay away, stay away!