Today’s London Times tell us to prepare for an Indian Summer, if we’re crossing the pond. A typical tourist trip to the British Museum will leave us transported to a different continent: India.

Welcome to Garden & Cosmos, the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur and India Landscape, Kew at the British Museum.

Inside the British Museum, we will find 54 of the royal paintings of Jodhpur, depicting a culture that for two centuries dominated courtly life. The huge, lavish paintings are on loan from the Mehrangarh Museum Trust, set up by Gaj Singh II, the current maharajah of Jodhpur and have never been seen in Europe.

There’s no doubt that this exhibit bears witness to the splendour of a bygone era. The collaboration with Kew Gardens is essential to recreating an Indian experience, one that will feature music, poetry and other events throughout the summer.

Regular readers know that I am passionate about TED, bring him here to Anne of Carversville whenever it seems appropriate. I do believe in the always-challenging relationship state called monogamy, and TED puts me to the true-test of what makes for real love.

Now the unthinkable has happened. TED has a rival: Academic Earth. I am positively swooning with delight and anticipation at spending time with Academic Earth, which delivers concepts and educational lectures that I could only dream of attending on my own.

I will be honest with you, dear friends. I’ve never been happy with the scope of my intellectual learning. Brains impress me so much, and I cut myself no slack in not developing mine fully. The world of PBS has enriched my mind palate immensely, and TED has moved it another notch or two. But now, I am entering a brave new world on Academic Earth.