Capricorn: India. If you like old things and cultures that stand the test of time, this subcontinents has it all, and has had it continuously for thousands of years. Ancient temples adorn the landscape, arising from steaming plains and clinging to Himalayan mountainsides. The temple incense you inhale today was burned before Buddha was born -- the ancient shrine walls are black with it -- and the sparkling marble of the Taj Mahal was relatively born yesterday in this enduring land. Despite its Saturn rulership, there's a lusher side, tiger-stalked rainforests dripping from the monsoon, and wave-licked, reefbound shores where sharks and pearls abound. But sit down to the table, and it's all at the tip of your tongue -- as long as you're ready for the riot of spices, flavors, and textures that mark one of the world's greatest cuisines. From a light kurma to a searing vindaloo, crispy papadums and crunchy pakora, on a bed of basmati rice, washed down (and you'll need it!) by woody, bracing India pale ale. Still up for sweets? Firni and jalobi, spiced with a whiff of saffron, seal the meal. And all the while, in the background, a feast for the ears -- the dizzying spirals of sitar music, driven by the boiling, staccatto rhythms of the tabla, beneath the drifting, sinuous songs of the romance of legendary lovers Rama and Sita. Who says Capricorn's dry?!
