Taj Mahal

The driver tossed our bags into the trunk of a white Ambassador cab and pressed his palms together. "Welcome to India, sir. Is this your wife?" "No, she's my mother." Mom giggled; neither of us was sure whether the driver's motivation was flattery or innocence. But it was an encouraging start to an adventure I had planned with anticipation and anxiety. Bringing my mother to India had seemed an inspired idea.

Don King, Mike Tyson's promoter, said that Donald Trump has "secured" Tyson's title defense against Evander Holyfield June 18 for his new Atlantic City hotel, the Taj Mahal.

DAVID MICHAEL BARRETT and his partner, Mark Peters, kept crossing paths with this group of Buddhist monastics in October when they were in Agra, India. "I was captivated by them being captivated by the Taj Mahal," said Barrett, a writer who lives in Silver Lake. So when they posed at the Agra Fort, with the Taj Mahal in the background, he snapped a shot of his own with his Canon PowerShot SD450 Digital Elph.

Bruce Springsteen's dip into folk music on his new "Seeger Sessions" album is only the latest indicator of the continuing relevance of the roots of American music. Taj Mahal has been spreading the word since the mid-1960s, when he formed the band the Rising Sons (which included guitarist Ry Cooder) and then embarked on a series of solo albums that have brought a distinctive slant to the blues. At Royce Hall, Mahal shares the bill with former Staple Singers lead vocalist Mavis Staples.

Talk about ostentatious waste of electricity; take a look at the Trinity Broadcasting Network (our local Taj Mahal) building in Costa Mesa. It is lit up with thousands of lights as if it was Christmas. What a terrible message our religious leaders are displaying during this period of electricity shortages. MELVIN J. BEITSCHER Newport Beach