Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, DC

Yesterday's adventure was at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. The Sackler and Freer (two attached museums) have extensive collections of Asian art.

In one of the first exhibits were a couple films of children shot in Afghanistan. One was of children selling bricks they retrieved from a ruin, the other children playing with a shot down fighter plane.

It was the fighter plane film that was fascinating and surreal. The bullet holes had exposed the plane's insulation. The children had stretched it out so it was like ropes attached to the plane.

Dozens of children holding dozens of ropes walked and ran and played around the plane, as if trying to control it. The film was shot sometimes normally, sometimes in slow motion, sometimes with sound, sometimes with none. The filmmaker (Lida Abdul) subtitled occasional thoughts, like poetry, at the bottom of the screen.

I shot through the Hindu and Buddhist statues fairly quickly. Although they were beautiful, I was a little short on time. The Chinese section was filled with everyday and ceremonial objects, everything from wardrobes to pots. I particularly liked the ceremonial wine casks, made in the shape of animals. I totally want one of those.

One of the more interesting items was a piece of cave art. It had two Bodhisattvas, one white and one black. We are always given the impression that humanity was separated until very recent history. I love when a historical artifact reminds us that there have been many diverse places in history, that some sort of ethnic isolation or (worse) purity never existed.

Finally, I reached the exhibit I really arrived for, Garden and Cosmos: the Royal Paintings of Jodhpur. Jodhpur is in Northwest India. It is a favorite stop on India's tourist trail. As you might have divined from the title, the paintings were often of gardens or of religious stories or philosophical messages.

They were as colorful as a million saris, with gold and silver details everywhere. The paintings were all about detail. They actually had magnifying glasses available. My favorite paintings, although not the most beautiful, were a series done of one particular raja (king). In every painting he was the only man surrounded by hundreds of scantily clad women. In one, he was bathing with them. In another, he was dancing with them (and feeling one up).

"It's good to be the king."