Wine and Women

Narrating my Perugia experiences I wrote in a mail to a friend: "Wine is cheap in Italy." He replied: "It is frustrating to know that wine is CHEAP there." He's right; wine cannot be cheap in Italy since it has been given high value in this country.

Vino Bianco (White Wine) and Vino Rosso (Red Wine) are the two varieties one can enjoy here. Their price varies from 1 Euro to 10 Euros per litre (i don't know whether there are much costlier ones). But why do I write all this. Wine is popular not only in Italy but in the Middle East, a region much familiar to an Indian. There is nothing new in knowing that Italians drink wine. But as an Indian, and particularly as an ex-JNUite I cannot forget the experiences with my lady classmates (with women) here. The difference in my experience is striking. In Jawaharlal Nehru University there is an air of gender sensitivity prevalent all along the campus, which is alleged to be one of the achievements of student community there. It is an air of suspicion, of anxiety and of neurosis. But here, a university in Europe, I have never come across a gender sensitive neurotic. Women are not here to nail you down if you stare at them. There is nothing like good relation or bad relation, nor is there anything outside the realm of 'enjoyment'. Everyone wants everyone else, perhaps always in an absolute sense. I know if one tries to comprehend this situation sitting in my subcontinent everything will seem to be problematic. But I don't think Europe has an answer for it. At least if what I see here is a cross section of European life. Are women cheap in Italy?