18th - 20th July 2008
We are getting used to waking up at 5 and 6 AM to find a vibrant city doing its paces. Our first day at our New Jersey office, everyone was dressed in their best or the best they could gather. We started off as an army of some 50 odd desis dressed in our best walking down the roads of New York obviously making our presence felt as we discussed ways to reach New Jersey with everyone having collected a bit of info of how to get to office from various sources. As luck should have it, we had another army of local NAPAs headed the same way so there were no issues reaching home base. The rest of the day was an orientation to the company and I shalnt go too much into detail about that except we had four Shahs in a row by sheer coincidence. Poonam and Daniel from the London office, while me and Mayank were from the Bangalore office. The day went off really quick because I had fun company in the form of Raagini as we blabbered on and on about lot of stuff that I fail to recollect now. We did miss out on the funny dude that everyone was pretty impressed with. Post the orientation was a cocktail party that adventurous Patil, Shravani, Radha and me in quest to get beautiful pictures of the New York skyline missed out on as we pushed our luck and reached the highest floor in the building. The question still dogs me, with a view like this, how do people manage to work ? Having satisfied the photographer in us, we headed down for a session of group pictures with the entire batch. Once again confusion reigned as Radha and me were the only ones who made it to the ferry that would take us across to New York from New Jersey. The journey was short and breezy, and then we were officially lost as we searched for the closest subway that would take us home. One thing of prime importance, carry those free subway maps you get in most hotels, it has been a major lifeline for us. With the confidence that we can’t get lost, we finally found a green line subway having bypassed many building of federal importance. Today would be my turn at being tourist guide as Ruby, Patil, Raagini, Shravani, Sowmya and I (Selective Six) headed off to visit Times Square. Being in our backyard, Times Square is going to feature a number of times in this trip and its worth it every single time even if you don’t do anything but aimlessly loiter around there. NASDAQ, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers where the buildings we spotted this time and spent time in Hard Rock Cafe just chilling out to good music and testing their out rightly weird and different collection of sofas and armchairs. This was followed by a visit to the Virgin Megastore and its foray of mentionable and unmentionable items for sale. It was about 2 AM when we decided to head back and our decision gained more weight as we noticed a potential gang war right in front of our eyes as police swarmed in to stop an untowardly incident. The rest of the night was a scene out of “That 70s show” without the pot and the smoke as we shared stories of college and earlier. Also marked my first of the many night outs I would make in New York. The mantra was plain and simple: We didn’t have time to waste in NYC over sleep. Its 4 in the morning and we decided to head out for a morning walk along the riverside near First Avenue. Following this up was my first and last visit to the gym, which I realised, was a waste of time as we walked enough as a tourist to burn the unnecessary calories. On reaching back to the hotel, Ruby doo had planned a cycling trip in Central Park while Shravani was feeling ill and had decided to chuck the day. Highly disappointed that someone should go against the mantra, I decided to head out to a less strenuous sight seeing trip and headed out to United Nations which is just a block away from our hotel. The home of the organisation that I have always dreamt of working for right there, a stone throw away and a building I could see everyday morning when I got up. A wonderful experience indeed to be in it and though we couldn’t head into the General Assembly, I had checked off another bullet on my bucket list. We then decided to have dinner at Hotel Saravanaa, the branch of the famous Hotel Saravana Bhavan (HSB) – a brand name in Tamil Nadu. Exorbitant prices like its parent in India but the food is equally good. Located on Lexington 28th, it is surrounded by lot of Indian shops and restaurants and is the Little India of Midtown Manhattan. Meanwhile Ruby doo had managed to crash her cycle onto a tree at Central park and this would mark the start of her love affair with cycles and crashing. A pretty long day earning me the moniker of 24x7 enthu cutlet (PSG branded). Rise and shine on Sunday morning and as a major group we headed out to Fifth avenue en route to Central Park. Fifth Avenue has the whos who of brands lined up neat and bright with price tags that blow us off our feet. The famous Tiffanys & Co. , Prada, Gucci, Swarovski, Rolex, NBA, World of Disney, Benetton, Bulce Vuigi, and numerous other stores that I haven’t even heard of. Princess Jasmine had come down for a visit to Disney following Hannah Montana’s visit the weekend before that. Much to my chagrin, Jon Bon Jovi had been down to NYC for a free concert the day before I left for New York. Towards the lower end of this stretch close to Central Park is a glass cube with the trademark bitten apple. This marks the entrance to the famous Fifth Avenue store based in the basement filled with gadgets to play with to your satisfaction. The best part about this store is that its open 24 x7 so I’d suggest heading there late night or early morning where you can pretty much have the whole place to yourself rather than having to crowd over with other apple eyed customers. Also on this end is the hotel made famous by Macaulay Culkins in Home Alone 2, along with the pond near Central Park where he meets the bird lady. Our next stop was MoMA- Museum of Modern Art, which I enjoyed but would have probably appreciated more if I had a fine understanding of what those random strokes signified in most of the exhibits. Still standing strong with our adrenaline running, we decided to head over to Brooklyn bridge and walk over it and probably perform a “Kal Ho Na Ho” on the way. This is where we met an Afghani water seller who was really friendly with us and we started discussing the state of affairs in Afghanistan. He asked where Jagnoor was from. His answer Punjab was quickly interrupted with a “India wala ya Pakistan wala?” The same question popped up when i said Gujarat and then it struck us the commonalities in the states. Only if Kalyan had been with us, we’d have included Hyderabad in the loop. We refused his offer of free water and carried on our walk along Brookyln bridge. The bridge has a history behind it too. It was thought impossible to build this bridge but it was the sheer willpower of the architect and his son that the plan went through. The project was almost shelved when the father was bed ridden, but his son carried out his fathers commands and the bridge was finally completed. From Brooklyn bridge, you can also see the younger Manhattan bridge. Spiderman fans will be able to associate with this place along with Shah Rukh Khan fans. Probably Godzilla fans too but the point from where Godzilla enters New York City is down south, closer to my office near South Sea Port. On returning home, we finally decided that weekends would be for outside New York City while weekdays after training would be dedicated to New York City.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
New York Nagaram - Once upon a time...
16th July 2008 - 17th July 2008
Part I of New York Trip series
It’s pretty ironic that I finally start writing about this trip to New York on my flight back from New York. But then again this is the first time that I have managed to get some free time to myself in the past two months of whirlwind activity. Probably this will serve me as a trip down memory lane as one of the greatest trips 60 students fresh out of college could have ever had in their life. Throughout the trip, there have been lot of things that were hyped up and acted as a dampener, but the hype about this trip that has been created ever since I got my offer, well; it was worth it and probably more.
The Chennai trip to get our US visa would serve as the appetiser to this trip as we were pampered by corporate perks. But that was just the beginning and 16th July would serve as the actual launch pad for two months of a helluva ride. Time zone difference math works out real sweet when you are going across the globe towards west but equally insane when it’s towards the east as I spend my entire weekend in air!!!
The view from the flight provided a contrast of sceneries- the deserts of Oman to the lathered whites of the Alps, the lush vineyards of Italy to the massive void in the Atlantic Ocean. As we approached JFK airport, the Manhattan skyline trumpeted its presence from a distance and we were already in love with the Big Apple.
No movie can be perfect, so we had to have a bumpy ride at some point. Flight to Dubai had been delayed by one hour but then we got to see Winona Ryder though we still have our doubts since she was without make up. Similarly, on landing at JFK, a group of 30 freshers waited in the arrivals lounge with no one around to pick us up. There had been some miscommunication and there we were stuck figuring our way out. Coin phones obviously accept only coins and none of us had any. The guys being chivalrous went on a mission to exchange but were blatantly refused. The girls struck lucky faster. Shabana had it lucky finding a Bohri family and worked out well for all of us. After figuring out how to use a coin phone and whom to call, we had another hour of melo drama as we tried contacting our program coordinators here and in India while people figured alternative means of transportation. Long story short, we were finally on our way to our hotel – the Eastgate Towers.
Our driver, some chachera bhai of Schumacher zoomed through the sights and sounds of NYC that fell on our way throwing pointers at us on how to survive in New York city- the boroughs, the metro, Shea stadium, United Nations, Brookyln Bridge and many more.
We all were looking forward to the 25 storey skyscraper that we would call home for the next two months and boy were we in for a shock. Tall is a relative term for a forty storey building shared the street with us and boy, we looked like dwarves.
I knew NYC was a pretty liberal place with everyone being pretty fine and open with everything but we (Sahil and me) hadn’t expected to be asked to share a flat with Nupur and Aparna. Lol! The look on their faces beat our puzzled expressions when we first heard about it. The hotel had a complimentary gym and we made major plans to start our fitness regimen in a place where obesity is a topic of national importance and soon realised how futile our efforts would be.
Around eight pm was when Sahil and I had finally settled into our room. Each one of us had double beds and I think they were bought from the same place that makes jumping castles for kindergarten kids. After jumping on them to our hearts glee, the next thing I know is its 4 am and we had already skipped our first meal of the trip thanks to jet lag. Around 5 am, having bored ourselves of the limited options on television, we decided to make use of the fact that we were up early only to find out New York gets up earlier than us, or more like the city never sleeps. The midtown Manhattan is a city planner’s utopia so is it of a tourist. It’s easy to get confused but it’s tough to get lost. The rectangular grid system consisting of avenues and streets is so easy to follow especially since every street and avenue is clearly marked at every intersection, we had no issues finding our way around though we did end up taking wrong turns in the starting till we got our bearings right.
Back at around six am, we bump into Senthil who moves on to legendary status throughout the trip rivalled only by Chuck Norris who maintains his position over God but refuses to acknowledge it saying he’s out of the rat race. Senthil had already begun his long innings with firangi paani and it’s now I realise that I was supposed to take a picture of the entire collection of cans and bottles he would have had in two months.
The first thing anyone who is staying in New York for a day, a week or a month should do is go to the nearest metro station and buy those unlimited travel cards for the above mentioned time durations. We found our way to Grand Central – a motley group consisting of Ambre, Kalyan, Senthil, Nikhil, Sahil and me. The grandeur of the place adds weight to the name. Having bought our monthly passes, we decided to start off on our adventure and got onto the 4, 5, 6 lines also known as the green line. The station that caught our attention is the Mecca of the financial world- the one and only Wall Street. “Stand clear of the closing doors please” was the first automated P.A. s we heard and counts as one of the top five favourite lines of our New York trip. As we entered into Wall Street, numerous movies flashed by and we felt a part of the same tinsel town that we have awed about all these years. The New York Stock Exchange (Nay-see), Trinity Church, suited and booted men with that air of confidence and awesome and swanky cars (In Pursuit of Happyness). Here we are the place that has probably the largest concentration of money making aficionados. Probably this wasn’t the right time but it surely was the right place. As we walked down and saw the Wall Street bull glistening in the summer sun, I noticed bankers walking down and glancing at it, probably wondering when he would take charge of their markets and save the industry from one of its biggest lows since the great depression of 1929. As we continued our way to the Battery Park, we were finally introduced to the culture of street performers as couple of Afro American performers performed street dancing to a diverse audience and managed to keep us all entertained with their humour. “Never mess with a black guy, coz we can run faster than you, and ya, we got Nike shoes too”, “We are professional dancers and great at our job. Is that why we are still performing on the streets?” and other quotes that I faintly remember but managed to crack the audience up catching our pulse at the right moment.
This rehashed version of Solitary reaper (Sorry Wordsworth, I hope it is you) for that but the Statue of Liberty stared at us from a distance and our bucket list seemed to have managed to get the biggest catch on day 1 itself. We also caught a glimpse of New Jersey’s tallest building which also turns out to be Goldman Sachs property and the sun was playing wonders with it. While headed back, we overheard someone asking directions for Ground Zero which became our next destination. On reaching there, how do I take a picture and say I was there? A picture of a void in the New York skyline? A vast emptiness in the middle of downtown New York? Life seemed to have returned to normal around the place but our minds raced back to 2001 when we saw people rushing down these narrow lanes amongst clouds of dust and rubble, chocked by the fear of the unknown and the devastating losses of the known.
Another thing you soon realise about New York is the ease at which you can walk great distances without mentally feeling tired for the amount of energy around you acts as a positive influence. As we headed back, the third batch of Bangalore NAPAs had landed at hotel and they had enjoyed the same experience of having no one pick them up at the airport on arrival and we shared our déjà vu moment for the day.
Amongst all this adventure, there is something called appetite which the NYC cuisine easily satisfied for the non vegetarian palate. But the vegan struggle continued. Not risking adventure in this domain, I think I stuck to subway footlongs which are way tastier than what you get in India under the same franchise. The vegetables are delectable and the options of breads and sauces too go a long way.
Come nightfall and its time to make the first of our umpteenth visits to Times Square – the razzle and the dazzle. This trip also introduced us to the fact of how easy it is lose people in a crowd and we ended up as four groups by the time we got back to the hotel. Times Square is a photogenic place and the milling crowds mainly consist of tourists like you and me. The neon signs compete with the photo flashes and the stars up there have just given up. Random vickypedia fact: There was some ordinance that every building on Times Square should have a flashy display board. Planet Hollywood, Virgin Megastore, Toys R Us, M&Ms and numerous other stores make a bold presence along this stretch followed by Broadway theatres a few blocks away and the (in)famous gentlemen clubs. The Toys R Us has a 20 feet tall Ferris wheel within the store and yes, it works and can seat adults and children alike.
Part I of New York Trip series
It’s pretty ironic that I finally start writing about this trip to New York on my flight back from New York. But then again this is the first time that I have managed to get some free time to myself in the past two months of whirlwind activity. Probably this will serve me as a trip down memory lane as one of the greatest trips 60 students fresh out of college could have ever had in their life. Throughout the trip, there have been lot of things that were hyped up and acted as a dampener, but the hype about this trip that has been created ever since I got my offer, well; it was worth it and probably more.
The Chennai trip to get our US visa would serve as the appetiser to this trip as we were pampered by corporate perks. But that was just the beginning and 16th July would serve as the actual launch pad for two months of a helluva ride. Time zone difference math works out real sweet when you are going across the globe towards west but equally insane when it’s towards the east as I spend my entire weekend in air!!!
The view from the flight provided a contrast of sceneries- the deserts of Oman to the lathered whites of the Alps, the lush vineyards of Italy to the massive void in the Atlantic Ocean. As we approached JFK airport, the Manhattan skyline trumpeted its presence from a distance and we were already in love with the Big Apple.
No movie can be perfect, so we had to have a bumpy ride at some point. Flight to Dubai had been delayed by one hour but then we got to see Winona Ryder though we still have our doubts since she was without make up. Similarly, on landing at JFK, a group of 30 freshers waited in the arrivals lounge with no one around to pick us up. There had been some miscommunication and there we were stuck figuring our way out. Coin phones obviously accept only coins and none of us had any. The guys being chivalrous went on a mission to exchange but were blatantly refused. The girls struck lucky faster. Shabana had it lucky finding a Bohri family and worked out well for all of us. After figuring out how to use a coin phone and whom to call, we had another hour of melo drama as we tried contacting our program coordinators here and in India while people figured alternative means of transportation. Long story short, we were finally on our way to our hotel – the Eastgate Towers.
Our driver, some chachera bhai of Schumacher zoomed through the sights and sounds of NYC that fell on our way throwing pointers at us on how to survive in New York city- the boroughs, the metro, Shea stadium, United Nations, Brookyln Bridge and many more.
We all were looking forward to the 25 storey skyscraper that we would call home for the next two months and boy were we in for a shock. Tall is a relative term for a forty storey building shared the street with us and boy, we looked like dwarves.
I knew NYC was a pretty liberal place with everyone being pretty fine and open with everything but we (Sahil and me) hadn’t expected to be asked to share a flat with Nupur and Aparna. Lol! The look on their faces beat our puzzled expressions when we first heard about it. The hotel had a complimentary gym and we made major plans to start our fitness regimen in a place where obesity is a topic of national importance and soon realised how futile our efforts would be.
Around eight pm was when Sahil and I had finally settled into our room. Each one of us had double beds and I think they were bought from the same place that makes jumping castles for kindergarten kids. After jumping on them to our hearts glee, the next thing I know is its 4 am and we had already skipped our first meal of the trip thanks to jet lag. Around 5 am, having bored ourselves of the limited options on television, we decided to make use of the fact that we were up early only to find out New York gets up earlier than us, or more like the city never sleeps. The midtown Manhattan is a city planner’s utopia so is it of a tourist. It’s easy to get confused but it’s tough to get lost. The rectangular grid system consisting of avenues and streets is so easy to follow especially since every street and avenue is clearly marked at every intersection, we had no issues finding our way around though we did end up taking wrong turns in the starting till we got our bearings right.
Back at around six am, we bump into Senthil who moves on to legendary status throughout the trip rivalled only by Chuck Norris who maintains his position over God but refuses to acknowledge it saying he’s out of the rat race. Senthil had already begun his long innings with firangi paani and it’s now I realise that I was supposed to take a picture of the entire collection of cans and bottles he would have had in two months.
The first thing anyone who is staying in New York for a day, a week or a month should do is go to the nearest metro station and buy those unlimited travel cards for the above mentioned time durations. We found our way to Grand Central – a motley group consisting of Ambre, Kalyan, Senthil, Nikhil, Sahil and me. The grandeur of the place adds weight to the name. Having bought our monthly passes, we decided to start off on our adventure and got onto the 4, 5, 6 lines also known as the green line. The station that caught our attention is the Mecca of the financial world- the one and only Wall Street. “Stand clear of the closing doors please” was the first automated P.A. s we heard and counts as one of the top five favourite lines of our New York trip. As we entered into Wall Street, numerous movies flashed by and we felt a part of the same tinsel town that we have awed about all these years. The New York Stock Exchange (Nay-see), Trinity Church, suited and booted men with that air of confidence and awesome and swanky cars (In Pursuit of Happyness). Here we are the place that has probably the largest concentration of money making aficionados. Probably this wasn’t the right time but it surely was the right place. As we walked down and saw the Wall Street bull glistening in the summer sun, I noticed bankers walking down and glancing at it, probably wondering when he would take charge of their markets and save the industry from one of its biggest lows since the great depression of 1929. As we continued our way to the Battery Park, we were finally introduced to the culture of street performers as couple of Afro American performers performed street dancing to a diverse audience and managed to keep us all entertained with their humour. “Never mess with a black guy, coz we can run faster than you, and ya, we got Nike shoes too”, “We are professional dancers and great at our job. Is that why we are still performing on the streets?” and other quotes that I faintly remember but managed to crack the audience up catching our pulse at the right moment.
“Behold her , single in the sea,
Yon solitary downtown lass
Standing firm by herself
Stop here or gently pass.”
Yon solitary downtown lass
Standing firm by herself
Stop here or gently pass.”
This rehashed version of Solitary reaper (Sorry Wordsworth, I hope it is you) for that but the Statue of Liberty stared at us from a distance and our bucket list seemed to have managed to get the biggest catch on day 1 itself. We also caught a glimpse of New Jersey’s tallest building which also turns out to be Goldman Sachs property and the sun was playing wonders with it. While headed back, we overheard someone asking directions for Ground Zero which became our next destination. On reaching there, how do I take a picture and say I was there? A picture of a void in the New York skyline? A vast emptiness in the middle of downtown New York? Life seemed to have returned to normal around the place but our minds raced back to 2001 when we saw people rushing down these narrow lanes amongst clouds of dust and rubble, chocked by the fear of the unknown and the devastating losses of the known.
Another thing you soon realise about New York is the ease at which you can walk great distances without mentally feeling tired for the amount of energy around you acts as a positive influence. As we headed back, the third batch of Bangalore NAPAs had landed at hotel and they had enjoyed the same experience of having no one pick them up at the airport on arrival and we shared our déjà vu moment for the day.
Amongst all this adventure, there is something called appetite which the NYC cuisine easily satisfied for the non vegetarian palate. But the vegan struggle continued. Not risking adventure in this domain, I think I stuck to subway footlongs which are way tastier than what you get in India under the same franchise. The vegetables are delectable and the options of breads and sauces too go a long way.
Come nightfall and its time to make the first of our umpteenth visits to Times Square – the razzle and the dazzle. This trip also introduced us to the fact of how easy it is lose people in a crowd and we ended up as four groups by the time we got back to the hotel. Times Square is a photogenic place and the milling crowds mainly consist of tourists like you and me. The neon signs compete with the photo flashes and the stars up there have just given up. Random vickypedia fact: There was some ordinance that every building on Times Square should have a flashy display board. Planet Hollywood, Virgin Megastore, Toys R Us, M&Ms and numerous other stores make a bold presence along this stretch followed by Broadway theatres a few blocks away and the (in)famous gentlemen clubs. The Toys R Us has a 20 feet tall Ferris wheel within the store and yes, it works and can seat adults and children alike.
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