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.

“Behold her , single in the sea,
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.