Okay enough with me complaining now and back to my experiences of the big apple. Like any tourist going there for the first time I asked my friend to show me Times Square, where all the digital images make you dizzy in no time. Sub-consciously part of the reason that I wanted to see Times Square could be that I wanted to see where all the Bollywood actors shot movies when in New York. And trust me I am not all that a Bollywood freak (the last time I saw a Bollywood film was easily more than 8 weeks back). So yes part of being Indian is that Bollywood influences you no matter at what level of fan hood you are at.
Okay now this is about New York and not Bollywood – sorry friends, so back to New York and Times Square. There are all kinds of digital images on buildings of all shapes and sizes. From a giant M & M turned into Godzilla climbing on top of the Empire State building to the sophisticated Discovery commercial on top of the building where the balloon drops on New Years Eve.
Going Downtown towards Ground Zero – that too atop a double decked bus, looking up the buildings can make you feel uncomfortable at first, specially if you are not used to sky rise buildings and closed spaces, one almost feels like the buildings will cave in to the street and you’ll have no where to run.
John and I reached Ground Zero, It was a massive construction site and on the wire fence were the names on all the people that have gone missing since that unfortunate day called “September 11th”. Vendors were trying to make money from visitors by playing on their emotions; they were selling all sorts of things from posters of the twin tower to inspirational material, etc. I was the one who hopped off our tour bus to see the site, but once I got there this deep depression caught hold of me and I had to take out my big ole’ shades to cover them and not embarrass my self. I started going through all the names of the missing people till I realized that they were all religions, and races. I could take it no more and I asked John if we could leave. It is as if I could hear the sounds of desperation of all the people trapped in the twin towers trying to escape and the passages on board the airlines that hit the towers, I could feel like there were hundreds of souls of the dead still at the site whose remains are lost forever. I could feel how the living relatives of the lost must feel every time they come to visit the site and question themselves, “why?”
Change of topic, sorry did not mean to depress anyone. Madame Tussades, that was the favorite part of my New York trip……………For some $30 I got to take pictures with the likes of Usher, Michael Jackson, Bill Clinton, Yasser Arafat, Will Smith, The Rock, Johnny Depp in his whole pirate getup, sing with Beyonce and many many more, but the real excitement was when John and I saw the wax statue of Gandhi ji. We both got somber and took very serious looking pictures, in posses that were respectful. It’s funny how your body language changes once you see someone who you respect a lot – even if it is a statue. Midway on the 3rd floor we realized that our cameras battery was DEAD. I know it was so frustrating and sad that I could not take pictures for Josh of SupermanL.
Can anyone guess why the Statue of Liberty is green? She is made of bronze and due to being exposed to chemical weathering and the salt in the air -- a process called “oxidation” has caused her to turn into the green complexion she now possesses. It was a great experience to visit the Lady with the torch who symbolizes liberty and freedom to the American people The seven spikes in her crown represent the seven seas of the world (Arctic, Antarctic, North and South Atlantic, North and South Pacific, and Indian) as well as the seven continents (Africa, North America, Europe, South America, Australia, Asia and Antarctica).
The 25 windows in the crown represent the natural minerals of the earth. The chains below her feet symbolize the broken shackles of slavery. Liberty's gaze is eastward, towards Europe, as Bartholdi considered that continent to be less enlightened by liberty than the United States. She holds a tablet in her left hand with the inscription: July IV MDCCLXXVI (4 July, 1776 - American Independence day).
At the end of the Ferry ride – which we had to wait 45 mins till the next Ferry to get back to the city from the Island, John was scared that the lil’ Indian boy who had turned green himself (no he was not mimicking the complexion of the statue of liberty) would throw up on us – so we waiting till his Mom helped him down to the exit.
Back on solid ground again, we witness this group of 3 African American guys who called themselves the
Shopping was great at Fashion Avenue, I believe it was 34th street, and John and I freaked out at this little hole in the wall Indian place called “Kati Roll” , out of the one week we were there we ate at Kati Roll 4 times.
Watch this space for more on my over all experience of New York.
