Tso Moriri, Ladakh

Tso Moriri, Ladakh

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

An Evening in Paris ... er New York

As I leave for Chicago tomorrow afternoon, I know I will have a really good time. However, I'm also aware that I will not have the kind of experiences that are unique to New York City. So before I forget the little events of this evening, I want to create one more posting.

I’ve been craving an aalu anda (potatoes and egg) kati roll since last night, when I was too tired to walk to 46th and 6th, about a 10 minute hike from my apartment. Since I still hadn't lost the craving, I decided that I must have it for dinner tonight. Except that when I got to the vendor he was making the last of the two rolls from the ‘wraps’ that he had left. I was in half a mind to try and talk the white boy who was waiting for them to be ready, out of eating at least one. But that would have been too crazy.

After much pondering I reluctantly decided to get a biryani. Just then another Indian dude showed up. I asked him if he was looking for kati rolls, which he said he was. “They’re all out,” I said making a sad face. I don’t know if he was making fun of me but he also made a sad face in return.

The biryani was enough to feed three people of my size and I felt bad that it would go to waste since I would be leaving before lunch the next day and wouldn’t be back for a week. It was an extremely humid night. I began walking three blocks to get to the fountains where it would be cooler and more conducive to making my dinner more enjoyable. As I began eating, a normal looking, decently dressed young man came up to me and asked if I could spare a dollar. I asked him what he needed it for and he responded that he was hungry. He spoke very broken English and from his accent it seemed like he was from Russia. Probably living illegally in the city and not able to find a job.

A dollar wasn't going to do him much good so I told him that I’d be happy to share my dinner, the prospect of which seemed to genuinely please him. I motioned for him to sit down while I finished about a third of the rice. I was really glad that the food I had just bought wasn’t going to go to waste and what better use could I have for it than to feed a hungry person. There was an extra fork and napkins and as I handed over the container to him, he gave me a smile of appreciation and a thank you in return. Someone had for sure heard my concern about waste.

It was just 9 pm. I decided not to return to the apartment right away and walk around for a while, soaking out some of the humidity!

I’m convinced that I have ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ written all over my face. While I was whiling away my time two individuals came and asked me for directions and a couple on 54th street wanted me to take their picture. I could seriously make a fortune if I charged a buck for each time I gave directions and took pictures of tourists. I’m really not complaining. On the contrary it actually makes me feel good because I figure that I must look like I belong here.

Finally when I was two blocks away from 'home', I saw the same Indian kati roll customer coming towards me. We waved at each other as I marveled at the chances of crossing paths with the same person among hundreds and hundreds on the streets that I had just been walking.

Time for me to take a shower and prepare to go to bed at a reasonable hour. The rhyming there was completely unintentional!. Tomorrow is another day and I have a flight to catch. Chicago, here I come!

The Week that Was

It’s been one helluva week. I have very little idea as to where it went. As I begin to write this on Sunday night, I will try and recollect snippets from it.

Two nights of extreme drinking and staying out late. I actually hadn’t partied hard until this weekend. Wasted today in recovery. Feeling like I will never drink again.

Brain too fuzzy still. Will continue writing on Monday.

Watched the first hour of the three part mini series of ‘Bollywood Hero’ on IFC. In a word, it sucked. Besides it having every cliché in the book, what made it even more unbearable was the poor acting, bad direction, an awful script and inane dialogues. It had not one redeeming factor. And guys nobody wants to see the slum-ridden streets of Mumbai anymore. I already mentioned that it sucked, didn’t I?

I ate one of the best sandwiches of my life. The bread was a rustic baguette filled with delicious hummus, crunchy cucumbers, fresh lettuce and basil, romaine tomatoes and zesty peppers. It looked really big and I thought that I would only be able to get through half of it. Ended up eating the whole thing. Oh, and the best part – it was from an organic bakery.

I was waiting for a friend outside the theater that’s playing ‘In the Heights’ on Broadway. A random person came up to me and asked me if I was in the show. I didn’t blink and said yes. She said that she noticed me even though I was in the chorus. I commented that she was very observant. She replied that she had a really good seat. I said niiicccce. She said I was very good. I said thanks. Her seat obviously wasn't that good, I thought to myself.

I went to an Improv theater performance one evening. It was interesting. But I was extremely distracted by this girl with fiercely hairy arms in the cast.

Attended a 2 evening event called Beyond Bollywood and Broadway where snippets from several plays authored by South Asians were read/performed and then discussed. Very enjoyable. Met some interesting people. And some uninteresting people. Even got interviewed by a journalist of the Mumbai Mirror who was covering the event and who politely corrected me when I said ‘Bombay’.

It was pretty much dry all week. I didn’t need to use my umbrella.

Spotted Regis of ‘The Regis and Kelly Show’ and ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ getting into a cab on 67th street. If you’re not in the touristy part of the city, no one even notices minor celebrities.

Went to New Jersey (gasp) one evening and ate chaat, pav bhaji and channa bhatura. And lots of sweets. It was like being in the mother country. Gave me my India fix.

Walked an average of 5 miles every day except Sunday when I could only manage 3 (yeah, yeah it was the hangover). Making sure I stay in shape. Since I wont be doing any of that during my week in Chicago, I’ll just have to give up eating.

Sunday evening at Strawberry Fields, Central Park - no sign of the band that played songs of the Beatles, the Imagine circle for John Lennon was bare and undecorated (refer http://fightstereotypes.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html). Whatever happened in the past year? It was a little depressing. I left in a few minutes.

I can hardly believe that I’ve been in New York for almost 4 weeks. The sad part could be that I have barely a little over a week left in the city since I’m gone to Chicago for a few days. However, I’ve decided that sadness has no place in this trip and I will leave here with a smile on my face. There are still so many things that I need to get done before this year is over with and so all I want to do is to look forward.

The week that will be?