Shashwat DC, on his visit to New York, was completely bowled over by the
sheer scale and size of the buildings, the flyovers, the Wal-Marts and the
airport
As my plane landed on a chilly January dawn at Newark International Airport,
the first thing that came to my mind was the sheer scale of the complex. I could
see from the air itself, that the place was mammoth. And once I disembarked, my
doubts turned into reality; there were some hundred odd terminals and more.
Newark Airport is some 20 odd miles from New York, in the neighboring state of
New Jersey. It took some 30 min drive to reach my hotel on 50th street, the New
York Palace Hotel. Right next door to the hotel was the St Patrick Cathedral
that seemed to be inspired from maestro Antoni Gaudi's famous Sagrada Familia
Church in Barcelona. And so was the famous Rockerfeller Center, some meters
away.
Mapping Manhattan
In many ways, walking in between those sky-reaching towers gives you a sense
of deja vu. Have we not seen this somewhere is a constant hum that keeps
reverberating through the conscious mind and there are valid reasons for it. New
York City (I will henceforth use the rather stylish acronym NYC) has been
captured on celluloid innumerable times. So when Spiderman is shown slinging his
way through the rather narrow streets of Downtown, or how Robert Neville (Will
Smith) in I am Legend, finds out in the empty streets of Manhattan that he isn't
actually the last man standing, or even John McClane (Bruce Willis) and a store
owner play a bomber's deadly game as they race around Broadway while trying to
stop him. Closer to home, a certain Karan Johar, has canned NYC almost
exclusively in the very few films that he has made (thank heavens).
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St Patrick Cathedral |
So returning to where I started, walking through the different avenues (think
of them as latitudes) and different streets (more like longitudes), I would
often nod to myself recalling the place from some unknown corner of my memory.
I read somewhere that it is easy to discern a tourist in NYC; they walk with
their heads up. So in spite of the fact that I didn't want to seem like a
tourist, I could not help admiring the glass giants that lined the streets of
the city. It is hard not to be amazed at the way they have imagined and then
went on to create a modern city like this. In fact, NYC has the largest numbers
of skyscrapers, more than any other city in the world, over 4,000 of them.
A Nation of Shopaholics
While in America, I also got first hand experience about the consumerism
that it is renowned for. Almost all the shops in Manhattan had a sale sign
outside proclaiming 50 percent discounts over even 'Going Out of Business' sale.
I even spotted a sale sign on Saks on 5th Avenue, the departmental stores for
the hoi polloi (it is another matter that I couldn't muster enough courage to
enter even with that sign on). After American football (rugby for us), shopping
seems to be the favorite sport for Americans and little wonder that every
company seems to be cashing in on that craze.
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Newport, Jersey | Manhattan |
My trip to Wal-Mart was amazing; I for one had never seen so much variety at
such bargain prices. The Wal-Mart at Woodbridge was huge and was told by my
guide and colleague that this one was no exception as all the other Wal-Marts or
K-Marts are as big if not bigger. I went to Circuit City and Staples in Jersey
City and they were indeed huge. And more often I would find most of these malls
in a single location, right next to each other, making it easier for the
shoppers, so as to say.
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Wal-Mart |
Even so, online seems to be the most favored way of shopping for most
Americans. All these shops like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, etc have an online store and
once you have made a purchase you can ask it to be shipped to a store nearby
from where you can pick up the good. And there is just no limit to what you can
purchase online, right from cars to menial help, everything and anything is
available on the web.
The best thing about shoppings was the culture, when you enter the shop you
are not obliged to buy. At no shops did I have shop assistants coming to my aid
or shopkeeper making faces if I left without buying anything. From the costly
jeweler to the lowly mom and pop shop, you could breeze into a shop look around
and breeze out, if you didn't like anything on display. In fact almost all shops
have a return policy, you can return the good you purchased within a fixed
period, and no questions will be asked. They really treat the consumer as a
king.
Welcome to United States of Gujarat
The best thing about traveling in NY and especially so in NJ, was that
Indians are ubiquitous. Anytime of the day and you could always find a brownie,
two seats away on the bus or the train. Most of the small transactions, like
buying grocery or newspaper can easily be done in Hindi, as Gujju brothers own
quite many businesses in NJ.
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At a mall in Woodbridge, I came across women dressed up in sarees or salwar
suits and the parents talking to their small kids in Marathi or Gujarati
(probably to make them learn). Never for once, did I feel out of place, when I
was in NY or NJ. I also came across a mutant Indian breed known as ABCD,
American Born Confused Desi, these poor mortals detest us pure Indians and would
make it a point to talk in a made up accented language to highlight the
difference. I came across a Gujju shopkeeper at a wine store, while I spoke to
him in Hindi; he made it a point to speak to me in English (all the while
talking to his mate in Hindi).
Also after a long time, I felt like an Indian. Because, everywhere that I
went, be it a South Indian or Gujarati or a Marathi, we all connected to each
other as Indians. There was bonhomie, a feeling of brotherhood. Sadly, it is in
India, that you do not feel the same (the moment I landed in Mumbai, I was
rudely awakened from dream by the fight between bhaiyyas and Marathi manoos) And
I come to an end of my American tales, there is so much that I have learnt and
cherish that I could just keep talking on and on. Like any other tourist to the
land of opportunity, I have come back quite impressed by the culture and place.
But the most impressive thing remains to be the thing that impressed me at
first: the sheer scale and size of the buildings, the flyovers, the Wal-Marts,
the airport, everything. I am reminded of a quote that I came across at Liberty
Museum, Auguste Bartholdi (the man behind the Statue of Liberty) had traveled
across America in 1870s and was very impressed by the land and its people.
“Everything in America is big, even the peas,” he had stated. All I would like
to say is, Ditto!
(The author is Senior Assistant Editor of Dataquest)