Noggyisms

It is not funny how many Indians there are in the States. For instance, there are lots of Indian taxi drivers, who immediately start talking in accented Hindi and then switch the radio to stations which play old Hindi movie songs. I am not sure why, I have never listened to them in my life and I definitely don't want to. Ofcourse they keep telling me that NY is not a good place and people are struggling here and India is always a better place. Dude, have you seen the cab/auto drivers back home? They would love to trade places. Except the Bangalore auto guys me thinks, they wouldn't be able to fleece as much or break the road rules. Then the other day, (let us not get into why) I went with a bunch of people to some 'Dusshera mela'. It was the day I landed in NY and I had the surprise of my life. I land from India and here was India again. I couldn't spot a single foreigner. It was like a whole city had just emigrated and decided to celebrate Dusshera. I even had ...

First impressions of the city that never sleeps is that it does sleep! You see I am not in the Manhattany part of town. I am in Brooklyn which would be to NY what Hosur is to people from Bangalore or worse still, Hoskote (snigger snigger to that one person).  And Brooklyn tucks in, early that too. When I walk around for dinner, heading to a watering hole nearby and then walk back from there, all I see are lonely stretches of road. Once in a while, you would have someone walking their dog but otherwise nothing that is living. Not even a street dog, which is a pity since some of them could be ideally friends when I am bored!  Yesterday, there was one lady who kept telling me that her mother had passed away and she was trying to fill gas and she wanted 20 dollars. Not looking like she had a car around in the direction she pointed in, I very politely and patiently explained to her how I did not have any money since I was living in that nice hotel and I had left everything in...

Ever wondered what it is about Mallus and Bongs and the similarities? The only 2 states of the country which have democratically elected communist governments for the longest periods of time, they love their food and drink (fish and rice and whisky), love their football and also love to endlessly argue or discuss matters over the aforesaid drinking sessions. Being, ofcourse quite knowledgable about a variety of issues the discussions could be around lots of different topics but mainly would focus on the political scenario of the country. So as the drinking sessions grow longer, the body alcohol levels go higher, the tones would also get stronger and the discussions more heated as to who is right. Being a mallu who was brought up in Calcutta, i was exposed to both worlds without really belonging to either. With my cousins i Kerala, who would understand little about the Bong world, I would be always the person who is away from everything around them and speak Malayalam with st...

So October it was when I was getting my first stamp on my passport and where was I headed? The Big Apple itself. New York, New York as Sinatra once said. After a bumpy few days when I was trying to figure out when I was leaving and what I would be doing, it was finally decided that I would be off on the 8th to reach on the 9th and then back after almost a month. All good except for a few hiccups like not having the email approval as yet. Last minute running around for tickets, forex hotel reservation and flight tickets completed and I was off. The AI direct flight to JFK would have been a major pain if it had not been empty. The seats suck, they push back only enough for you let you think you have actually moved, the in flight entertainment system is missing sound/video or both for some seats and the alcohol, I think I have better stuff at home. Landing at JFK is actually quite a let down. Post the glamour of both Delhi and Bangalore airports, JFK was what a person living in one ...