1 a.m., a regular Wednesday evening (Yes, when the night is still young)
* Bright like mid-day with lights glaring from all directions....
* Road side stores roll out the rug for little trinkets that make souvenirs….
* You hear someone haggling over the price of WTC posters….
* A Mexican girl and a European guy are busy posing for a sketch….
* Voices scream–‘akkada ledhu ra’ and ‘koodeya va, illena tholanjupopora pa’ simultaneously
* Yellow colored taxis zipped right past you, that you thought you were ripped apart….
* Buzzing people, whizzing cars, and zooming emergency vehicles sing the real tune of Times Square, NYC



There is something about the City that makes it categorically special. May be it’s just the commotion; eternal energy and undying vigor that makes people throng this place well past mid-night. My association with the City is rather limited, but every place that I have been to exhibits a certain character, a display of strength, and suave spirit. Even in a Starbucks that’s in every corner, there is an expression of purpose. It’s a place where there is something for everyone. A quiet cruise to Staten Island or the Liberty Statue, an Ellis Island for the historically inclined (well, you know about American ‘history’ ;-)), a serene walk across the Brooklyn Bridge for a distant panoramic vista, an awe inspiring view from the Empire State, the Ground Zero to tell the tales of torn down towers, the business district of downtown, the entertainment of Times Square, the Garment district for a run on your wallet or harmless window shopping, the party place around NYU for some booze and dance and Saravana Bhavan if you miss Madras and many much more.

I was truly upset to see Luzern shamelessly showing off for "New York Nagaram.."



How I wish I could wake up every morning to its music looking from a window of a forty (a very humble wish) storey building, only to know I wasn’t dreaming!

After all it’s the city that never sleeps....
Now how did Vaali say “New York Nagaram urangum neram”? ;-)