The Big Apple

It has been a while since my fingers felt the rush of words flowing through them. A sea of information and emotions that my head cannot hold has compelled me to move them around and give them to this virtual literary canvas. I know not how many eyes this post will see, I know not if it will evoke a drop of curiosity or will it lie unawakened like a brittle leaf in the quiet still air of life.

I am writing from one of the most exciting places in the world and this enchanted feeling that comes over you from being, living or working anywhere close to this city cannot be replaced. It is a mild jog to the "Crossroads of the World" from my workplace where the lights on the billboards can only be matched by the twinkle in your awestruck gaze! There is a wonderment in watching the hundreds, thousands of people walk the New York non-swagger, using their maybe two maybe three PDAs to communicate with poor souls who cannot be in this great city. The sunny weather in the summer is only topped by the everlasting energy in the city that makes you want to go shopping after a 9 hour day at work.

There are things that a non New Yorker like myself will never understand. Like how is it that four pieces of fruit for lunch cost $12..or for that matter how four pieces of fruit can be considered LUNCH! There are rules for walking on the street, for using elevators, escalators, regular stairs and anything else that has people on it. Like how on a Tuesday evening at 6:30pm, all the shops, and I am not kidding here, have serpentine queues from a grocery to Gucci. Like how it takes 20 minutes to reach someplace by car and 22 by walk. Like how the richness of this country is being swept aside by the countless homeless people in this city and that there is no one heeding their call.

The rush to get somewhere better, become someone prettier, be with someone smarter; like the world is ending tomorrow (and even if it is, would you not be better off relaxing?). Like how with the mess and dirt all over the city and odd bits of garbage floating around, they call countries like India filthy!!! The fact that you can find a small slice of the entire big world within a few corners. Like how the cabbies here can give Russel Peters a run for his money. The initial detours that you will have to make and blame on the subway that is "made for homing bees and not people".

This and more; every good experience in this city comes with the knowledge that something else is not so right. And even then, just like in a good marriage, you keep falling in love over and over again. I will cherish this opportunity to live in the shoes of a New Yorker.. even if they fit a little too snugly!