36 hours in NY

Heylo Buddiej,

I just got back from a whirlwind tour of NewYork with a friend here, Uncle Shaitan. As we had swore on the bones of our ancestors, I made it my life's mission to have Majjaaa. Real, undiluted, unstoppable, non-stop Majjaaaaa. We stopped by another friend Nair's for a really quick and utilitarian breakfast of dosas and stew that his mom turned out. She of course never makes dosas without idlis, so we had to, just because she insisted and not because I have a personal stake in Idlis Inc., have some of that too.

A quick run through the Museum of Natural history...(who cares if they have the T-Rex's teeth and the oryx's skin...mere paas maa hai!) ...a run-through sandwich at the Famous Fast and Fresh Sandwiches... and we were at the open-air Shakespeare theater...Since it was the sad man's only comedy, all was well and it ended well. Thereafter we traipsed through the streets and avenues of Lower Manhattan and headed to the Strand bookstore. If they really have 18 miles worth of books hidden in there...they sure look the part. I, finally, managed to lay my hands on the ones I wanted and on some that I did not really want but I did once I went through their backsides (the books', I mean), so I ended up with a bigger haul than I went out to catch.

As we came out, or maye it was before the Strandventure (please beat up this guy from Sportstar. He showed my how every single word could be excruciatingly punny), we hung around the Times Square for a little bit. I couldn't believe how many nationalities you could pack into every square inch of a square. And some really cool toy shops too. With a super fresh smoothie under my belt and giving but a nod to picasso and monet, I fell in love with the work of some unknown guy who painted ladies you could totally fall in love with at this art gallery that specialized in 3-D art. Sad that those paintings weren't in that category. :-)

Btw, I think I have found the best free-concert hall in the country. Just as you are heading out of the Times Square Underground (or subway) if you choose not to and listen to some of the musicians that strut their stuff down there, you will be amazed at what you could end up being a part of. I walked smack into the middle of this Afro-American band with drums and a center-piece of a guy going wild on a bunch of cans...Amazing doesn't even begin to cut it!! They had CDs of their stuff in the front and a collection box by the side...Buddy, if you can imagine your waste-basket a couple of days after you've emptied it, just fill it with cash and you'll get the picture. Only, I didn't have cash on me!!! Damn the crazies, you'd think a subway band would have a credit card reader!!!

On our way out, we scheduled a screening of the Lion King for August 14th for ourselves, just so we could celebrate our Independence day in style. :-) Nothing like an African jungle tale to soothe frayed post-colonial nerves...

The thing to take away from this presentation would be

• Times Square is a must visit. (Wait for applause)

We decided that once you are out seeking Majjaaa, there's no substitute for hard work, dedication, and the blessings of my mother and father and teachers (for you, it will be your parents and so on...) So having salivated to death reading reviews of DiFara's pizzas, we didn't let a one and a half hour train ride, a misunderstanding that separated half of our friends, an hour long battle to place our orders and making sure no thieving little puttana's son ran away with our pie, we laid our grubby hands on the biggest badassest lightest and just simply the best pizza I have had this side of the Atlantic.

@Rajesh: how was the dragon boat race?
And there's still no comment on whether or not I'm getting a beat-up old ipod..:-)

Ciao ragazzi.