My girlfriend’s mom who has been in LA for decades once joked on hearing the mention of rain – “that’s when water falls from the sky, right?”. It’s unbelievable how rain eludes this state of California. After witnessing monsoon for 4 months every year, it was surprising for me to see hardly any rain here in the last 2 years. Mercifully, this has changed in the last 3 days. It has been raining abundantly this week, leading to the reassuring sound of water hitting the roof accompanied by the heartwarming petrichor.
Cloudy cloudy skies
It’s interesting how the smell takes me back to childhood days when I used to take my shirt off and run into the little open space in my chawl to get soaked by the first pour of the season. This time I just stood in my balcony and let it hit my arm, as I gazed at the clouds and the trees outlining my building and sipped my coffee. Still pretty neat!
Smell, heat, stray dogs, and erratic traffic – these were the first few things that hit me within one hour of landing in Mumbai after living in the US for 3 years. You see, I grew up in Mumbai/ Navi Mumbai and had spent all my life in India till the age of 32. Then, in an attempt to do something new and run away from the nagging expectation of getting married, I traveled to the US to pursue higher studies in 2018. Four years later, thanks to loads of luck that put me in the right place at the right time with some wonderful people – I now have a Masters degree, a job in Los Angeles, and an apartment and life I have settled into. I obviously wanted to visit home every year but COVID and my visa status made it difficult for a while. Finally, I was able to visit in November 2022. On the 24-hour air journey (LA – Doha – Mumbai), I couldn’t help but wonder how different it would be for me visiting home after so long as I had never spent this much time away from India before. My 40-day stay at home in Navi Mumbai taught me a few things about myself and how the last few years have changed me.
For starters – I was finding it difficult to sync with the chaos around me. Crossing streets where rickshaws and scooters and trucks and cars and pedestrians weave into each other used to come to me as second nature. However, this time it took me a couple of days to find my rhythm while walking the streets. I was hesitating to cross and stopping sporadically like a rookie. This was a big revelation as I did not expect it would happen to me. Next was the heat, humidity and air quality. While I grew up in this Mumbai weather, the Southern California weather seemed to have coddled me in a way that I couldn’t imagine. I was feeling the humidity right from day 1 and it only got worse. To think it was like that in December made me wonder what would have happened had I visited in April or May!
Then, there was the whole ‘staying with family’ situation. In Navi Mumbai, 5 of us (granny, mom, dad, sister, me) lived in a small 1-bedroom flat before my sister got married and I left for the US. For the past couple of years, I had gotten used to living alone in a bigger space so it felt weird for the first couple of days living with 3 more people in the same room. When my sister visited for a couple of weeks, it was all 5 in the little space. My Dad graciously let me have the bedoom when I was working and at other times, it was somewhat nice to stay spend time my family members in the living room. Not for too long though! After every few minutes, I felt the urge to be by myself.
Thankfully, I was doing fine with the spicy food at home and at the restaurants I visited with my friends. I was happy to learn that my stomach hadn’t forgotten the embrace of spicy mutton curry or delicious dosas and chutneys.
Breakfast with my buddy at Arya Bhavan in Chembur
It was also interesting to observe my outlook towards money. An Uber ride from one end of the city (Mazgaon) to the other (Vashi) cost around $10 which is what I would pay in California just to travel a few miles. Also, you could hire a driver in Navi Mumbai for Rs 700 for 8 hours if you had your own car. The idea to get such a service for less than $10 was something I couldn’t wrap my head around.
Traffic enroute Alibaug
One of the more pleasant lessons was that I was able to catch up with old friends and continue from where we had left off years ago. For some reason, I thought this is easier said than done. Everybody moves on with their lives and their families and with every passing day, it becomes difficult to pick up the phone. So I ended up thinking that meeting old friends would be an awkward experience but I was delighted to learn that it was nothing of the sort. For example, my best friends from high school happened to be there around the same time and we were able to have a fun evening chatting and catching up like we used to all those years ago. Same happened with my college buddies and other friends from different phases of life.
Back to when we were 16 😊
The biggest and most heartbreaking development was that my mother was diagnosed with dementia in this duration that I was away. While she remembered me on my visit and was able to hold short conversations, I could clearly see that she wasn’t as active, talkative or expressive as she used to be. Naturally, a lot of time was spent with her and in discussions with my father and sister about her care.
Overall, it seemed to me that my brain had forgotten how active things are in India. There’s so much happening at any given moment. As many a writer had mentioned – it’s marvelous how it functions amidst so much chaos. Like you see on an average street – Everyone is constantly moving and yet hardly anyone is bumping into each other. In contrast, I feel like my life slows down when I’m in LA. I sleep, wake up, cook, eat, work, go out, occasionally party, spend time with my girlfriend, and indulge in some extracurriculars… that’s it. This list was always a lot longer when I was in India and it was also the case when I visited this time.
Posing in front of the Arabian Sea
Strangely, when I got back to LA this time, it felt like I came home. And the whole India trip felt like a visit to a foreign land. Another thing I couldn’t have imagined would happen so soon! And to me! I wonder if this feeling is temporary or here to stay.
I knew I had to check this one out when I saw the cast. It started with Jesse Eisenberg being his fast-talking self. Then, as I binged one episode after another, I witnessed brilliant writing and beautiful performances by the entire cast (especially Claire Danes). Without giving any spoilers – I think if you’re someone in your 30s or 40s, this show will be relatable.
Source: The Playlist
Apart from the fact that I enjoyed watching this show as an audience member, I was also intrigued by it as an actor. How would I play the male version of Lizzy Caplan’s character, I thought. She handled it with such poise and the quality in her voice is commendable. She effortlessly emotes throughout all episodes often times just with her voice. And her pairing with Josh Radnor worked well for me 🙂
Yeah – good show! Will be thinking about it for a while. Might even read the book.
Every morning, when the sun begins to shine brightly, he shows up at my balcony. He goofs around the parapet, wags his bushy tail in a sine-wave-like motion, and after what looks like a long contemplation, lands into the cactus planter. Then, he starts digging and pulls out a nut – I have no idea when he hid it there. He jumps back on to the parapet, and rapidly chews through the nut, constantly dropping the leftovers on the parapet. Who do you think is going to clean that up, you prick?!
After he is done eating, he decides he wants to fool around some more. So he jumps on to my hanging planter (home to a pothos) and starts digging through it. The planter starts swinging and I am worried it might fall of. But the little bugger knows what he is doing. After some exploration, he jumps off landing on the mat on the balcony floor. Here, he decides to sit for a few seconds and then take a massive piss. Argh! Finally, it’s time to move on but not before chilling on the parapet a little while more to scout which balcony to raid next.
The crime scene
Throughout all this, he periodically sees through the big glass door that I am standing right there, staring at him. And yet, unfazed by my presence, he treats my balcony as his personal dining room as well as toilet. The sheer audacity!
My excitement about the drive to Connecticut stemmed out of my love for the show The West Wing. You see, President Jed Bartlet (played by the unmatched Martin Sheen) was from New England. So, it was natural that I wanted to explore that part of the country. I imagine Summer’s excitement was on account of revisiting the region where she went to college (Smith) and seeing her friends after a long pandemic hiatus. The drive was easy and comfortable (at least for me, the passenger) and a good part of it was scenic too. In particular, I enjoyed looking at waterfront houses and constantly checking on Zillow how much they cost. And things got more and more beautiful as we got closer to Old Lyme – my (now) favorite small town in America!
On Bettina’s recommendation, we had booked an Airbnb cottage in Old Lyme, not too far from her place. To me – this cottage was pristine! A roadside home with excellent decor and cool amenities, this cute little delight also came with a lovely big, beautiful, lush green backyard where you could just sit listening to the birds looking at the trees. The decor was thoughtful and cozy and the hosts, humorous and considerate. I had mentioned to them that I’ll be missing the Stranger Things finale due to the trip, so they left me Eggos in the freezer (it’s a show reference). The place was stocked with books and board games and had a very welcoming vibe making our stay quite memorable.
The next few days were spent driving through the tree-flanked streets of Old Lyme, checking out fancy New England-style houses, eating at local restaurants and pubs, and of course enjoying the cottage. It was also my first time meeting the utterly beautiful, vibrant and charming Smith gang – Bettina, Christine and Ivy. Bettina’s house and neighborhood was so spectacular, I nearly started dreaming about buying a house in that area! Driving to and from Old Saybrook, I started talking like a local. Every time I saw a dreamy street or a scenic house, I exclaimed with a grin – “Good Ol’ Old Lyme”! The one time I saw a knocked-down garbage bin, I cried “Damn tourists!”.
We also made a short trip to a book reader’s heaven called ‘The Book Barn’. A charming campus with buildings dedicated to specific genres, The Book Barn was a place one could spend the whole day at. It had inexpensive books set up in creative cabins and trolleys and obviously, I bought a bunch. We also drove to the nearby white sand state beach that our kind hosts had left us a parking permit for. Lounging around the cool sand looking at the changing colors of the evening sky went well with the theme of a relaxing getaway. Bettina was kind enough to give us a tour of the historic Essex Old area where we bought chocolate truffle shots and explored some more fancy houses.
Our last day in New England was spent driving to Rhode Island to check out the popular Newport Mansions. I didn’t realize that some of the mansions we visited were actually featured in the show The Gilded Age (duh!). The Breakers (home of the Vanderbilts) was humongous from outside and truly lavish from within. As we walked through each room, observing the furniture, the walls, the ceilings (boy, the ceilings!), I couldn’t help but be transported to the era of luxury and pomp. Each room had a unique purpose and so much space. Chateau Sur Mer was smaller but as delightful and the walk from one mansion to another was a nice way to experience the neighborhood.
The tickets for the 2-mansion tour cost around $70. There weren’t many good food options near the mansions so that was a bummer. We ate a cold sandwich and a burrito in the cafeteria by The Breakers and decided to have a better meal for dinner back in good ol’ Old Lyme.
The Breakers mansion in Newport, Rhode Island
After a short stop at a beach on the way, we made our way back to Old Lyme for one last evening. Then followed a quiet dinner, quick breakfast the next morning, and heartfelt goodbyes full of dramatic waves and laughter. We made it in time to return the rental car and reach the airport before the scheduled flight. However, the flight got delayed and I wasn’t sure we would be able to make our connection in St. Louis Missouri. Thankfully, an American Airlines employee came to our aid and booked us on a Chicago connection, getting us home at the exact time we had expected. And that was the end of my memorable first trip to New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island! There are worse ways to spend a summer break, no? 🙂
A concrete jungle interspersed with all kinds of human personalities and enterprises – that was my first impression of New York City. Getting on a plane from Los Angeles on the eve of July 4th weekend had its set of challenges. I was a bit anxious having read various articles about expected delays and cancellations. Thankfully, all went well, and we got to Laguardia airport on Friday night as planned. Getting the iconic NYC yellow taxi from the airport was super-convenient and we were lucky to land one with a transparent Tesla-like roof, giving us a glimpse of the sky, some famous streets, bridges, and tall buildings right away. It also worked out the hotel was in downtown NYC making most of the landmarks walkable as we discovered over the next couple of days.
A view from the MET while walking in NYC
It all began with a hunt for food on night 1. We stepped outside the hotel at 11:30 pm to look for a nearby restaurant. The first thing we found was a food truck right round the street corner. We walked for around 15 more seconds and reached an intersection with humongous electronic billboard and tall buildings. The crowd around reminded me of Dadar station in Mumbai, with hardly any space to walk and non-stop chitter-chatter. The difference of course was that most people, including us, had their cell phones out clicking pictures of the ostentatious displays advertising everything from fashion brands to upcoming movies and shows. Summer informed me that this was the famous Times Square, and we were surprised that this was barely a minute’s walk from the hotel. We clicked a few photos and continued our search for dinner which ended with a food truck close to the hotel. As always, it was Indian food to my rescue with a kind man treating us to some delicious chicken rice for a cost less than half of a restaurant meal.
Los Angeles vs New York – Dallas friends reunited
The hotel itself was fascinating with a ship-like structure and really small but cute rooms. However, knowing that this trip was meant to be more outdoors than indoors, I didn’t mind the size of the room and quite enjoyed the fact that the location of this hotel was perfect. This trip was mostly about meeting friends after years and in doing so, witnessing a glimpse of NYC streets and the infamous fast pace everyone talks about. Being from Mumbai, I wasn’t alien to this but was still looking forward to getting a slice of the so-called best city in the US.
Next morning, my dear friends Gayatri and Sandeep drove all the way from Philly to meet me. We spent the day reminiscing university days, walk in the famous Central Park, eating Mediterranean food and then having drinks and tacos at a hep pier restaurant named Watermark. All of this was great fun, but the best part was just seeing these two lovebirds after 2 years. It was crazy to think that I used to meet Gayatri almost daily for 2 years and had then gone without seeing her at all for another 2.
Ever the cartoon with some fancy food
It felt like I was back at Northside Drafthouse with her, telling her some story about my day which she already knew. Ha! Thanks to their car, we also got a chance to drive through some of the NYC streets and check out some more of the typical buildings before it was time to bid goodbye to them. With a heavy heart, I bid farewell with promises of meeting soon – perhaps in LA next time.
At the Watermark pier
Later that evening, we met two more of my close UT Dallas friends. Nivesh, who was particularly excited about my NYC visit, had been planning to come see me as soon as possible. He took a subway ride all the way from Jersey and we then walked to a nearby restaurant – Mama Mia – to catch up like old times. Anirudh joined us a bit later and we all had some fancy pastas and pizza. In this duration, we also had an incident with a homeless person – another infamous thing I had heard about NYC. We were sitting outdoors in the streetside restaurant, and this homeless guy walked up to us asking for cash. Summer gave him a few dollars and he goes – “I am gonna give this back to you and ask you to buy me food”. We were not sure how to deal with this other than just saying “No, sorry”. But he went on almost in a threatening tone – “If the waitress gets here, she will call the cops and I will get in trouble (but what he was implying was he will give us trouble). So just give me $8 or buy me food. We all then looked in our wallets and gave him some more cash, making us feel like we have been extorted for money.
NYC restaurant
Nivesh then told us that this is common in NYC and the common thing to do is not budge. Anyway, we learned our lesson and enjoyed the rest of our meal in peace. Nivesh, as a tribute to one of the running jokes Gayatri and he had on me, gifted me a Belated Happy Father’s Day card (because I am much older than these two).
The next morning, we met Summer’s friend Eddie at Bryant Park for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon walking on the streets, exploring part of the city. They showed me some famous landmarks which were all just a few minutes from each other – Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, MET. It was awesome that people could just walk to all these places, as compared to Los Angeles where it’s unusual to get anywhere without a car. Our walks also gave me a chance to observe establishments, coffee shops, bagel places, stores, parks and listen to voices, conversations, accents – and tried to compare these with what I had seen in Dallas and Los Angeles. It became quite obvious to me that NYC clearly had its own distinct character, pace, vibrance and aura. It also became clear to me that I was perhaps more of an LA guy by now 🙂
Kiosk says it all
Finally, it was the 4th of July, and we hadn’t made any plans for the evening. Thankfully, I was able to get a reservation for the evening fireworks at a place Nivesh recommended – 230 5th rooftop bar. And I was glad later that I did. We spent the day walking on the streets again – we picked up bagels for our friend Bettina from Essa bagel, bought coffee from a small shop on the way, and then had lunch later at a German bar. When it was time in the evening, Nivesh, Summer and I showed up at the rooftop bar which was bustling with well-dressed people excited about the upcoming Macy’s fireworks. Our table happened to have a clear view of the Empire State Building lit up in USA colors. There was fun music playing and around 8 pm, the fireworks started. It was a great experience listening to music, watching these fireworks in a new city, with an iconic landmark (KING KONG!) in front of us. We captured a bunch of pictures and videos and walked back to the hotel after stopping for a donut on the way.
Empire State Building as seen from 230 5th Rooftop Bar
It was time to say Adios to NYC the next morning and rent a car from Avis near the airport. The taxi guy this time was Harminder who talked to me about his neck of the woods in NYC and how it is full of Indians. We spoke in Hindi, and he told me it’s not usual as even Hindi-speaking Indians prefer conversing in English when in NY. we were dropped off safely and as it has been customary to lose something on every trip, I dropped my sunglasses somewhere while deboarding Harminder’s cab. We rented a cool hatch back and drove to Connecticut, where one of the best places I have experienced in the US so far awaited me. More on that in my next post…
At the age of 11 with some guidance from my friend Sainath, I wrote to NASA expressing my interest in space and astronomy. The stamp for the letter cost around Rs. 40 if I remember correctly but it was totally worth it because 3 months later, I got a package full of stunning pictures of the planets in our solar system. Ever since then, like many other students in the world, I have been curious about space. So when I moved to Los Angeles, the one-of-its-kind Griffith observatory was on top of my list of places to visit.
All through the pandemic, I got a chance to check out the Griffith park and its surroundings including the touristic Hollywood sign thanks to Sunil and Dips driving me there a few times. However, I was waiting desperately for when the Samuel Oschin planetarium would open so I can experience one of its marvelous shows. Finally, I got an opportunity to visit it and check out the show “Centered in the Universe” last evening and thankfully, it did not disappoint.
Griffith observatory is open only Friday-Sunday unlike the park which is open all week from sunrise to sunset. Summer and I had tried on a weekend a few weeks ago but were unable to catch a show due to lack of parking and the energy to hike up. So this time, we went prepared for some exercise. On Friday, we first drove all the way up to Griffith to see if we can find some parking but were turned around like the previous time as the paid parking was full. Summer had done her research for parking spots so we parked next to the Greek theatre and hiked up a mile to Griffith. The weather was beautiful and the hike was pleasant.
Once there, we took in the view of the observatory and the beautiful Hollywood sign across it. The sign was still bright in the sky and the brightness washed over the landscape making it more sensible to keep the sunglasses on. We then stood in the cue for 5 mins with our vaccination proof to be let in around 5:40 pm. We then purchased our tickets at $7 a piece (no queue thankfully) for the 6:15 pm show of “Centered in the universe” and spent the next 20 minutes checking out the displays inside the observatory. Then, we stepped out to queue up on the West Terrace for entering the planetarium when we witnessed a marriage proposal with a plane carrying the banner “Willst du mich heiraten?” in the sky. There was a “Yes” and kissing and hooting and clapping and just like that, it was time to get in.
We took our seats and as we were waiting for the show to start, we overheard a man in the back entertaining some kids. He was doing an Indian accent (a terrible one) and they were laughing but also saying aloud – “we are not with this guy”. It seemed like he might be telling a story of some character he played. He certainly thought he was funny, but Summer and I didn’t. I decided to let it slide and focus on the show.
For the next 35 minutes, I was just glued to the ceiling which presented a majestic journey of our planet and the universe since the Big Bang. The visuals were surreal and the storytelling was engaging. I was familiar with a lot of the content as I had read about it and also given a refresher in the show Cosmos. Nevertheless, the visual experience made going through it again totally worth it.
We then stepped out and made our way to the roof where the 12-inch Zeiss Refracting telescope is housed. The queue was really long so we figured we will do it another time.
And then it started getting quite chilly so we hiked back to the car, picked up Pho to go 😁 from Indochine at Glendale Blvd and headed back home. And that was the little story of my first trip to the Griffith Observatory.
The reason for indulging in any kind of entertainment often seems to be – “Life is tough as it is, so this is just an outlet, a distraction, a guilty pleasure, an escape!”. Films and TV with their several forms of content are a distraction. Travel is a distraction. Sports is a distraction. Dating is a distraction. Strip joints and casinos and pubs and clubs are distractions. Motorcycles and cars and comics are distractions. Smoking is a distraction. Music? Shopping? Stand-up comedians? Social Media?
How much entertainment do we need? How many distractions do we need? When and how did we turn into a species that wants to escape more than be present? French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote – “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone”. It seems like with every passing day, this is becoming more and more accurate. Yes, it creates more opportunities for employment and occupation. But at what cost? I hope Mr. Jared Diamond finds the time to delve deep into this and write another gem. Let me think about this more as I brew a cup of coffee and tee up the latest episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
