new york new york - part 3

It was just an aimless wander. We were 2 strangers in a strange city. In some ways it was comforting to know that he was going to be gone tomorrow and that i would never see him again. I thought maybe, just maybe, this will take my mind of him.

Varun and I had things in common - music & bollywood is what we had in common. But that's about it. We discussed the subjects at length - sometimes over a cup of coffee and sometimes over a Mac burger. Apparently, AB was his fav actor while i was in the AP (amol pakelar) gang. He was into adnan sami genre of music and I thought jagjit singh ruled - and not just the gazal world ! Somehow we got talking about college and culfests and he sang a little bit of "aaina mujhse meri pehli si surat maange..." to prove me wrong. Something in his voice & something about NY made me trust him.

There was a farmers market on the way. We stopped to get some fresh cherries - yum. Walking on the 6th street for 4.4 miles in high heels - was fun. Really. Varun offered to stop so that i could give my poor legs a break but i knew if i did something like that, i would be mocked till eternity. So no, we just continued to walk. I took out my "must see NY sites or you'll have to come back" list and asked Varun to take me to each one of them. Varun smiled, and it seemed like a genuine smile. We walked for 5 minutes and there was the Rockefeller building. Another 5 and there was Chrysler. Yet another 2 minutes of walk got me to empire state building. Suddenly, NY seemed like a very small place. The city gave me sense that everything's possible - it's where people realize their american dream. From the midtown(times square) to the financial district (battery park), NY was so full of life. Our aimless wandering got us to the world trade center and the NY stock exchange by sheer dumb luck. At last, we got to the very end of NY (at least as far as I was concerned) - battery park. I could see the statue of liberty looking at me. Have you ever looked at the sun at dawn? The flurry of colors can take your breath away. There I was, standing with Varun looking at the sun and the water. Neither one of us spoke for the longest time. After a while, we looked at each other and almost together said "Beer?" The occasion called for a cold one.

We started to walk back and for whatever reason, we had slowed down considerably..were my feet hurting too much, was Varun trying to be supportive or did we just not want the day to end ? We stopped at a square where there were tons of pigeons. We both lay down on that square - my head on his lap. I tried to be very sure that it was my feet that hurt. I saw people staring at us and this was NY ! I almost hummed "do diwane sheher mei.." (didn't i tell u i was a AP fan?). In a little bit, we started our final descent to our hotel.

final part coming shortly.

New York New York - part 2

I took a cab and went to Manhattan. F**k him - i was going to have a good time in new york. I was well prepared - i knew the places to go to, shows to see, people to meet - maybe not the people part. I got down on 42nd street. And stood there in awe. Not sure what it was - people and too many of them, honking of the cars, flashy signs, the smell of coffee - there was a general sense of madness; with a method. Reminded me of amchi mumbai. I longed for my home town and him. Talk of self destruction. Why?? It was stupid coming here..and what i was about to do was even more stupid. Have you wondered why sometimes we take ourselves on the path of self-destruction ? I was about to do the same. I was not the type to take the flight back home & go to my shekhar. I checked into this dingy hotel for 3 days instead. That's how long i had - to hurt myself.

This was all wrong. He was supposed to pick me up, take me to his hotel, treat me like a queen, show me around NY & then I was supposed to break his heart. Instead, with tears in my eyes, I was walking up the stairs to go to my hotel room. That's where I met Varun. He was smoking in the corridor. He nodded at me and embarrassed, i continued up the stairs. I knew NY from Sex and the City and to me; it was a symbol of hope. I changed into something sexy and walked out with my head held high (or as high as I could hold it). I walked into a subway (now, now - this subway is a sandwich place - one of my fav) and ate a sandwich all by myself. I got me a map and started walking towards a subway when i bumped into somebody. Varun saw the map in my hand and a tear in my eye. He said, "I leave for Paris tomorrow and I have a day to see the city. Do you want to see it with me?”

Varun was average looking and seemed smug. Not my kinda guy. Short - maybe 5 10'. long hair. So no, I didn't have butterflies in my stomach when he asked me out. It seemed out of pity & so I said no. He shrugged and walked away. I decided to ditch the subway and see NY the way it's meant to be seen - on foot. I imagined him to be with me. As I was walking the streets of NY, it seemed like a city for singles - it had this quality :) Vibrant people, lots of fashion , gorgeous weather , tons of shops..I got into a shop that sold leather jackets. Not sure why - i just did. There was Varun trying on a black jacket. I must have stood there a while because i suddenly saw varun raise his eyebrows with a curious look on his face. I twitched my nose and asked him to buy a brown one instead. We hunted a while for his perfect jacket, couldn't. I guess jackets are like men, it's hard to find the right fit. In the end, we left the shop and started walking towards battery park. So filmi.

On the way, Varun told me about john denver. I heard the song "leaving on a jet plane" for the first time...

to be continued...