New York City

NEW YORK, the first time I heard about it was probably when I had just begun to learn Geography at the age of 6 or 7. As a kid, I could only dream of visiting NY as I was told that it’s a far off land where people see the sun when I can’t.

But the dream came true after 14 years when I first visited United States to pursue my masters. It was my first short tryst with the “city of dreams” as I continued my journey to Philadelphia. Being the port of entry to the United States, I had to carry out all my early formalities like immigration, customs clearance etc at JFK, one of the biggest airports in the world. Though I didn’t get to see the city, I was quite awed with the functioning of this global gateway.

80 miles from Philadelphia, I got my first chance to visit NYC after 1 year of stay in United States. Believe me or not, I fell in love with it at first sight.

Be it swarming 33^rd and Broadway, iconic Times Square and its huge number of animated neon and LED signage or heaving China Town, I became fond of all of them. I wanted to be close to NYC, enjoy its beat and feel the zest.

It was not far that I got my internship in Newark, 30 minutes from Manhattan and NYC soon turned into my second home. My frequent visits made me more and more familiar to it. It taught me some very important lessons- lessons about life, work, people and their incessant passion. The ever-hurrying pedestrians, the constant buzz of traffic, the dazzled tourists - reminds me of our very own 'Mumbai'! It is so full of life and activity that the word "fast" is often replaced by the phrase "in a New York minute" in day-to-day parlance.

The unrelenting zeal towards life and intensely urban aspects of Manhattan is what I love about NYC. Trips in subways, a steaming cup of coffee at Starbucks, long walks on snow clad streets, chilly winters, beautifully adorned and lit up streets on Christmas and shopping at Fashion Avenue is something I really miss.

I hope to go back one day to my juvenile days’ fairyland.