June 2006- World Cup round the corner-consequently a quarter final defeat for England was looming large - Work was getting monotonous - Internal audit at work – I started questioning if I was getting enough satisfaction (and money) for the work I do-resulted in a move away from my then comfort zone of Pattamal Street and my first employer.
June 2010- World Cup round the corner-consequently a quarter final defeat for England was looming large - Work was getting monotonous - Internal audit at work – I started questioning if I was getting enough satisfaction (and money) for the work I do-resulted in a move away from my new comfort zone of The Somers Isles and my second employer.
How strange is that? So that’s the news- It will be newer pastures (and hopefully greener pastures) in Singapore around mid–july. The move just makes sense overall- it will give the wifey a better chance to have a crack at her career. –Closer to home- what not.
Obviously, trips to this side of the Atlantic will reduce considerably over the coming years; ARR was performing in Atlantic City and S has been inviting us to visit them ever since I got engaged. All of this provided us with good reason to visit the “Empire State”
Day 1- June 12th 2010 Atlantic City and ARR concert
Quite strangely our AA flight departed on time and we landed in JFK around half ten. R had sent us detailed instructions as to how to get to NJ- It essentially involved taking 3 different trains to their place. We took the LIRR from Jamaica station to reach NY Penn and then took a NJ transit to Seacaucus. We missed our train to Clifton from where R was supposed to pick us up- He had to drive some 20-25 KM to get to Seacaucus. We reached their house in NJ-which was very spacious and has a lawn on the outside for the kids to play. S had promised to make me Parrupu Urundai Kozhumbu whenever I visited her and she stuck to the promise. We finished the meal with Rabdi for dessert. We took a bus from NJ to Atlantic City-most of the roads in NJ are probably as bad as the ones in Chennai- but once you reached the highway you can clearly see why people in US like to do road trips- The roads are super broad and you can pretty much drive at 150 KM/hr. Reached the Boardwalk auditorium around 8.00 –picked up our tickets from the will call-quickly grabbed some dinner and took our seats.
By god there are about a billion Indians in the US alone- beyond a point on our way to Atlantic City- every car had some 8 people inside it- All of them –Our makkal- It was pretty much Kannum Pongal at Marina beach- Everyone was eating what I can only presume to be Puliodharai and Thayir SadamJ- The concert began at around 8.30 and ARR began proceedings with a very powerful rendition of a superstar hit song-“Athiradee Kalam” from Sivaji with some colorful lights and fantastic dancers- The arena almost erupted with the twin joy of seeing ARR and mental picture of super star walking down the stage- It was just pure magic-whistles screeching-people hollering –and we were just getting started. The ensemble cast included Hariharan, Benny Dayal, Javed Ali,Neeti Muhan,Blaaze,Shewta Pandit and ofcourse ARR. Most of my mates tell me Indian singers don’t take concerts too seriously with all of them trying to experiment- Whilst I am not an expert on the subject and they are all professional and they know what they are doing, I still want it to be as good as the original.
Rahman knew what songs to pick to get the crowd going-Kwajha mere Kwajha (Jodha Akbar)/Chaiyya Chaiyya (Dil Se- More on that later)/Range De Basanti/Thamizha Thamizha (Hindi Version with Hariharan doing his usual changing to Tamil half way through the song) /Pappu Can’t dance (Jaane Tu Na)/Hi Rama (Rangeela) and quite as expected he finished with Jai Ho and a soul stirring rendition of Vande Mataram. The highlight of the concert was a medley they did which involved Rahman playing the harmonium and the various singers’ sang classical songs to the tune of cine songs in various languages and various religion. My biggest gripe regarding the concert was regarding Chaiya Chaiya song- The song is just not the same when Sukhwindra Singh does not sing it. Call it a hyperbole if you want but it’s the same when Kurai Ondrum Illai is not sung by MS. The concert finished around midnight and we decided to spend the night at Atlantic City
Day 2 – June 13th New Jersey- Shopping and Dinner
Woke up around half seven the next morning and was inundated with texts from my mates telling me how shambolic the “queens boys” were against “Uncle Sam’s soccer” players. Ah well some things don’t change- Got a train and reached NJ to spend time with R& S and more importantly the 2 kids. Considering this was a trip with the missus we had to shop- so spent the rest of the afternoon in a mall picking up clothes and what not. I was in charge of the 2 kids and had to hold the bags for the missus and S- Mental picture of poor husbands standing in Ranganathan Street whilst the wife’s were busy shopping for “Sneha Saree” and “Simran jacket” Ah the joys of a married man! R & S took us out for a dinner to celebrate my birthday the next day- We went to an Ethiopian Restaurant and we just absolutely loved it-for all the foodies out there (which is pretty much all my friends) this is one thing you should not miss. Their bread equivalent is an Injera which is like a crepe and is absolutely delightful along with the sides.
Day 3- June 14th-New York City
Yours truly was turning 28 and there was no disappointment this year unlike the last few years where at some point during my birthday I was depressed about growing old- maybe maturity had found its way somehow- Ah who am I kidding? We took a bus from NJ to NYC and decided to do all touristy things like click pictures in front of Times Square and figure out what the big deal about the busy New York streets is all about. New York is quite an unique place-whilst the normal” No time for the rest of the world” is frankly annoying- the sheer pace at which the life generally moves is quite staggering. The missus quips that it’s similar to Mumbai but I am sure there is an element of exaggeration in that-I have seen busy Toronto and London streets to a certain extent- but NYC is something else. Especially if you are from Bermuda where every thing happens at snails pace and you have time to greet almost everyone on the street.4 Years ago when I came to Bermuda- I wanted to work in the Wall street- My time in Bermuda has spoilt me and I am not sure if I really want it now. (I know the irony – Moving to Singapore might not be the best thing if I don’t want a busy life style- hey I like the role so I am going to give it a shot!)
We went to the usual places- Madame Tussaud’s/Empire State Building/Ripley’s Museum- The missus eyes absolutely lit up when she saw wax models of George Clooney and Brad Pitt- I could almost hear her say- with all this available in the world- look at what I picked? Tough luck sweet heart- Maybe another time
We came back at around 4.30 to spend more time with the kids- I have to make a mention about the 2 kids- They are such dolls- especially S1- so much maturity that sometimes I was ashamed thinking about how much of a brat I was when I was six/ultra protective about her little sister and has varied interests- I hear she is quite the tiger in academics too. Its speaks so much about the parenting of R&S. For some strange reason S1 seemed to love my slap stick humor- you cant blame her for she is bloody six and I am funny as f*ck- ok the second part was an exaggeration. I miss her now that I am back on the rock
S made Tacos and we had a quite and peaceful dinner with some wine.
Day 4- June 15th-back In Bermuda
Left their house around 12.30 in the afternoon feeling a little guilty about all the help R & S did during our stay. We had an absolutely cracking time and memories for a life time. Hopefully the missus and I would travel quite a bit in the coming years but sadly it won’t be on this side of the Atlantic. Singapore beckons!
Cheers
S
