Wednesday, July 07, 2010

Tourist

I was in New York City in the recent past. Walking on foot like a dutiful tourist, to places I was told are the heart of the place. I walked around looking not at the sights with which I was already familiar. I walked around looking at the hands and feet and visages inhabiting the place. Walking around in seemingly Brownian motion, each one of those pairs of hands and feet were guided by a pair of eyes to a fixed location. It struck me then that I like cities with histories. Not recent settlements like Seattle, which are a century old, but places where generations have trodden and made the place their own. A city is a new shiny firmament built on ruins. A city is a ruin waiting to give way to a new path. The rubble is lost, but the myths are never buried. They are carried through across generations. The stones and pathways and the buildings each guide its latest inhabitant to live within this newly created environment. Without the knowledge of its denizens, it creeps into their language and lifestyle and accidents and successes and instills a sense of pride as a long lasting scar. I did not see New York City the way the brochures intended me to. I saw it spread thin and luminous and lonely, on those faces, carried by a pair of hands and feet to their destinations.

7 comments:

Vidya said...

I'm glad you were able to see past the brochure images. NYC is tough, stunning, flashy - but it has, I think, one of the most vulnerable underbellies hiding beneath the seemingly indestructible, (and now, hot) pavement.

And, for the brief time you were there, you were practically me neighbor. :)

Sneha said...

You came to my city! I hope you had a great time :-)

Parth said...

@Vidya, Sneha: I had a pretty good time in NYC. This was my third trip to the city, so the touristy charm was worn. Most of my trip though was spent in NJ. That was a fun experience, especially with all the desi food :) Good to see the enthusiasm the two of you have for the city!

Vidya said...

May I ask, which portion of NJ? Ihappen to live in the center of the desi-est portion of NJ!

Parth said...

@Vidya: New Brunswick. Though we did visit Oaktree Road and Edison and surrounding joints

Niranjan said...

Remember running to catch a train in NYC, and that instantly transported me to similar such experiences in bbay. Beats watching the statue of liberty, or craning your neck to look up the empire state building - impressive, yes, but not memorable. True, tis the subtle aspects of city life that make it charming.

Parth said...

@Niranjan: Indeed. I was aiming for a deeper meaning. You become the city, once you have lived there enough. I mean, you can take me out of Mumbai, but you can't take Mumbai out of me :)