Sunday, April 05, 2009

Different Colors of Manhattan


There are only two feelings you can have for this city. Either you love it or hate it. But it is very difficult to have the consistency in your feelings towards it. One day you hate it because of its narrow streets, ruthless cab drivers, noisy and dirty subways. But there are days when you just love the city for the very same reasons. The busy and happening streets, fast moving traffic, efficient subways and so on. The city has so many different colors and shades to itself. It's like a living organism. Breathing and thriving.

Out of all the boroughs of the city, I am most familiar with Manhattan. What makes Manhattan interesting is not only the skyscrapers that talk to the clouds. It is the people that make it fascinating. Just like I mentioned in one of my previous posts about the city, during the weekdays you get very typical views on the streets and sidewalks. The city is flooded with black suits and beautiful faces. Neat looks with fashionable looking accessories like leather bags and expensive watches. Busy executives who talk, walk and breath money. Aspirations and optimism floating in the air. Tense nervousness seen on the faces.

And as soon as the weekends come, the city is rid off black suits. And you see totally different scenes around you. Now the city is taken over by the tourists. Leather bags are replaced by Nikons or Sonys or Samsungs. Tense faces are replaced by relaxed ones wearing a variety of funky sun-glasses and hats. Dark suits are replaced by colorful tops and jeans. Leather shoes give way to sneakers. You can feel the change in the air. You can breath the relaxed atmosphere. Aspirations and anxiety take shelter in a moment of surrender. Surrender to sheer bliss of enjoying the beauty of the city. But you need eyes that can be soothed by this kind of beauty.

It is Monday tomorrow and I know what I am going to feel while walking towards the subway at 8am in the morning. (For those of you who care to know "Darn, it's Monday!" is what I will have in mind)

Image source: My Sony Cybershot H7 clicked about a month ago

6 comments:

KaZzZOoM said...

nice one.perhaps, you see not what it is but how you are(feeling)!

Priyanka said...

i kinda feel that wat abt mumbai too.. u love it soo much at times and hate it soo much at others esp when ur stuck in those horror jams at peddar road.

Nikita said...

Uptill now I haven't liked the idea of taking trains to go to your office..subways.. crowd :P.. but this post gives me another way to look at it :). I hope this city grows on me too ! I have seen the weekday's hustle bustle in NY city, now after reading this post.. I really wanna see the city on weekend, I think I will enjoy it !

Asav Patel said...

Hmmmm.... Nice explanation about the city. Precise & Informative. I would like to see the city one day.....
By the way, The famous "Trump Tower" is in Manhattan or in New York?.....

Gandalf said...

@Asav, Trump Tower is in midtown Manhattan. A couple of blocks from my office building..

Chikka Chimpanzee said...

i sorta hated this city