Sunday, February 22, 2004

TRAVEL
Falling in love with Times Square
Sujoy Dhar

The opening of a Broadway musical fetches crowds

KAL Ho Na Ho, the weepy candy-floss blockbuster from the feel-good stable of Karan Johar, is a film one loved watching for more than one reason. Here is a Bollywood flick at long last where a foreign location—New York—has been captured in its authentic splendour, unlike umpteen other song and dance films shot abroad just for the heck of it. KHNH also brought back some of the most pleasant memories of a city brimming with promises that soar as high as its sky-kissing towers.

Here is a city which holds you in absolute awe by the sheer number of its skyscrapers that have even blocked the sunshine permanently in several of its avenues and streets. New York's skyscrapers, by now as familiar to Indian film buffs as the Marine Drive thanks to Hollywood, are its attraction. Naturally, anyone visiting the Big Apple for the second time post 9/11, the twin towers of World Trade Center would be sorely missed.

New York embodies our typical Uncle Sam dreams. Amidst the glitz and glamour of high life and the mind-boggling density of highrises, there somewhere in here lies a soul. It is the soul of a true melting pot as every street of lunchtime New York or the rush hour metros are a kaleidoscope of faces which are not just of White or Black Americans. They are a tapestry of faces from every part of the world. To call it a city which never sleeps is a clich`E9. To be most fair to New York, I should call it a city where you are really not left alone. You feel that there is perhaps a place for me too in this great city. In New York you can just sit at the Battery Park by the Hudson or take cable (called tramcar) ride to the Roosevelt Island in the East River, a place where the climax of many Hollywood films were shot, and feel relaxed. Here is a city where the travel is cheapest when you buy a MetroCard for the day or week with which you can travel unlimited on the world's best network of metro rail, the buses and the ferry, at a cost cheaper than in Kolkata. Well, a map of the MTA New York City Subway is enough to move about alone even if you are from a small town.

New York comprises the five boroughs of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and of course Manhatten- each with its own set of cultural and social attractions. But the soul of New York I am so raving about perhaps resides in the heart of Manhatten, in the famous spot of perennial festivity-Times Square.

Known as the Crossroads of the World, this 30-square-block neighborhood is midtown Manhattan's central intersection, a major corporate headquarters, as well as a hub for theatre-goers (yes, Broadway), commuters, tourists and shoppers. Stretching between Sixth and Eight avenues, and from 40th to 53rd streets, this singular location is jam-packed with restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues and razzle-dazzle signs. Night or day, there's something exciting happening: a news flash on the Square's giant NBC Astrovision by Panasonic, instant stock quotes on the Morgan Stanley Dean Witter sign, the opening of a Broadway musical, a holiday parade, celebrity sightings, the filming of a movie, live taping of an MTV segment or Hare Krishna chanting ISKON devotees. Don't miss a single minute!

At dusk, stand in Times Square's Bow Tie, the intersection where Seventh Avenue and Broadway criss-cross. Look up. As night falls on Manhattan, Times Square puts on a show of its own. With signs 10, 20 and 30-feet high blasting a vivid spectrum of neon colours into the dark, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed.

Times Square is also about the Broadway. Since the 1890s, Broadway has been a magnet for fun-hungry New Yorkers: musicals, vaudeville, burlesque, serious drama. In fact, millions of people still head to Times Square for long-running hits or previews of brand new shows every year. Currently, there are over 40 theatres, including 28 landmark Broadway houses. If ghosts give you goosebumps, tiptoe past the Belasco Theatre (111 W. 44th St.). Rumour has it the theatre is haunted by its congenial builder, early Broadway producer David Belasco.

Times Square has been the home of the music publishing industry since the early 20th century. It was originally known in the business as Tin Pan Alley. (Musicians made such a racket practising in alley studios, it sounded like banging tin pans.) The Brill Building, on Broadway at 49th Street, was the creative hub, where songwriters for Broadway, Hollywood and radio converged. Today, the neighbourhood continues to attract musicians and fans. There are also recording studios, major music company offices-BMG Music, Polygram, EMI - and outlets such as the Virgin Megastore, where performers regularly make appearances. MTV creates its own kind of musical style when stars like Ricky Martin show up for interviews. It's the only place in town you can make the big time, starting with buying an instrument and ending with a hit on the Top 40 charts.

One of Times Square's best-kept secrets is Music Row, a string of speciality instrument shops, repair shops and sheet music stores that line 48th Street.

Times Square is also home to more than 250 restaurants and small eating establishments. Times square features the oldest Indian restaurant, the first Thai restaurant in New York City, the only Scottish restaurant in the City, and some of the best of everything else. Restaurant Row alone has 26 dining spots lining 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues.

Tourists, try to drop in first at the Times Square Visitors' Center located at 1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets. Procure all your NYC information and brochures from here or access the Internet via Yahoo! free. You can avail of a host of services here like buying your Broadway tickets, sightseeing tours, official NYC gifts, et al.

To write about NY in one article is impossible. But sufficient to say that your NY tour begins at Times Square.