A whole New World - US trip #1

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This July and August, I had the good fortune to go to the United States! I was accepted to a workshop at Rutgers University. This came after a run of bad fortune applying for a re-issue of passport to go to UC Berkeley for a semester-long programme, the previous semester. I guess the east coast is lucky for me. 

I landed in John F. Kennedy airport in the early evening. It has many terminals, but mine wasn't very large, and soon after exiting immigration I was suddenly on the street! After following some directions I was able to make it to the nearest subway station via the AirTrain.

I was to go to Penn Station to catch the New Jersey Transit train to New Brunswick. The NYC subway is famous..ly not clean. Well, nothing I'm not used to in Mumbai. The funny thing is the signages would sometimes say "uptown", "downtown" or locality names instead of the last stop of the train, which was confusing sometimes. The main indication I was in the US was that everyone around me was speaking in the accent I normally associate with movies.

Penn Station is right below Madison Square Garden arena, and the Empire State Building is also visible. I stepped out to take a quick picture before taking the NJ transit. 

 

 Madison Square Garden is on the right.

 

Empire State of Mind

In New Brunswick, we were put up in Heldrich Hotel. It was really nice! In front is a statue commemorating one of the first public readings of the Declaration of Independence, in 1776.

 

 

 

A stormy view of CoRE Building (the computer science building). 

 

View from high up in the CoRE.

Many buildings in New Brunswick are related to Rutgers, but of course not all. There seems to be a Hungarian-American community, with its own churches and clubs. 

 

 

 

"Henry Guest House" - not a guest house named after a person called Henry, but the house of someone called Henry Guest. 

 

 

The Lord God made them all.

 

A variety of eateries exist. Among other things, I tried vegan hot dogs, Ethiopian injera and mexican burritos.

 

 

I suppose you could have all these types of neighbours.

 

In a Mexican store. Haaland and Neymar are famous everywhere.

 

 

 

Injera, quite like a dosai. Very tasty!

On the final day we decided to go to New York City again — I had only seen it momentarily, and my friends who had landed in Newark not at all. We got out at Penn Station and walked around Manhattan for a while, including along Fifth Avenue. Yes, every building looked like the apartment from Friends.

 

Empire State again! Do you see it peeking out?

 

Moynihan Train Hall is a recent expansion of Penn Station.

 

We could pass for a boy band performing in MSG above. Right?

Lots of brands have large outlets here. We spent some time in a Lego shop.

 

Considered blowing my entire trip budget on this Lego F1 car.

From the tip of Manhattan, there is a free ferry to Staten Island. People actually use it to commute.

 

I didn't think the Spirit of America referred to socialized free stuff.

 

 

Bye for the next hour, Manhattan  

 

The best part? The Statue of Liberty is visible from the ferry!

 

Liberty on the horizon   

 

Proud of this shot!

 

Locking in, docking in...

At Staten Island, we decided to have dinner. In keeping with the world food theme, we went to a Turkish place called Mavi Cafe. 

 

A falafel sandwich.

I also wanted to see Times Square. We'd have to hurry if we wanted to catch the last train to New Brunswick, so it was only a quick look. The others were underwhelmed, but I felt like I was in the Saturday Night Live intro. 

 

Yes, it was a sea of humanity on a weeknight at 10 pm! 

The next day, I boarded the Amtrak to Boston.

 

Penn Station is pretty big. Notice: no general places to sit. Probably an anti-homeless measure.

 

When you've left New York, and have some Times to spare (sorry)

 

The line went along the seaside for many stretches in Connecticut and Rhode island. 

 

It was a pricey but extremely picturesque ride, to the other side of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. That's for another article, see you then!

Missives from midwicket - Eng vs SA

Like every other cricket fan in this country, I found the schedule and ticket sales for this World Cup to be a shambles. The original ticket sales days came and went with the tickets "selling out" instantaneously. Luckily, after the embarrassment of the first few matches, BCCI in its infinite kindness decided to release some more, and I managed to get my hands on some for England vs South Africa here in Wankhede Stadium.

In the days leading up to the match, I made a "spotter's guide" for myself. Shirt numbers are not as important in cricket as they are in football, but for a fan in the stands, they are a great help. 

Finally it was matchday, a Saturday. This was the first match in Mumbai (certainly a far more cricket-loving city than some of those already rewarded), so excitement was high. There were people buying Jos Buttler shirts on the foot-bridge over the western line. Several people appearing to be English nationals were coming into the gates with us, wearing a variety of jerseys including West Ham. After a walk, a comprehensive pat-down and a short flight of steps, we were in the stadium! Now, signs are allowed inside (RIP the one I couldn't take into Chepauk in 2011) but coins are not allowed. We found some seats not in the direct sunlight. Sam Curran and Moeen Ali were bowling on the practice pitches. 

 

 

The seats would fill up soon, don't worry

Soon it was toss time. Thanks to the spotter's guide and maybe a little help from the skin colour, I could tell it was Aidan Markram in the middle as SA's captain and not Temba Bavuma, who turned out to be unwell. England chose to field, which seemed brave given the heat. I suppose they thought dew would be a major factor. Spoiler: that's not how it turned out!

 

Giant flags for the anthems

Lots of people can give better match reports than me, so I'll keep it brief. Quinton de Kock, stellar in this World Cup so far, fell on just the second ball. Reeza Hendricks (Bavuma's replacement - he later said he knew he would be playing barely minutes before the toss) and Rassie van der Dussen steadied the ship. Adil Rashid spun them both out in the middle overs. Heinrich Klaasen and Marco Jansen put on an electrifying show in the last ten overs, scoring some 150 runs to set an imposing target of 400. 

Among casual cricket fans (I am probably one myself), the cheering was proportional to name-recognition. There was a lot of excitement for Ben Stokes' return to ODI cricket, and this inexplicable fandom for Buttler (who doesn't even play for MI). When de Kock fell and SA continued slowly for some overs, the crowd was unenthused. The bowlers Reece Topley and David Willey are not household names either. However, everyone loves big hits, and by the end, there were chants of "Klaasen, Klaasen!" in the cadence of "Sachin, Sachin!" (yes, the latter was chanted too during some slow periods). His century received a standing ovation. 

Fielding near us for most of it was Harry Brook, who was mostly unmoved by people calling for him to wave. Once, when he made a rolling dive to save a four, people shouted "Oscar!" for his "acting". Only in the cheap seats! 

Towards the end of the innings, it was Joe Root hanging out near us. He was much more receptive, giving us waves and smiles. 

 

Root stretching

 

The heat was obviously taking a toll on the players. Willey abandoned one run-up and doubled over in fatigue. Klaasen had cramps and didn't run at the end, choosing to save his energy to smash the ball into the boundary instead. Brook near us was constantly hydrating. England as a team was wilting, and the task at hand was massive. Not to forget, they had just lost to Afghanistan, and were basically playing to stay in the tournament. After the break, Klaasen had earned his right to skip fielding for a while. The screen showed him in the dressing room, or was it a Roman bathhouse?

 

 

An honourable man

In the innings break I went outside to get some food. The scene outside was like a peak hour suburban train. Somehow I managed to get some boxes of fried rice and sauce. Actually there were a few different options, including pizza, and the value for money is far better than in a movie theatre or airport. 

We were expecting the defending champions to put on a brave chase. Alas, it was not to be. Jonny Bairstow hit a skier that was caught by van der Dussen (near us!). Joe Root pushed one to leg slip, Malan was caught behind. Ben Stokes pulled a nice four near us, but gave Rabada a return catch soon after, and that was that. The pressure to get going immediately meant they were taking risks, which weren't paying off.  

 

van der Dussen - unfortunately not a chant-able surname like Root

 

Before you knew it, England were 68/6. People began to leave, to beat the crowd. This included England fans, who were ushered out to sarcastic "England! England!" chants. They would miss a fun cameo by Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson, who rescued their team's NRR with some carefree hits. They took the score from 100 to 170. Topley injured his hand and couldn't bat, so there ended a massive 229-run defeat. Sadly what was billed as a heavyweight clash did not deliver.

Spectators seemed to have no less fun though. Some of the non-players also received hearty cheers. Former MI star JP Duminy is on the SA coaching staff. And of course, Harbhajan Singh, now a presenter, did a half-lap greeting everyone during the innings break. 

 

Sunset

The producers did their best to bring an Indian flavour to the crowd involvement. When the "Tabla cam" and "Sitar cam" are on you, you should mime playing that instrument. DJ had the best of Bollywood of the last decade along with a couple of Telugu megahits (guess which?). I think the players get to choose their "walkout music" when they come out to bat, in which case, 10/10 to Stokes for choosing Mr Brightside.

The only dampeners were the emcees on the big speakers. They clearly had poor knowledge of cricket, mispronounced several players' names (including Klaasen's, for the entire duration of his long innings. That might have been harder for him to bear than the heat.) At one point, loud boos filled the stadium as one said "Sri Lanka" instead of "South Africa".

 

A special Victory Memorial Stand at the spot where Dhoni hit "that" six

 

Otherwise, it was a fun time. The neutral crowd appreciated good shots and good bits of fielding. Exiting was orderly. Now, time for the perfect way to seal a tough day for my vocal cords - ice-cream at Naturals on Marine Drive. And for the rest of the World Cup - India, India! 

 

And then I don't feel so bad - The Sound of Music at NMACC

If you live in Mumbai, the promotions for the live show of The Sound of Music in the new NMACC auditorium in Bandra-Kurla Complex have been inescapable — from posters to IPL breaks between overs. And since (i) the movie is one of my favourites ever, (ii) live performances of any kind are always a welcome break from reading CS papers from decades past and (iii) I have a blog to keep alive, I absolutely had to go. Everyone knows that musicals are expensive — this one was performed by a Broadway cast — but, for the three reasons above, I was okay with what I shelled out for a nearly-centred balcony seat.

Approaching, you see the imposing facade. I wonder what was pulled down to make room for this in a strategic location in BKC. The gate and security are like any other hall, but then you enter what seems like a gilded, glittery version of T2 of Mumbai Airport. There's certainly a refinement that, say, Shanmukhananda Hall lacks. 

There are art pieces all along the corridor, and also some event-specific photo locations. 

 

The lobby-like area has candy stalls, a place for children to play and lots of seating space. You can see the fountain outside — it isn't running all the time, only in the night show at 8 pm and possibly some other times (it was during the interval).

 

The hall is more circular than my usual points of reference - Music Academy, Sir Mutha Concert Hall and certainly Narada Gana Sabha. As a result, at least on the balcony, no one could feel horizontally very far from the stage, though I can't speak for how good the view is from the corners. It's also planned with lots of aisles so you don't have to cross too many people's knees to get to your seat. (MA really fails here, and my brother loves making us get past everyone and sit in the centre too!) Sound was very good, I had no complaints. 

In case you didn't know, the musical of The Sound of Music predates the film. Some songs occur in slightly different places, and some are there that aren't in the film at all. So it was definitely a more interesting watch than a frame-by-frame copy (but my favourite scene, the puppet show, sadly wasn't there). There is also a change or two to the story! Rolf, who betrays the family in the film, is redeemed here as he refuses to reveal their hideout to the Nazis.

This was my first time watching this kind of musical. It was quite amazing how smoothly they changed props and backdrops, wheeling benches and staircases in and out. The von Trapp children were delightful. Maria's character is more breezy and cheerful than in the movie, and the actress brought it out pretty well. I felt the actor playing Baron von Trapp had a bit of animated American-ness that didn't fit with the measured regal nature of a European military nobleman. But it was always going to be hard to match up to Christopher Plummer.

The one who stole the audiences' hearts was, however, the Mother Superior of the church. The character's songs are quite operatic, and the actress' powerful voice did them justice and was also well appreciated by Indian ears.

There was a pretty nice, if pricey, range of refreshments during the interval. Despite the many counters, lines became long quite fast, so that is another thing the new establishment has to figure out. Otherwise, for an occasional indulgence, I had a nice time. And definitely enough pleasant earworms for the next few days.