We were there !
Saturday morning wasn't exactly the right time to wake up considering i had just shifted to a new house the previous night after some frenzied packing and unpacking. so i didn't. I woke up at 1pm , shivering and cursing the room heater that had decided to take a break. got down to see roomies in a state of slumber. kicking each other and later taking turns to get ready, we finally got to the train station at 4:30pm to catch the train to nyc on new year's eve.
The 1.5 hour journey to the city was enough for me to take a short nap while occasionally opening my left eye just to make sure my umbrella wasn't stolen - gotten used to checking stuff like this thanks to travelling by buses in bangalore. While my umbrella stay put, i did notice that one of my potato rolls was missing, only to realize i had munched on it before curling up like a caterpillar. The travel was pretty uneventful except for the frequent entry of hordes of college kids at every stop.
The train finally made it's way into the city, and came to a halt at the station. Everyone seemed to be in hurry with people running out of the train. Getting down the train, we moved along to the exit to reach the 32nd street.
Though i have been to the city a couple of times, it's a nice feeling to come back again and again. I guess its because it is more closer to cities in india in terms of the busy life people lead here. 42nd street would be times square we concluded, and started walking towards it. As we walked it became more and more apparent that the event as always would be a big drawer this time around too. police platoons, all in their blacks, and armoured vehicles were scattered everywhere, directing people to specific streets to decongest the traffic. By the time we were on 38th street, we knew we were late by a few hours, when policemen started announcing "This Street's filled, take the next one !". running in every possible direction, we finally reached the Broadway Avenue. 42nd street was ten streets away now, and a sea of crowd in front puzzled us no less. The clock still showing 7pm, we had a long way to go before we could actually reach the point where "The Ball" drops. Cold as it was, in no time we were stuck in the crowd, without an inch to move, literally. I have to say, i have never seen such a crowd in my entire life. It seemed like every street was filled to the hilt. 750000 surely definitely could. i vaguely remember ulsoor festival in bangalore bringing in such huge crowds.
Security was tight, with police asking us to unzip our jackets, and in a few more places stopping people from getting backpacks. While a part of every road was cordoned off for free movement of the security personnel, the mounted police did take some time off to show off their well kempt horses to the crowd. The mounted police always draws a crowd, but this was no time for a photo-op. Huge Screens were put up on every street intersecting the broadway avenue. while a lot of stuff was happening on the stage put up on times square, which we saw on the screens, i hardly knew anyone who performed except mariah carey. Well at -2 Celcius, one has to commend her for wearing what she wore ! A big sign atop the stage screamed "MC" in stylized writing.
It was still 9pm, with no sign of the crowd moving any closer to 42nd street, while we were still stuck at 51st street. It did look calm and serene until then, what with people chatting away to glory all around us. Then came the big push from behind. whether it was a simmering energy that built up in due time or it was a deleberate push, i was thrown like a ping pong ball towards the huge man in front, falling flat on his back like a mosquito zapped by a net. with the fat man having nowhere to go he decided to push me back instead. Grrrrr. The rampaging crowd was merciless, and i had to virtually wriggle through my way sidewards to get a breather. the fat man stay put, giving a weak smile mumbling a "sorry". Without an inch to move, my friend, stuck in the crowd, later confessed to swallowing the gum he was chewing after failing to reach the side of the road to dispose it.
The crowd was now restless and crazy. while a lot of people started losing stuff, a few were losing their mind too. a few college girls jumped on to people to perch themselves on hapless shoulders; it sure gave them a clear view of the crowd. Shouting out incoherently, most were trying to call out their dear ones who were either stuck streets away, or had no idea where they were. Buildings along the street had turned into platforms for novice artists to show their talent, with a few standing behind glass windows trying to act weird and draw attention.
With every hour that went by, the temperature went down. Finally one college kid spotted "The Ball" , but only it's tiny reflection on the facade of a building. In her enthusiasm, she started pointing at it while drawing curious onlookers. funny as it seemed people were more happy watching the small reflection, than the huge screen that showed the same thing ! hell, we might as well have watched the whole thing on TV, in the cozy comforts of our home!
Back home in india, on new year's eve 2005 and before, whenever i saw celebrations at times square and the streets filled with people, i used to think that everyone there were having a great timeout there. I was here this time, and was slightly dissapointed. chilly as it was, was'nt the best time to be out, apart from being hungry, shivering, and having less than an inch of space to move on a street that wasn't even times square!
New year's eve celebrations in bangalore concentrates on Brigade road which is lit all along, and the crowd parties all night. However, the crowd goes berserk after 12 and we have had to run for cover to escape the hooligans who will not stop at breaking anything they find on their way. Our group of friends used to get together for a good dinner before zooming past home as soon as the clock struck 12.
After a long wait, the clocked ticked 12 and the ball dropped, flares jetting out of it in all directions with fireworks filling the sky. It seemed like the crowd was just waiting for it to get over, and dispersed almost immediately. wishing each other we started running towards the station again. caught the 2am train to reach by 4am.
Much as i would like to brush this off as a dissapointment, i can't but help acknowledge the efficient way in which NYPD handled the whole event. The amount of planning, the sheer strength and the kind of emergency systems that were in place...hmmm that was a first for me, otherwise i have been used to seeing policemen in bangalore wading long thick sticks scaring themselves more than the average individual during such events.
The other thing that was great was the crowd. Though i missed the actual event itself, the crowd was entertaining, and well behaved, which i hadnt expected at all.
That was new year's eve for me, not at times square, but near times square..... but, we were there !
The 1.5 hour journey to the city was enough for me to take a short nap while occasionally opening my left eye just to make sure my umbrella wasn't stolen - gotten used to checking stuff like this thanks to travelling by buses in bangalore. While my umbrella stay put, i did notice that one of my potato rolls was missing, only to realize i had munched on it before curling up like a caterpillar. The travel was pretty uneventful except for the frequent entry of hordes of college kids at every stop.
The train finally made it's way into the city, and came to a halt at the station. Everyone seemed to be in hurry with people running out of the train. Getting down the train, we moved along to the exit to reach the 32nd street.
Though i have been to the city a couple of times, it's a nice feeling to come back again and again. I guess its because it is more closer to cities in india in terms of the busy life people lead here. 42nd street would be times square we concluded, and started walking towards it. As we walked it became more and more apparent that the event as always would be a big drawer this time around too. police platoons, all in their blacks, and armoured vehicles were scattered everywhere, directing people to specific streets to decongest the traffic. By the time we were on 38th street, we knew we were late by a few hours, when policemen started announcing "This Street's filled, take the next one !". running in every possible direction, we finally reached the Broadway Avenue. 42nd street was ten streets away now, and a sea of crowd in front puzzled us no less. The clock still showing 7pm, we had a long way to go before we could actually reach the point where "The Ball" drops. Cold as it was, in no time we were stuck in the crowd, without an inch to move, literally. I have to say, i have never seen such a crowd in my entire life. It seemed like every street was filled to the hilt. 750000 surely definitely could. i vaguely remember ulsoor festival in bangalore bringing in such huge crowds.
Security was tight, with police asking us to unzip our jackets, and in a few more places stopping people from getting backpacks. While a part of every road was cordoned off for free movement of the security personnel, the mounted police did take some time off to show off their well kempt horses to the crowd. The mounted police always draws a crowd, but this was no time for a photo-op. Huge Screens were put up on every street intersecting the broadway avenue. while a lot of stuff was happening on the stage put up on times square, which we saw on the screens, i hardly knew anyone who performed except mariah carey. Well at -2 Celcius, one has to commend her for wearing what she wore ! A big sign atop the stage screamed "MC" in stylized writing.
It was still 9pm, with no sign of the crowd moving any closer to 42nd street, while we were still stuck at 51st street. It did look calm and serene until then, what with people chatting away to glory all around us. Then came the big push from behind. whether it was a simmering energy that built up in due time or it was a deleberate push, i was thrown like a ping pong ball towards the huge man in front, falling flat on his back like a mosquito zapped by a net. with the fat man having nowhere to go he decided to push me back instead. Grrrrr. The rampaging crowd was merciless, and i had to virtually wriggle through my way sidewards to get a breather. the fat man stay put, giving a weak smile mumbling a "sorry". Without an inch to move, my friend, stuck in the crowd, later confessed to swallowing the gum he was chewing after failing to reach the side of the road to dispose it.
The crowd was now restless and crazy. while a lot of people started losing stuff, a few were losing their mind too. a few college girls jumped on to people to perch themselves on hapless shoulders; it sure gave them a clear view of the crowd. Shouting out incoherently, most were trying to call out their dear ones who were either stuck streets away, or had no idea where they were. Buildings along the street had turned into platforms for novice artists to show their talent, with a few standing behind glass windows trying to act weird and draw attention.
With every hour that went by, the temperature went down. Finally one college kid spotted "The Ball" , but only it's tiny reflection on the facade of a building. In her enthusiasm, she started pointing at it while drawing curious onlookers. funny as it seemed people were more happy watching the small reflection, than the huge screen that showed the same thing ! hell, we might as well have watched the whole thing on TV, in the cozy comforts of our home!
Back home in india, on new year's eve 2005 and before, whenever i saw celebrations at times square and the streets filled with people, i used to think that everyone there were having a great timeout there. I was here this time, and was slightly dissapointed. chilly as it was, was'nt the best time to be out, apart from being hungry, shivering, and having less than an inch of space to move on a street that wasn't even times square!
New year's eve celebrations in bangalore concentrates on Brigade road which is lit all along, and the crowd parties all night. However, the crowd goes berserk after 12 and we have had to run for cover to escape the hooligans who will not stop at breaking anything they find on their way. Our group of friends used to get together for a good dinner before zooming past home as soon as the clock struck 12.
After a long wait, the clocked ticked 12 and the ball dropped, flares jetting out of it in all directions with fireworks filling the sky. It seemed like the crowd was just waiting for it to get over, and dispersed almost immediately. wishing each other we started running towards the station again. caught the 2am train to reach by 4am.
Much as i would like to brush this off as a dissapointment, i can't but help acknowledge the efficient way in which NYPD handled the whole event. The amount of planning, the sheer strength and the kind of emergency systems that were in place...hmmm that was a first for me, otherwise i have been used to seeing policemen in bangalore wading long thick sticks scaring themselves more than the average individual during such events.
The other thing that was great was the crowd. Though i missed the actual event itself, the crowd was entertaining, and well behaved, which i hadnt expected at all.
That was new year's eve for me, not at times square, but near times square..... but, we were there !
posted by Jagadish at 8:08 PM
9 Comments:
well written juggi.
my new years eve was a bigger dissapointment.
I went to this desi party and saw some abcd dagars dance and came back.
It was damn boring..except for an incident where a guy slipped on some spilt beer and skidded a mile before coming crashing down.Bless his soul for entertaining the crowd.
/Kiran
thanks kiran :)....
hahhaahaha, that was funny...reminds me of that fall your friend had on that prize distribution day in college :D :D
Nice description jaggs:-)
even I was really impressed by the way the crowd behaved in vegas. i mean they looked wild and were shouting , drinking etc, but they didnt really bother anybody.
-boda.
Hi Juggs,
A clean and neat description with typical Juggi style comments (chewing gum, caterpiller etc). You made me put "a new year bash at Times square" on my Todo list :-)
By the way, I didn't understand your street count; You started at 32nd one and walked but finally managed a street that is 10 streets away from 42nd street. So did you guys not move at all? Or there are 10 streets between 38th and 42nd streets? Did I miss something?
I see a typical feel-nice-about-western-society attitude setting in you. Good signs!
thanks boda :)...howdu crowd behaviour is amazing over here...was mighty impressed....mostly police bhaya nu irbodu ;)
haha supreeth, good catch :)...actually, we from 32nd to 38th street aitha, then they asked us to take a detour since the rest of the streets(38-42) was full.....so we went to the next avenue, and came back to broadway avenue from the other side....that is 52nd street....i dont remember how many streets we walked, but we walked a lot :D..
feel good ...hmmm swalpa ide....there are some very good things which is definitely commendable...u'll like it when u come too :)...aadrey benglur charm ee bere bidu :D
pix
Hey i never said i wrote this :)
i had got this as a forward from a friend.
I can put a link to ur blog from that post, if you are the real author.
Cheers!
Vamsi
uncles and aunts & IT
@ http://starts.blogspot.com/
late again,
My last's last trip was totally ruined by fog. Later, New Chinese friends had their own issues joining us in new year celebration and finally on new year eve, it was totally different.
I am waiting for Chinese new year this month end. For me, that will be the actual new year eve, to start few things afresh.
Suneel
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