A New Yorkers Hurricane IRENE To Do List Compared to the Regular Joe

Just captures the New Yorkers mind and spirit! Some more awesome Images as Hurricane Irene comes calling

Image: On Streets of New York as Hurricane Irene comes calling- What no Media Network will Show You!

More IMAGES - from the streets of New York as Hurricae Irene Calls In

This is why New York is the greatest city in the World. You wouldnt imagine to see this when IRENE is almost knocking on the city doors. As the whole country (even the world) is glued to their televisions to see the images of Irene, die hard new yorkers do what they do best. Enjoy every moment - in my neighborhood, even though it almost empty there are people who were out and about. But these three take the prize for the coolest !

Saw them on the corner of Mott and Spring street like 2 hrs ago - making merry and totally enjoying the first big showers of Hurricane Irene

Piano Notes Wafting in a Subway Platform

New York City never ceases to amaze. But its in the small, unexpected and the unimaginable acts, sights and sounds, that the city truly does amaze one. And tonight was one such moment. I had just entered the subway at the Union Square Station (after watching the absolutely mindless and totally not worth it. Lost World) when i heard the notes of a piano! Yes and there across the platform on the downtown N, R, Q, W train was a main playing beautiful notes on a piano! That was the first for me in 6 years of living in the city. I have seen drummers, jazz musicians, flutists, guitarists but never a pianist.

And there he was playing, in the middle of the platform oblivious of the din of incoming trains. There were just a handful of people and every one was sought of caught in the stillness of time. It was a pure Kodak moment and for a rare occasion i didn't mind waiting longer the for uptown train. As you can see, the picture above and the video below are worth more than any words!



In the mad frenzy and hustle and bustle of the city, you never know when the city can send you into a time warp (as it did Will Ferrell into the land of the lost. Thankfully the mindless T-Rex didnt break the solitude and the notes of the pianist)

The Punjabi Deli. Place for Many Happy and Delicious Home Style Meals

Punjabi Deli. Or should i say THE (one and only) Punjabi Deli is one of the most popular, and justifiably so, places to get home-style vegetarian Punjabi food in New York City. Located on East 114th 1st Street (basically at the intersection of Ave A and Houston Street), this place has become a local favorite.

Started by some Indian Sikh Cab drivers in the early 90s as a place for cabbies to come park there (yep, wonder if you re driving a cab, where would you take a leak, if you have to, without having to go crazy finding a parking spot) and get some home-style Indian food. To be precise food eaten in the northern state of Punjab.

Over the years, this place has become immensely popular just on the basis of word-of-mouth advertising. Whoever, eats here comes back and tells their friends. And the place does serve the same delicious fare, day after day, hour after hour - yes, its opne 24X7, 365 days a year. And before i get to the food, i must mention that the staff at the Punjabi Deli is just absolutely fab - they are always welcoming, polite and just look cheerful. And you are likely to hear a lot of good punjabi music - folk music, movie or devotional songs.

Getting to the food - they have several veggies - spinach, mixed veggies (carrots, potatoes, cauliflower mix), black lentils, chickpeas, indian cheese (paneer) with peas and a bunch of seasonsal stuff. Then they have an assortment of breads - plain wheat bread (roti), or wheat bread stuffed with potatotes (paranthas) and the most awesome of all, corn bread (called "makki roti" in punjabi). Watch their fare here

You can begin with light snacks if you like - samosas, potato cutlets (tikki) and fried battered potatoes and spinach - pakodas. I like everything but after so many meals, i have my favorite selection. here is a typical meal

1. Corn bread with indian butter
2. A plate of spinach - this is just awesome - the spinach with garlic in it is a perfect thing to eat your corn bread with - this combo is a staple diet for the hard-working farmers in Punjab who have this in the morning before hitting the fields
3. Then go for the peas with cheese (paneer) mixx
4. And have the number 3 with the parantha - the stuffed potatoes bread

Hmmm. i cant stop salivating. And here is a recommendation - add a "Thumbs up" (indian cola) to your menu as you savor these delights. Or just step out and eat in the open air ont he sidewalk (inside too you have to stand and eat as the place is really narrow)

And yes, i have yet gotten to the dessert -end your meal with an Indian Ice Cream - the Kulfi. Kulfi is made from condensed milk frozen with a mix of saffron (that is the saffron flavor), or pistachio or almonds.

You will be a very contented person after this meal. And all for like less then $10 - most of the items sell between $1-$2 !! Yeah, if you are full but not fully contented, then get some food packed for the other days.

And yes, if you happen to visit this place after 1 am on fri or sat nights, expect it to be quite full - people flock to this place when they are hungry after their party nights, as i often do.

Thanks Punjabi Deli for making home-style , delicious food available always!

Union square, a center for urban energy and youth

Union square, is a vibrant melting pot of urban energy and youth in the city of melting pots. Its a small park between 14th and 16th streets and university place and park av. All around are shopping centers from whole foods, barnes and noble, urban outfitters to starbucks.

But what makes union square a real center of city pop culture, urban kitsch is its youthful energy, year round. No matter when one lands up there, there is a always people sitting along the open plaza with steps leading in the park. In the summer, specially, the place is a buzz till late , late in the night.

You can see them all - single person strong anti-war protesters, to environmentalists to artists selling there wares. Throngs of college kids or late 20s , early 30s type gather here to do their own form of expression. Music rules here - not uncommon to see varied performances by single artisists or groups of them .

Just take tonight for an example. It was like 12.15 am and i got off the union sq station to head home in stuy town. The weather has been exceptional today and a gentle breeze uplifted my spirits (had just watch the latest Mummy movie which was really bad ).

I stopped by at union sq steps. A large gathering had come together in the center. It was an impromptu rap gig that was going on with some 5-6 dozens of kids rapping away to glory with a DJ giving them ample sound effects. It was pretty awesome - the music was really original and spontaneous.

A side group , of 10-12 were doing their own rap jam - a sort of continuous jam session but as rap. They had a guy who was play the mridangam (an indian drum). This group was really creative with each of the 5 rappers really going after one another (the topic was porn !)
I hung around for 10-15 minutes. Nearby bunch of kids were ploughing there skating boards and trying all sorts of antics. But the coolest dudes were the ones on BMX bikes (see above)- they had setup some barriers and each biker was taking turns at doing jumps over the barriers - twisting and turning and zipping through the air as they did their jumps!

It all reminded me of the carefree abandon of college days in india. In med school we would stay awake till 3-4 am and spent all the time playing cricket inside the dorms or carrom or chess with endless round of tea and eggs wrapped in buns would be served by the local canteen staff. It wasnt too long ago , but it wasnt yesterday too (some like 10-12 yrs ago).

Ofcourse, there is no local canteen guy serving, indian style tea (chai) - but the spirit and the energy is the same. As i walk past the park and head home, i see curious onlookers trying to decipher the running digits on the huge wall next to the regal cinemas - you may have noticed it too . Its the metronome and after a long time i finally figures that the numbers show the current time (running left to right ) and the time remaining in the rest of the day (from right to left). I save them the trouble and offer to explain the numbers.

And as the hustle and bustle of union square recedes, i wonder what Gandhi would have said about all the youthful energy and expression (yes, Gandhi's statue is set in the south west corner of the park).

I m sure he would have approved of these youth who have made union square a symbol of social and political activism and cultural definition. Perhaps, one day, i could get a new york film academy (located on the north eastern part of the park) grad student to do a documentary on this urban mecca!

Meeting the Revolutionary, Mystic, Political Journalist while finding a sublet

I have been living in the city for 4-5 yrs and have been pretty much subletting since 2005. You know, moving from an apartment in one neighborhood to another every 3-4 mths. People ask me why and i just tell them , "you get to see the city. you get to meet new people." But obviously there is much more than just that .... as in this random sublet meeting.

So i was looking for a new sublet as i was to move from my current place in stuy town(14th and av b - great place). I found a guy subletting his place on 9th and Av C (the source is always craigslist.com) . Around 11.30 pm i got to his place with two other friends. I really wasnt sure i wanted to move down to this place but i figured i will have a peek. What happened for next 45 mins was very interesting....

So we walked into this guys place (who is originally from south asia. lets call him O) who works as a journalist. Immediately i sensed we were meeting some one very different. O's place is a small one bed room in a 6 floor walk-up. I hadnt met this guy before - he is short, small frame but high intensity. I was late so ofcourse, the retort, "you are just like other desis, always late."

The guy had fallen asleep and so he was a bit dis-oriented but got talking. He explained that he was looking for some one share the place with him for 2-3 weeks so that he could pay the rent as he was broke after his just concluded visit to Denmark (i learnt later to meet his mother after 17 yrs) and holland.

We got talking. My current room-mate, M and a friend S were there too. O lit a cigarette. His living room was small and a bit unkempt. A bookshelf contained some books - about socialism, marxism, history and other stuff (the person is a political journalist). The walls were adorned by paintings (some rather nice abstract stuff, which O said were made by a woman who fell in love with him, some years ago). A big decoration piece made of feathers was hanging from one wall. Another contained a painting of a native American chief. Rather interesting.

So we got talking - i asked him where he was from (meaning where from in India, Pakistan or bangladesh). That was just the first in a string of interesting answers from O. He said , " i belong to mother earth. I am now a citizen of the United States but i am actually the guest of the American Indians." That was quite a statement.

On explained, that we humans have unnecessarily created ugliness and divisions - we all belong to mother earth but just cant live in peace. He obviously was voicing deep felt anger, frustration with the conflicts that have been fought over land. Going further he said he didnt recognize that two countries had a right to their own dominion (one in which he was born and the other in the middle east).

I noticed a book written in the beautiful language of Urdu. I asked O to recite a page - it was urdu poetry - revolutionary poetry by a famous ant-government poet in pakistan. The poem was about "speaking the truth", even when one is threatened, is offered momentary pleasures or enslaved. So this short meeting for a sublet was turning into a politically intense conversation about freedom, revolutions and much more....

Suddenly O got up and decided to lighten up the mood - he showed me his bedroom - small but decent with a cane bed - said i could sleep there while he could crash in the narrow adjoining half-room that served as his library. He turned on some music on a very old cassette player - some folk music. O said from the indus valley civilization , a famous artist who was recorded without knowing about it. The music was indeed beautiful.

O and M got talking. M and S were both really enjoying something they obviously dont see in routine life - and the music sure was making the conversation lighter. Suddenly, O got up and started dancing - says life is music, life is living in the moment. Life is hashish (hash - he obviously was doped out in Amsterdam).

O then explained that he has been an award winning journalist writing for political justice for the under-represented and under-privileged. He offered to make us some coffee but we had to go. Around 12.30 am, we decided to leave. I spent 5 mins talkin to him about the sublet - i sort of knew i may not stay there but i liked O and i thought it wud be a great experience. So i committed to take the place for 2 weeks and give the money. Next morning i caleld up saying i wouldnt be staying there (but i still stood my commitment about the money.

O invited us to a small party the next day - at his friends house who was about to leave for another great city. The next day i did go to the party.

But sure the night was interesting. And as i said, i can add another reason, why subletting in NYC has been so great and interesting. You never know who you meet ....