TWO CITIES; TWO DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES

I wonder where do I begin this blog entry from.

There are many things I saw and I did this past fortnight. I wrote a few pieces for Sun Sentinel; visited new places and met new people.

Last week, I also took a bus-journey to and from New York-Boston. China's increasing presence in the U.S. life is not a secret. Well, the bus journey provided me a small insight into that. Besides, China Town buses are, as in other cases, in-expensive.

But my meeting particularly with two individuals was incredible. I went up north to New York and Boston, where I shared some of my field experiences with an energetic group of Indian professionals who volunteer for the Association for India's Development (AID). As always, it was more of an education for me to meet them.

But my interaction with Mark Kurlansky, well known writer and journalist whose 15 books are an example of best journalism and non-fiction literature, was exciting. I've read his latest book - Food of a young nation, and previous title, Salt.

Kurlansky is easily among the frontline writers of America with a strong narrative prowess. He writes on subjects that he thinks are "important"; that he could "spend a lot of time with" and have "a strong narrative". I took it as a great advice.

It was thanks to my mentor Doreen that I could meet Mark, who's her old friend. We met in a French restaurant in New York chatting on issues ranging from Gandhi to War. One of his books is titled Non-Violence, and Doreen tells me it's a must-read. In the world ravaged with conflicts, this one's a book that delves into Gandhi's political doctrine of non-violence with which he achieved India's independence.

For any journalist, who at some point, wants to write a book, Kurlansky's advice is as powerfully simple as the man himself.

The second soul who inspired me greatly on this trip: Jonathan Fine, a retired physician in Boston and an important member of the AID chapter. At 78, he is un-relenting in whatever he does. His strong point: humor.

Jonathan came straight from the emergency room of a hospital where he underwent several checks for stroke (he's had mild ones in this past week or so), to my talk in the MIT campus; back to his witty best. To the concerned AID youngsters who advised him to take rest, he replied: "Is that the last joke of the day?"

Then of course, the other things that were equally absorbing. Visiting Ground Zero; plying in the New York sub-way train; walking through the vast stretches of Central Park; watching the fast-moving New Yorkers; the big museums; the financial district of what could best be described as the global town; or the Ellis Island to trace the history of the droves of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century - it was fun, education and refreshing contrast to my newsroom and journalism experience.

Doreen and I also visited the newsroom of Pro-Publica (www.propublica.org), thanks to a former Sun Sentinel and LA Times staffer, Robin Fields, who now works for this organization that is funded by a non-profit to keep alive investigative journalism in the era of lay-offs and media meltdown. Some of the top investigative journalists of the United States work in this newsroom that provides an amazing view of downtown New York from its office in a high-rise building in Manhattan.

I also walked through the campuses of some of the famous universities - Columbia in New York; Harvard, MIT and Tufts in Boston. The rich academic ambiance of these prestigious academic institutions are benchmarks for global education standards. No wonder they attract some of the best brainy migratory birds from all over the world.

The trip undoubtedly provided me a new picture of the United States, radically different from the one I got in Florida. Unlike South Florida, New York is a busy and bustling city that like Mumbai never sleeps.

In New York, I discovered humor in public life in public places - it could be the 9/11 effect that people care to stop and help you if you are lost. "Take this alley and then turn right, walk two blocks and destination will be to your left!" Fast-moving passers-by will stop and tell you, if they find you stuck somewhere.

Manhattan's high-rise buildings - particularly at the Time Square - attract tourists by hordes. It's eye-catching. As a friend chuckles: "Capitalism is seductive".

I also saw a critically acclaimed musical on the Broadway. 'Hair', the musical that made a rocking comeback earlier this year, was controversial in the 1960s post-Vietnam war. I had no idea that the hippie movement had roots in anti-war movement of that era. India witnessed floods of hippies in the early 1970s with the Hare Rama Hare Krishna movement. The musical in its new avatar makes the same points that it made in the late 60s. Ironically nothing has changed. War hysteria is still alive and in pretty much the same garb - democracy, freedom and liberty! Wow!

Hair - a metaphor for expressing protest against war mongering - is still relevant.

A week earlier I visited for a day the dreamland of Key West - driving through a chain of islands south of Miami.

It was not just fun or picnicking that I was seeking to achieve but a peep into a very diverse picture of this land - a diversity that is fast becoming a relic of the past as more mono-culturistic doctrines emerge to hold an economic sway.

The Alfred Friendly fellowship, I think, is not only about the insights into media operations or learning the new skills, but also develop a better worldview and also understanding of the global issues. The past fortnight my journeys in this distant land aimed at achieving exactly that - a view from the top and the bottom of this world, of the people in different trappings, of diversity that's endangered.

On a more professional side, I did two more pieces - a story on how communities are now supporting local farmers to re-invigorate local food systems. And an essay for the Sunday Outlook of September 20 that takes a dig at Thomas Friedman's flat-view of the oval world. My mentor loved the essay, which means I did learn some lessons in good writing. Hope the trend continues for a long term.

With that story, I am saying good bye to my host newspaper, the Sun Sentinel, and my host city, Fort Lauderdale, the Venice of America.