Wednesday, September 21, 2005

B    is for Boston

Continuing the powdering of the Begumpetian rasa podi, on a theme by Ludwig. The strange thing is, even in Begumpet, there are things that will drag one kicking and screaming to Beantown. For example, almost right outside the office here, there used to be a huge advertisement board, carrying an ad for Emirates (the airline). "Experience New York daily!" or somesuch, went the ad. And of all things, it showed Mariano Rivera about to lunge into one of his divine pitches. One year back, this would've been an incredibly painful sight, for obvious reasons. Yet, this year, it brings back the the happiest thoughts.

Another thing about Hyderabad, there's an obscene, inordinate number of people wearing NYY caps. If they ever got booted out of Yankee Stadium, they'll find a warm welcome in Lal Bahadur Shastri stadium. Orai Jeter, nee yenkamma, sixer kotta ra, orai...!!!, scream the fans.

We digress. Boston was home for 4 years and 4 months. Well, actually Cambridge was home for 4 years and 4 months, but we can do a "C is for Cambridge" post and get away by copy-pasting this one there also [Paataala Bhairavi type laughter here]. The very first place one had a coffee in the US (Tosci's, Central Square) in August 1997 decided our fates, my precious. "Got to live in Beantown! Got to live in Beantown!", went the little idiot inside the head who passes off as a rational choice type character, mostly.

So the menage a trois (me, my precious, and Mr. Rational Choice Type C.) moved lock, stock, barrel, tyres and so on to Somerville. 4 years and 4 months of fun and games followed. What did we like about Beantown? The bookstores, the T; the squares (that aren't); the river, the running, the running around the river; the winters (pre-New Year); those two universities and even the third, fourth and fifth; this museum and that one; this, that and the other cinema; those two teams; that ocean (only one); these woods (lovely, dark, deep); the restauarants, the dhaaba!, Chinese 'truck' food with Nobel laureates on MIT lawns, the bars...

This is pointless, the list is too big. Strangely enough, the list is almost entirely about Cambridge. Boston was also cool :)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

now look what you've gone and done!
am in boston-reminiscing mode...
ahh the shrieking and clanking of the green line as it dived underground, bagles being finagled. and always taking visitors to fanueil hall and quincy market. best of all, having the license to be whinier than an indian cricket fan.

Anonymous said...

Dear Ludwig,

Fine post. Jeter would certainly be more welcome in India than, say Flintoff (after what has just been said).

Also, from beantown (2), I was thinking about the relative greenness of the grass on that side of one's life.

With winter icumen in, lhude sings cuckoo and all that, thoughts turn to what makes one happy and what made one happy in Boston and elsewhere.

And some part of the answer as was written by Colin Reese for Rachel Corrie (who died in Palestine)..

"I think of it like this, love is a function of community, and by community I mean the interwoven lives of the people our love and kindness have touched. However big your community is, to that degree are you loved and capable of loving. And this is a cliché, but some clichés are oft-said for a reason, love like a fire illuminates our lives".

And so, community and love.

Anonymous said...

Interesting, very interesting. And I notice for the first time you have actually tried to get really personal on this your space in the wired world. Well, at least a weebit. Yet, you digress. Me wonders why!

Agree with the comment above - it is often the people that we share a particular place with that dominate our perception of the place itself. So, the question - who/what made one so happy in Boston, that the memories linger?

Anonymous said...

[cann, f.y.] That hall, and the market behind it were left out. So was the other bloke's house in the North End, not to mention the coffee shops, the trail marked in red through the cobblestones, the Common, the Garden, the Park... This will turn us into the Greek God Of Mawks

[tmkahhi] After all, Jeter is (was?) dating Miss India... Yes, community and love, man. And orgies. We could use some orgies. Aren't they the ultimate community and love rolled-into-one package? Just about as much community, and as much love as one can handle.

[anonymous] Shit, was it that personal?! Will stop right away. Can't handle this personal type New Age stuff.

Anonymous said...

young spinoza,

one cannot help but remark on the oddness of 'ludwig' telling 'keynes' that orgies are in order.

I am sure thatt the original lord K would have jumped at the offer,
fair lydia lopokova or not.

Nimbus said...

Is it fair to do this to one so early in the morning? Referring to 'sixer kotta ra, orai'. Positively howled.

How can one not comment? How how how, I say? (A similar sound one makes when stepping on a thumbtack, but that is a whole different story.) 3 years and 6 months one lived in Cambridge. Sported the 02138 T-shirt even for a while. (Tosci's zip code, incidentally) Have moved a lil further west along the Charles now, but the heart still lives in Boston. And yes, the list is too long. I gave up trying.

Anonymous said...

[tmkahhi] Odd, isn't it? There have been other reversals of roles also no, Friedrich?

[megha] It is very annoying to see NYY caps in Begumpet. Bought this walking traffic light type Sox T-shirt at Fenway last summer, think I'll loop de loop 'round Hussain S. every weekend in it. Walking advertisement. Well, self also given up making list about Bawhstn. No point.

tris said...

Trader Joe's, roller-blading on Sunday afternoon's on mem-drive, Rodney's, the Buddhist Tea House on mass Ave., 1369

.....

Ludwig said...

[tilotamma] *sigh* Yes.

1369 in Inman Sq., after a session at les dhaba

Diesel Cafe, MacIntyre and Moore, and so on in Davis.

Heck, ABP at Harvard Sq. sounds pretty good from here.

Mem Dr. - Standin' on the corner watchin' all the girls go by.

The Minuteman Trail.

Rambling discussions on Killian Court.

And so on...

tris said...

come back Ludwig :-)

The excellent Ethiopian rest. on C'Square is gone but the bad one actoss the street is still there...

S&S

The Pit at the Harvard T

Casblanca....

Bubble Tea at Dado's...

tris said...

got to share this one with you then:
http://tilotamma.blogspot.com/2005/09/local-movie-i.html

Ludwig said...

[tilotamma]
> come back Ludwig :-)

Ach so! If someone forked out the money needed for the round trip tickets :P Cambridge was starting to get very gentrified when we left...

The Brattle, Algiers, cheap martinis at Grendel's Den, Cristo's 7 Star Pizzas and Subs...

So on and so forth.