I thought about Shailesh’s statement. I nodded, even though in
half-agreement.
Jyoti, a thin, five-feet-six-inches-tall girl, appeared. She wore a
formal black skirt and shirt with a jacket.
‘Hi, Madhav. Have heard so much about you,’ Jyoti said and
extended her hand. She sounded like Samantha, except she had brown
skin and black eyes.
"Me too. Sorry to bother you until I find an apartment.’
'Stay as long as you want. Work keeps us so busy. At least
someone can use the place,’Jyoti said and turned to Shailesh. 'You
ready to go, honey?’
Shailesh nodded.
- l unpacked my clothes in the guestroom while making plans for the
next couple of days; the internship did not start until the day after. I
wondered if any live music bars would be open now.
I lay down for five minutes and woke up five hours later,
disoriented. Jet lag had made me lose track of time and space. I needed
a local SIM card. I checked the dollars in my wallet, picked up the
house keys and left.
Manhattan has a grid-like structure. Numbered streets run north to
south. The wider avenues run from east to west. Shailesh’s home on
Third Avenue and 83rd Street was close to Central Park, which had its
eastern side on Fifth Avenue.
The park, a landmark of the city, is three-and-a-half square
kilometres in area and runs all the way from 60th Street in the south to
120th Street up north, and Fifth Avenue on the east to Ninth Avenue
on the west.
The park helped me orient myself. Its southern tip had shops
where I could buy a SIM card.
I walked west from Third to Fifth Avenue, and then down south
twenty-three blocks from 83rd Street to 60th Street. In twenty minutes,