“Regupathi Raghava Rajaram…” “Sare jahan se acha..” “Jana gana mana…” I was chanting these mantras, sitting on a bench in the park minutes after I bowed my head before the Lord…or rather the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Indian embassy in Washington DC. We came across other embassies as well while we were on our way to the Indian embassy. But our main agenda was to see the White House and the memorials around the president’s ‘palace’, apart from the Supreme Court and other buildings connected with the administration of the big country, the USA! Surprisingly, the city was calm and charming surrounded by parks, neat and broad roads and sidewalks. The sky scrapers associated with modern cities were few and far between. I was more interested in the history of the city rather than the geography.
Then came our visit to New York by train. Here again, rural ambiance overshadowed the expected boredom of modern cities! But appearances were deceptive. The moment we reached New York, we had had the taste of a gigantic city which forced us to say, “you are in USA, boss”!