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| Saturday, 8 December 2001 |
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Features | |
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Cameos: Two cities in the U.S. by K. S. Sivakumaran The September 11, 2001 unpardonable catastrophe in America causing massive death and loss of valuable e property reminded me of my first very short visit to that country. In September, 1998, my wife and I visited the U.S. to be present at the wedding of our son Raghuram to Michele. Our other son Anantharam and his partner Shared too were there from Australia. It was a family reunion. During the short span of 11 days, I could see only superficial aspects of the American lifestyle. We could visit only some parts of Cincinnati and drive to Chicago and be back. It was an extremely short stay, but the journey was a bit stretched out. More than the flying time, the time spent in Amsterdam, Chicago and New York airports was too long-nearly 15 hours and yet it was worth a visit. Incidentally I was travelling from Muscat, Oman to the States and back, Whereas my spouse travelled from Colombo via Singapore. She too had to spend more hours at the airport. The visit was memorable since it involved family bonds and love. The purpose of this piece is to give the readers some impressions and facts about the two cities in the U.S. Cincinnati is a well-laid out neat, cosmopolitan town, Sri Lankan visitors to this city should visit Araliya, run by a Sri Lankan lady. Those who like spicy food served in Oriental style will enjoy immensely. The Community Hall, where the civil wedding took place, is a sprawling area well-set lawns. In Cincinnati, there is the influential Enquirer, a newspaper covering Michigan as well as Chicago. Chicago The metropolis in Ohio state is a marvellously grown wonderland. This 'windy city' has a skyline which is stunning indeed. It is the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. with a population of more than seven million people. In downtown Chicago, one sees the famous Wringley Building and Tribune Tower: These are architectural landmarks. The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times publishing houses, are internationally known for their newspapers. There is the North Pier with shipping and shopping facilities. The Chicago River, where riverside architecture allures the visitors, is another scenic spot, turning on its magic at night. Most famous of all perhaps is true Sears Tower, the world's second tallest building (the first is in Kuala Lampur). Pathetically the World Trade Centre twin buildings, tallest up to September 11, 2001 is perished to dust. The Sears Tower stands 1454 feet high and has 110 storeys. We were allowed to be lifted up to only 103 storeys. Visitors get upped the Sky deck observatory, which is above 1353 feet above the streets of Chicago. Going up the fastest elevator in the world is some experience - one gets a 360 degree view and see for 25 to 60 miles around. The elevated train service around the city is a fascinating enterprise. We enjoyed a fantastic ride in the train in the sky from one terminal to another in the large airport of Chicago. The world's fifth tallest building is also in Chicago. It's the John Hancock Centre. With 100 floors, it stands 1,127ft high. From the 94th floor one can view almost 60 miles of the vista. We enjoyed a variety of food in the restaurant housed in the observatory floor. Chicago Hilton, where we stayed for a day is one among many leading hotels in the large metro. Shopping arcades, avenues (incidentally, there is a street named after Swami Vivekananda of the Ramakrishna Mission in India, whose famous Chicago oratory is still remembered by the older generation of the enlightened lot), wayside ethnic restaurants and cafes cosmopolitan crowds of people from almost all parts of the world lend a magical touch to this famous and one time notorious (for its criminal scenario) large metropolis. Chicago has many fine museums devoted to the arts, sciences, natural history and culture. We visited the art Institute of Chicago and spent hours viewing an internationally renowned collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting. Chicago Blues need not be spot lighted exclusively as Jazz lovers know what it stands for. Though short-lived, our entry into and departure from the heavens on earth judging by the stunning skyline) was indeed image building. |
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