What a night!
This night was the culmination of Nidhi’s and mine holiday, living with Udit and Randip at their Long Island apartment.
Nidhi had been on our back for a few weeks now that she really wanted to check out Lexicon. We could put it on hold for sometime, but, eventually, we caved in.
Being an ardent fan of going out and checking out new places, I didn’t mind joining Nidhi, Udit, and other friends to this night of adventure and cheer for one of the most memorable nights of my life.
The plan was to catch a subway from Long Island to NYC. Meet a few people at the nearby club. Hang out a little bit, before heading to Lexicon. Have some fun at Lexicon and then head back to Long Island in the early morning.
The plan was well and the only question was the execution & I was glad that we didn’t disappoint ourselves.
We left Long Island in time. It was a weekend, so we knew it would be rush hour, everyone trying to get to NYC to have a weekend getaway. The journey to NYC was a fun one. We reached the metro station and while awaiting for the metro arrive, we thought it would be a good idea to get six cans of beer while riding the metro to NYC. It turned out to be a good idea as we not only chugged all those beer cans, but had fun doing that.
Before this day, I didn’t know we were allowed to drink inside a metro.
We had a lot of fun during this short journey, setting our moods correctly for the night that was unraveling before our eyes.
The next stop was a high end pub at the heart of the NYC. We had to wait at least 10-15 minutes to get inside this pub, as it was a rush hour. Even after waiting for such a long time, we made sure to keep the conversation going with each other, as we were meeting a few of other friends here for the first time. You can imagine we had a lot to talk about.
The pub was at the top of a skyscraper, giving us beautiful views of the city that never sleeps. My friend Udit told me while leaving for NYC to get a small whiskey flask and fill it up with some booze, so that we don’t have to pay a lot when we start drinking at these pubs. I got his point and it was an amazing tip. I filled my flask with some Jack Daniels and that’s what we drank the most throughout the night. Unfortunately, it wasn’t sufficient for everyone and we had to order extra drinks after a couple rounds.
The view from this pub was amazing. We had the entire viewing area to ourselves and we made sure we click many pictures of the evening. We had a great company too, so there was nothing to worry about.
This was one of those evenings when a small town boy within me was overwhelmed looking at the magnificence of NYC. Growing up in Patansaongi, I had a simple life. I used to play cricket with my childhood buddies and used to heat home food. Studying hard was the only way to progress in life. After years of hard work of toil from both myself and my parents, I could enjoy these moments and was simply overwhelmed because (frankly) it was too much to comprehend that I was *actually* living that moment.
This sweet realization made me go quiet a little bit and was enjoying the cool breeze on that Saturday evening, surrounded by my friends.
After spending more than an hour here, it was time to head to Lexicon, which was our actual attraction of the night. By this time in the evening, I think, most of us were a little more drunk than being sober.
Once we got to Lexicon, we stood in line to get inside. Nidhi had this brilliant idea of checking with the bouncer who was standing at the entrance, as she saw mostly guys lining up for the entry. As soon as that bouncer saw Nidhi, he told her to go inside, resulting us to tag along with her. This was again a moment that I was living that I had only seen in movies before. This night was turning out to be an awesome one!
NOTHING. I repeat, NOTHING would have prepared me to brace what I was going to witness when I stepped inside Lexicon. I knew Nidhi told me that they play Bollywood songs, but I didn’t know that they played *only* Bollywood songs. The Bollywood buff in me (back then, I was a huge Bollywood fan) got so happy to listen to the famous Bollywood numbers and seeing hundreds of people rocking the dance floor, I didn’t know where to begin.
We got a spot to sit somewhere. Once we got acquainted to the atmosphere, it was time to hit the dance floor. Man, it was crazy. I never saw so many Indian people rocking the dance floor. The guys were were trying to impress the girls that they brought here and the girls were trying to impress the boys with their latke zatke.
I saw so many people making out, so many guys trying to seduce girls, sometimes many boys on a single girl. It was fun to see all that with your friends, and passing comments while doing so. This is what was missing from my life in Hartford – being careless, and not at all arduous with my behavior, to let loose and don’t worry about anything.
I was happy that I was part of it and my friends are the one of the reasons this night stands out as a memorable one. We danced, drank, and danced some more. There were countless Bollywood songs blazing in the background and our legs didn’t know when to stop. There were around 5-6 people in our group, so everyone was going to the bar and get some drinks for either themselves or for the group. When it was my turn, I went for the shots and got some shots for Nidhi and Udit too. After having those shots, we got some extra energy to rock on some more Bollywood numbers.
When we were tired, we came out of the steamy Lexicon floor to the outside to enjoy some smoke. It gave us enough energy to go inside one more time and enjoy one more hour of music as it was about to close at 4AM.
We made sure we stayed till the end, as it was worth it. In the middle of all this, I am having a hard time to remember whether we actually consumed any food or not. It is still blurry for me and not sure if I will be able to remember it.
We bade goodbyes to our other friends when Lexicon shut down. We caught an uber to the metro station and were on our way back to Lexicon. Man, that ride back to Lexicon was so much fun.
Nidhi and I were singing constantly under the influence of Alcohol and it was Udit’s responsibility to take care of us and make sure we don’t do anything stupid. The biggest surprise to me was that even though we were constantly singing at 5AM, nobody sooshed us. That was one of the first instances that I witnessed how a free country looks and feels like. We sang so many explicit Hindi songs and had a blast doing it.
Our friend, Randip, was kind enough to pick us up from the metro station.
It was amazing night. So amazing that writing about it brought countless chuckles to my face. I am smiling! I think this was the last time Nidhi and I hung out together!
Thanks for the lovely memories. Grateful!
Next stop – some family time at the Rocky Neck State Park, Connecticut.
stochasticity 