Creating Giants in the Black Hills

A Shrine in the Black Hills had been rightly defended and created by Gutzon Borglum. His vision for Mount Rushmore was no less than “the formal rendering of the philosophy of our government into granite on a mountain peak”. His monument to America comprised the massive busts of four leaders: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. Borglum created and upheld the unity and integrity of the nation at a cost of $ 1 million (83 per cent was federal money) in 14 years (1927- 1941).

The carving of George Washington‘s head is as tall as a six-story building:
Forehead to chin – 60 ft
Width of eye – 11 feet
Length of nose – 20 ft
Width of mouth – 16 ft

Norwegian Star Cruise to Alaska (USA)

Saturday, September 25, 2010 Stardust

Welcome Aboard Show: Cruise Director Ray Carr was introducing non-stop entertainment featuring the high-energy cast of the Jean Ann Ryan Co and tehStar Showband in a quick song and dance number called “it’s Fame”. [Time 9:15 P.M, Stardust Theater, Deck 6 & 7]

Every hour was worth-spending on cruise due to Shore Excursion, Star Club Casinos, Karaoke Special, Bar services, Guest Services including Video zone, Art Gallery, Spa and Salon, Fitness center, Golf Club, internet Café, Jogging Track, Kids Center, Library, Medical Center, Onboard credit Desk, Photo gallery, Pool/Jacuzzi, Pool slides, Sports Court, Teens Center, Quenching your thirst and Hunger:Satisfying afternoon appetite, eating lunch and dinner in Versailles Main Dining Room, Aqua Main Dining Room, Market Café up to 12:00 mid night, & whenever one is hungry go to Blue Lagoon Café, Room service, Ice cream bar and late night snacks at Market café.

Finale show (Sea Day) on Friday, October 1, 2010:

Norwegian Cruise Line presented the Jean Ann Ryan Co in Cirque Pacific, featuring the China Star Acrobats Lei Zang and Huai Lin Fan in a spectacular show that kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Immediately after the Show, a special farewell by the officers, staff and crew of the Norwegian Star followed mesmerizing the passengers. A memorable evening indeed!

Rahman Tours America

North America tour dates: June11 to July 11, 2010

New York, Atlanta city, Fairfax - Virginia, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto (Canada), San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver (Canada), Houston, Dallas, Raleigh (North Carolina),

European tour dates: July 16 to July 25, 2010
Zurich, Paris, Mannheim, Birmingham, London (2 shows).

Rahman, the only composer from India can draw the crowd to the full capacity of the hall in the West like Shah Rukh Khan. He spoke to the interviewer before the Show that if there was a professional management team around, the event could be a success. His New York show was really fantastic. The sets on the stage, the lighting along with laser beams and sound effects made the event a memorable and unparalleled one.

Nassau Coliseum in New York on …..

Rahman is collaborating with creative director Amy Tinkham who has worked to create concerts for Britney Spears, The Backstreet Boys and Mariah Carey.

“The concert tour will be a theatrical experience as it will blend new technologies with powerful dance arrangements and acrobatics” says Tinkham. “it will keep intact the heritage and traditions of India with a modern presentation.”

The show will feature changing sets, large images on LED screens and a spectacular cast of musicians and dancers from across the globe, she adds. Joining her are lighting designer Peter Morse, video content pioneer in 3D projection Bob Bonnial and set designer Butch Allen.

Florida Keys and Key West

Tranquility Bay Resort

Key West is the Southern tip of the U.S.A
Overseas High Way 1 connects mainland
About 158 miles from Miami Intl. Airport
Highway with bridges connecting islands
Midway with sideways plunging Atlantic

Hotels and motels of all sizes and shapes
Middle & upper classes frequent the keys
The tall poles bring telephone & electricity
Several Keys and bridges are found in a row
Gulf of Mexico surrounded on the west side

Atlantic Ocean is majestic on the Eastern side
Water near all these islands is very peaceful
Motor boats and the jet skis do look colorful
Tourists on vacation motor down to the keys
Realtors enjoying good houses on the ridges

Beautiful villas and mansions adore the beach
Builder called Mr. Pritam Singh created a few
Vacation resorts in the Key West with the zeal
Tranquility Bay is one among such fine resorts
Coconut trees are lining and standing straight
White sand on shore mesmerizes many souls.

Hotel rooms are in rows on the sea-shore
Hardly twenty feet away from blue waters
Early morning motion found in small waves
Early risers are entering the sea in few boats
Water & sky meeting & melting at the horizon
Both are having the same color and texture
What a variety and an enduring spirit verily

What an up-keep although appear a bit costlier
Task & torture undergone during the week days
Time taken in a weekend indeed a good retreat
Think and request the facilities you need ever
Find and enjoy the same as found in a big city
Four-five days’ stay rejuvenates one’s spirit
Body & the mind get in full the needed rest.

Bear Country U.S.A (Wildlife Park)

This is the Playground of wild-life in mini forest. Bear Country U.S.A (www.bearcountryusa.com) is open daily late April to late November peak season. It is 8 miles south of Rapid City (South Dakota) on Highway 16, the Road to Rushmore. It is a pet friendly facility.

Since 1972 visitors have been enjoying this unique and spectacular wildlife park. It features many species of North American animals, including the largest privately owned collection of American Black Bear.

One can observe mountain lions, wolves, elks, bobcats, buffalos, reindeers and other wildlife from the comfort of your own vehicle (including 55-seater buses). The animals roam freely in 250 acres of natural Black Hills habitat. The exciting, enjoyable and educational encounters with 25 different species (including Rocky Mt. goat, Dall sheep, Big Horn sheep, Arctic wolves, Black bear and Timber wolves) one experiences would certainly last a lifetime.

Although it may give an impression of a zoo for us, it is much more rewarding for the money one spends here for animal sighting compared to a similar effort in any Indian wildlife park. Private initiative in this regard is indeed praise-worthy.

The Bear’s Den, a remarkable 6000 square-foot gift shop, is one of the most unique and gifted ones in the Black Hills. Many wildlife treasures and gifts are available to visitors who love animals, nature and the great outdoors.

Baby land: After the drive-through tour, one can walk around Baby land where young and smaller animals including their famous grizzly bears frolic in the outdoors.

Crazy Horse Memorial

World’s largest Mountain-carving in progress on Black Hills of South Dakota (USA)

Man’s ambition finds no bounds. It is very true of a sculptor called Korczak Ziolkowski (a polish American orphaned at the age of one but determined to fulfill the mission handed out to him by the Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear for a mountain carving in honour of the North American Indian esp. a Native Hero called Crazy Horse in Black Hills of South Dakota.

History of the Hero as written by the Sculptor:

Crazy Horse was born on Rapid Creek in the Black Hills in 1842. He defended his people and their way of life in the only manner he knew. While at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, under a flag of truce, he was stabbed in the back by an American soldier due to which he died September 6, 1877 at the age of 35. The treaty of 1868 signed by the President of the United States was not acted upon. In fact the said treaty promised meat, clothing, tents and necessities for existence which they were to receive for having given up their lands and gone to live on the reservations. To a derisive question raised by a white man “Where are your lands now?” he seems to have thrown out his left hand pointing and replying with the words, “ My lands are where my dead (brethren) lie buried” as shown in the scale model and in the work progressing accordingly.

Korczak started the project in the year 1948 with only $174 in his pocket at the age of 40. Over the years he battled financial hardship, racial prejudice, injuries and advancing age. A strong believer in the free enterprise system, Korczak felt Crazy Horse should be built by the interested public and not the tax payer. What a Himalayan wish and vow on the part of a single family to accomplish such a big gigantic project – the largest mountain carving undertaken so far in the world? Since his death in 1982 his wife Ruth and their children continue to see exciting progress being made with each passing year. Workers are now (in 2010) blocking out the 22 storey-high horse’s head. The painted outline shows the 45 –foot ear and the 16 foot-wide eye, some 260 feet below the head of Crazy Horse.

Visit to Cheyenne town, the Capitol of Wyoming State

As the tourists my spouse and I had visited Cheyenne town and seen the capitol building - both outside and from inside: It is constructed with beautiful architecture, valuable materials and fantastically-designed furniture kept inside. Central Dome, Senate and Assembly chambers are worth seeing and fit to be replicated elsewhere. I had seen earlier the Assembly Hall of Madhya Pradesh at Bhopal and I am now reading a lot about and seeing few photographs of the newly-inaugurated Assembly Hall and the Secretariat of Tamil Nadu Government in Chennai. These are no match to Wyoming State Capitol building. Had the C.M of Tamil Nadu seen some of the newly-built capitols in USA, I am sure he would have come with some better blue-prints.

Drive through the Wyoming ranches for miles together is a sight unforgettable indeed. Extensive and graceful grass fields with man-made fencing here and there by the owners are simply awesome and not to be seen in countries like India.