Been walking pass this board for almost a month now, wondering why this crowd whether it be Wednesday or Sunday. Finally like in many cases, my body just walked in quiet unconsciously as if it cant hold the curiosity any more.. what exactly is going inside?

A bunch of people clinched to a set of Televisions, quiet looked like a stock market..finally found some horses running on and off the screens! Ah, Newton’s apple fell on my head..

So that was the discovery of neighbourhood’s most friendliest international crowd with a single aim of off track betting, with some friendliest advise to ‘be careful with photography’!

Here starts a friendly spanish accented conversation with a fatherly figure of 72, Me: So how often do you come here?
Friend: Almost everyday, anytime..How much time can you spend on staring at that television at home.

Me: Do you have so much money to spend on this?
Friend: Ah, I spent 45 years working..I have money in my bank..I spent 30-40$ a day, some days I loose everything..sometime I get 100$ or more..

Me: Women dont come here?
Friend: Which woman would squander their money..haha! yuh..one or two come by once in a while..by the by, you dont start doing this..okay….
Me: laugh..laugh..

Off track betting in NY has been on the verge of closure for many years, wonder where will I get to meet the friendly crowd if its gone ;)

A beautiful mural uncovered from the dark walls below a subway bridge in Queens area during a small research! Click on it to see big!

Artistic rendition of Maluvamma done in Coral by artist Sathi.

Traditional Chinese instrument ‘Erhu’ being played. An accidental find of the same person from 2001.

A lone musician on his Trombone..

Michael Schulman of Black violin, who plays a very interesting electric violin..

The duo Tuba players..

and a Mouth organ player…

The best thing happened to NYC perhaps is its musicians! Some are known, many are unknown..they sing in the bright and dark corners of subway stations, while trains and crowd bustle about. Genres surprisingly range from Blues to Bhajan, Classical to Techno! Whichever, they make you smile, they make you stop, they make you sway, they make you sing and of course they make you miss several of those trains!

Charles, a lone musician on his trumpet. Quiet an accidental find of Charles in 2005.

Tinpan, the blues band also part of MTA’s official Arts for Transit programme.

and a Bhajan troupe, who gifted me a book called ‘Moksha-Beyond Birth & Death’..