GOING UP TO THE TOP OF EMPIRE STATE BUILDING MANHATTAN NEW YORK

                                  

                                     

                  

Empire State building. Manhattan New York...

(Mobile Photographs ....Autar Mota)

Visible from all sides and directions , this 102 storied massive structure ( built in 1931) adds elegance to Manhattan skyline. The Empire state building at night is an image that tourists take home with them as the  something that defines New York. Empire State Building’s tower lights have maintained a tradition of changing color to recognize various occasions and organizations throughout the year ;  Red, white and blue in honor of American Independence  Day, Colours of Our National Flag  On India' s independence day ,  a combination of red and green on Christmas  Day ,Red, white and green in honor of Columbus Day and so many changes  for so many National Days and Occasions  .  The OTIS high speed  lifts are always racing up. In less than a   minute , you are at the observatory of 86th floor from where you can enjoy a 360 degree view of the city below. A great experience. 

A guide informed us that at the time of their installation, elevators would go only up to 80th floor as no elevator was designed to go higher than that. Renovated in 2011,_the new elevators now go beyond that in less than a minute. We were also informed that the computerised  LED lights at the top of the tower were installed in 2012 and this new system can display 16 million colors.

As matter of fact, There are two observatories on Empire state building. One on 80th floor and other on 86th floor. The 80th floor observatory is covered by glass windows on all sides and closed. It houses a gallery of photographs relating to construction of EMPIRE state building along with details. You can take photographs of buildings below but these may not be so clear due to shades and reflections of window glasses .

The second observatory is located on 86th floor. It is circular , open and secured by steel grills around. You can walk this circular path and click photographs. You can also look below through so many telescopes that give you a closer and clear view if so many locations and Towers. I saw World Trade centre, Flat Iron building, Met Life Tower, Brooklyn Bridge, , Macy's Store, Hudson Yards, Hudson river, East River,Central Park , Chrysler Tower , New Jersey , Statue of Liberty and many more locations and prominent Buildings. 

There is another small circular observatory at 102 floor but it is closed  to public or  visitors  in general .

Close to the building on Footpath below , you find men and women in red uniforms . As they Come close to you, you hear them saying;

" sir, you wanna go up Empire. Ticket. Sir 86th Floor observatory . Come Babu ji. Madam.B Chalo Chalo. Salaam. Namaste."

In more than 90 Hollywood movies, this building features prominently. So many artists have painted it in different colours and shades. Toy replicas of the building are being sold to tourists in every market of New York and other states of USA. Post cards feature it prominently.

• The Empire state building is home to many corporates like LinkedIn, Shutterstock,Wallgreen, Bank of America, FDIC and Coty.

The building is struck by lightning every year accordingly , it is adequately protected against lightning damage.

Till WTC building came up on New York's skyline, Empire State Building was the tallest structure in America.

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(Autar Mota)

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
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A PAINTING SOLD FOR 450 MILLION DOLLORS IN PUBLIC AUCTION

                                                                                     

A NEW RECORD CREATED . THE HIGHEST PRICE FETCHED FOR A PAINTING IN AUCTION. ..

News In    'THE NEW YORK TIMES" Dated 16th November 2017..

" After 19 minutes of dueling, with four bidders on the telephone and one in the room, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” sold on Wednesday night for $450.3 million with fees, shattering the high for any work of art sold at auction. It far surpassed Picasso’s “Women of Algiers,” which fetched $179.4 million at Christie’s in May 2015. The buyer was not immediately disclosed.

There were gasps throughout the sale, as the bids climbed by tens of millions up to $225 million, by fives up to $260 million, and then by twos. As the bidding slowed, and a buyer pondered the next multi-million-dollar increment, Jussi Pylkkanen, the auctioneer, said, “It’s an historic moment; we’ll wait.The price is all the more remarkable at a time when the old masters market is contracting, because of limited  supply and collectors’ penchant for contemporary Art "

A prominent Art Dealer is reported to have commented:

" There is extraordinary consensus that it is by Leonardo "

Another Art dealer commented:

" There is too much money in the world. It is crazy. I am stunned ."

It is believed to be a portrait of Jesus Christ "Salvatore Mundi"  or"  Saviour of the World" that was initially estimated around $100 million but the aggressive marketing by Christie's brought it  to an astonishing level.
The painting has passed through many ownership .  As per Reports published in Newspapers  , Sotheby's  had sold it privately for $80 million to Yves Bouvier ,a swiss Art dealer who further sold it to a Russian Collector Dmitry E Rybolovlev. In the present auction, Rybolovlev family Trust was the seller.

Da Vinci reportedly painted this portrait around 1500 AD. It is reported to have surfaced at Christie's in 1958 with a price tag of $125 at that time.
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The authentication of this blockbuster painting may be an issue for some critics. For others, the aggressive over cleaning prior to sale may also be an issue. But all said and done it is the triumph of Marketing skills over reality. Christie's Marketing Department rolled it out as "MALE MONA LISA" for display in New York, London and Hong Kong . The auction was held at Christie's Auction House in Midtown Manhattan.

(Autar Mota )

 
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

A VISIT TO BROADWAY THEATRE ' PHANTOM OF HE OPERA "

                                                                                  

                                                                                  

                                    (      James Barbour and  Ali Ewoldt)

                                                                             ( Tickets )

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA...

The longest running opera show in Broadway History ..

  some days back , We went to Majestic Theatre in Times Square New York  to witness Andrew Llyod Webber's longest running opera ( based on the novel' Le Fanto'me de L'Opera' )' The Phantom of The Opera'.

The opera had Well known Broadway singer and actor James Barbour and the chicago born actress Ali Ewoldt in lead roles. James Barbour has also acted as Sydney Carton on Broadway in" A Tale of Two Cities " and" Les Miserables" .His role in films like Eight Crazy nights, Alchemy, Dracula, The Gift and Excalibur have already created his space in cinema .

This two act opera has 19 scenes and is set in Paris of late nineteenth century. The first act or Overture ( follows a brief Prologue) has 10 scenes while the second act or Entr'acte has 9 scenes .

Broadway is the name of a street in Manhattan New York that joins North of the city with south like so many avenues. There are about 40 professional Theatres on Broadway that show plays . Each theatre has minimum seating capacity of 500 persons . So many well known names from Hollywood also act in Broadway plays , comedies and musical shows.

Some current popular shows  at Broadway  Theatres are Alladin ( New Amsterdam Theatre), Hello Dolly( Shubert Theatre), Lion King( Minskoff Theatre) , Dear Evan Hansen( Music Box Theatre), Mormon( Eugene O'Neil Theatre) ,Parisian Woman( With Uma Thurman at Hudson Theatre),Come From Away ( Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre) ,A Bronx Tale ( Longare Theatre) ,Cats( Neil Simon Theatre) ,Chicago ( Ambassador Theatre) , M.Butterfly ( Cort Theatre) , Waitress ( Brooks Atkinson Theatre) and many more.
                                 

Any Broadway play or opera prohibits you to conduct Audio or video recordings. Any flash used in photo cameras is prohibited as it disturbs the performers and audience. You may be noticed by the standing security guards and politely asked to leave the hall. I found them Very strict on this aspect .Phones are to be placed on silent modes. This restriction is backed by adequate legal framework created under New York City Law.

Now i understand why Poet Dina Nath Naadim was highly impressed when he saw the Chinese opera ''The White Haired Girl'' during his visit to that country. In New york, i Came to know many things about 'The white Haired Girl ' from a Broadway booklet . The opera was first staged in 1945 and President Mao is reported to have been in Tears after he saw the opera 'The White Haired Girl.''

My Salute to the great Broadway actors especially James Barbour ( Phantom), super talented actress Ali Ewoldt (christine) ,Rodney Ingram( 3 roles he performed ) , Laird Mackintosh ( Monsieur Andre) ,Raquel S Grown and so many other actors. The fantastic Bellet dancers got standing ovation at the end. The opera finished with an appeal from Barbour seeking donation for poor Breast Cancer patients. His words could move even the strongest in the audience. He said:

'' Dont believe that Cancer is something that happens to others. Help those who cant make it unless you put your hand in the wallet and part with one dollar, five dollars ,ten dollars or twenty dollars. Those unfortunate guys also have a right to life .you can make that happen. No cash we ask. As you leave this theatre , Just buy a Phantom key ring, a T Shirts , a pen or a cap. Help if you can . ''

In recent years, performing arts Technologies world over have undergone unprecedented growth and evolution. For performers , it has created newer scopes to excel and be more creative.

According Prof Priscilla Lindsay from School of Music Theatre And Drama , University of Michigan USA :

" Technology is the backbone of any theatrical, dance, or musical production. The audience needs to see, hear, and feel a performance as fully as possible so that it is a rich, emotional, and unforgettable event."

I will add that we need to do a lot in India to make Technological updation in our Theatre . Our Theatre has yet to become financially viable .It has to prove its financial viability for the people who devote their time and energy for it. The opera that i saw has been running at Broadway since last 29 years with newer and newer actors moving in as time passes on.The value addition of Ballet pieces with superb music was simply a treat. Theatre that makes profuse use of updated Technology to support performers on stage is still missing in our country. I mean the computer guided light, special effects and sound management is still not availbale in most of our Drama Theatres. Computer guided set change over system is something unknown to us. While watching the play under reference, i felt as if the sound was specially delivered to my ears.

Anyways ,the list could be long but i am convinced that we need to do a lot to improve and make our rich Theatre economically Viable. It pains me to see our talented Artists doing some dull jobs to live. To them, our Theatre is unable to provide honorable means of sustenance.

(Autar Mota)

PS

TIME OUT ( New York )Magazine in its 'Best of Broadway segment ' informs about staging of "The Parisian Woman " at Hudson Theatre sometime in November 2017.The play has celebrated Hollywood actress Uma Thurman in lead role. Shall try to witness this one as well.

January 26, 2018, is the anniversary date for Broadway's longest-running show. I am informed that this 30th anniversary will be celebrated two days earlier on January 24. Plans are being final

 CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License  Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.

PRIYANKA CHOPRA APPEARS ON FULL PAGE ADVERTISMENT "THE NEW YORK TIMES"

                                         

                                                                       

                                                 ( ON ABC TELEVISION  )

                                ( READY FOR STEPHEN COLBERT SHOW ON CBS TELEVISION )

PRIYANKA  CHOPRA appears  on full page Advertisement  "The New York Times" dated 15th November 2017. She also appeared  Stephen Colbert 's Popular TV show.
( Mobile photos.. Autar Mota)

After being listed amongst 100 most influential and successful women by TIME magazine,well known Indian Actress  PRIYANKA CHOPRA joins the Big league of Models in the Ad World. She has been signed by world renowned Luxury Diamond Jewelry House of NIRAV MODI for their Advertisement campaign.

Nirav Modi has  picked Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Priyanka Chopra to front its latest global advertising campaign.  Nirav Modi has an impressive  Diamond Jewelry outlet on Madison Avenue Manhattan apart from other stores  in London, Hong Kong and Mumbai.

PRIYANKA  has earned her space in Hollywood through her role in ABC (TV) produced serial QUANTICO.

Well done PRIYANKA..

(Autar Mota)




CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.