THE
NIAGARA NOSTALGIA
It is often said, "The world
is a book and those who do not travel read only one page". Having
travelled all over India in my Army service career, my dream of visiting
foreign shores ie the United States, took wings only recently. Most tour
operators to the United States pack the tour itinerary mainly with visits to
the concrete jungles such as... New York City - a city that never sleeps,
the historic monuments of Washington DC, the magic of Disney World,
Hollywood-the dream factory, or be it even the high profile casinos of Las
Vegas, of course with a stern warning... "What happens in Vegas
stays in Vegas". But they never fail to entice the tourists to visit the
Niagara Falls, one of the most natural, hugely popular voluminous water falls
in the world.
Although opportunity to visit the
United States knocked several times through my sister and brother in law who
stayed there for well over a decade, I
really wonder what held me back. Whether it was the financial awe, professional
constraints or just indecisiveness, I am still unable to fathom. Whenever I
used to speak to them over the phone, my desire to visit them would go on an
upswing like a sine curve only to follow the downswing as I got busy with the
rigmarole of the day today activities. Cutting the story short, it just happened
that I couldn't visit the United States when they were there. However, when my
son, Pranav moved to the US on his professional assignment, it was only a
matter of time and completing the visa formalities before I landed there. I
finally got my turn to visit the US along with my wife Ratna in July 2015.
Bengaluru
International Airport was the place from where my wife and I had decided to fly
out of India to the foreign shores. As I entered the immigration counters at the airport, sensing my curiosity and anxiety
as any first timer in those surroundings would feel, my wife, a veteran of
visiting the United States twice earlier,
spontaneously took over the
duties of my 'guide' to the US tour, like fish taking to water. As our Emirates
flight took to its wings, so did my dream of visiting the United States. Written
below is one part of that experience, visiting the famed Niagara Falls.
Buffalo
International Airport, gateway to the Niagara city and the famed
waterfalls, is a lazy, laid back airport as compared to its other illustrious
peers in the United States. After going through the rigorous security checks at
the JFK NYC and the Dulles at Washington DC, this was a walk in the park. I was
even pleasantly surprised to see the cab driver who came to receive me and my
wife walk up to the arrival lounge conveyor belt where we were waiting for our
luggage to arrive. My wife wearing one of her favourite salwar suits, was hard
to miss the ‘Indianness’ in us. The cab driver Christine, a lean and smart lady
in her mid sixties, who had come in a Lincoln limousine, drove us to Niagara
about 30 km from the airport. It turned out that she a well to do lady in the
neighbourhood was doing this as a part time job. Couldn't help but appreciate
her zest for life and agility at her age. As we reached the hotel and she ready
to leave, didn't forget to remark to my wife, "Hey, you look pretty in
this dress". Needless to say 'my' tour of Niagara began so well.
An
imaginary line in the middle of the Niagara River acts as the International
Boundary between the cities of Niagara on the US side and Ontario on the
Canadian side. Minimum fuss, minimal security, disciplined crowd
behaviour, shear excitement of watching the dancing waters and the
pleasure of the mist brushing your face vigorously as the water flows down the
falls and in addition, the ease of access so close to the sides and the bottom
of the falls make this place so unique in the world.
 |
| View from Goat Island |
Niagara
Falls is a combination of three different falls ie The American falls, The
Bridal Veil Falls, and the Canadian or the Horse shoe falls. Having visited so
many falls in India I had always wondered what is it that Niagara has those
others don't. It is the sheer volume of water that passes through, which is
several times more than its nearest rival that makes it so unique. It is
fascinating to note that nearly six million cubic feet of water flows every
minute, with the roar of a jet airliner all the time. The Canadian falls hogs
almost 90 % of the water that drops from a platform of nearly 790 m wide down
more than 50m into the basin.
 | |
| American Falls on left ; Canadian Falls on right |
The
American falls more than 320 m wide with its baby sibling 'Bridal
veil' located closer to the picturesque Rainbow Bridge present an
extremely exhilarating view. Luna Island
barely an acre in size separates the two falls like a wedge. A spacious view
point constructed on this tiny island, presents a heavenly of these two
picturesque falls. The roar of the
water, rise of the mist, coloured light focussing on the falls in the evenings
and the magnificent display of fire crackers in the skies at night makes this
visit a memorable experience.
 |
| Maid of the Mist |
A visit
to the Niagara is never complete without a boat ride on the 'Maid of the Mist'.
Going down to the riverside in the lift, wearing a bright colourful raincoat and
entering the decked up boat by a beeline of tourists is indeed a colourful
sight. Similar boat rides are organised on the Canadian side too, the
distinguishing feature being the colour of the raincoats.When two boats from these two friendly coutries cross each each other in the middle of the basin, the sight of the roaring Falls on one side and waving and smiling tourists on the other side make a delightful sight to watch.
These boat rides started in 1885 and operate between May and November each year. The cost of the ride varies between $15 to $18 depending upon time and booking provisions. The pleasure of going
in these boats so close to the bottom of the heaving and pounding falls, the
all encompassing rising mist blurring the vision was indeed awesome. It
appeared as if we were in a different world.
 |
| With Security InCharge on the Boat |
The Goat
Island around twenty acres in size approximately, separates the two monstrous
falls on the American side. It is but natural for anyone to wonder, how long
this tiny island would sustain the continuous onslaught of such breathtaking
rapids on either side of its fragile landscape ! Only later did I discover that
the island has been suitably reinforced with steel and cement and intelligently
camouflaged with the surroundings as also revisited by the engineers from time
to time to ensure its sustainability.
 |
| Hurricane Deck - Cave of the Winds |
In
addition to ensuring the sustenance of this island, there is also an
engineering marvel that has been created there and that is the 'Cave of Winds'.
Amazingly, in such delicately placed island is this tunnel of nearly 175 feet
going deep down the earth, which takes the awed visitors to the Base of the
Bridal Veil Falls. The place has been so imaginatively developed that all
tourists who go there in colourful raincoats, get to see the marvellous,
breathtaking torrents of the Niagara Falls bottom up. It is indeed a rare sight
as the bouncing and gushing jets of water brush all those excited faces. The
tropical storm like conditions that we get to see there as we stroll over the
'Hurricane Deck' is indeed a rare lifetime experience.
A lazy
and relaxing stroll in the Niagara National Park on the Goat Island after the
exhilarating experience of going around the Water Falls completed our visit to
the Niagara. As we walked back to the hotel along the riverfront on the city
side, savouring the gorgeous falls, the child in me kept wondering how come
such a calm, smooth gentle flowing river here could become so ferociously
violent just a few metres away....
While the soldier in me wondered had a similar setup of the river falls and the
International Boundary passing through the middle of river been along
India - Pakistan borders, how much of this natural beauty the world would have
enjoyed !!! I had no answers. But the Niagara Nostalgia lingers on
forever.
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