Washington DC is not a city, it is a district, District of Columbia, and along with the 50 other states that united to form the USA, is the seat of power of the American democracy. Our last halt on this long holiday was DC. I had to speak at a conference here, so these ten days constituted the “work” part of the trip. We had a weekend to explore this historic city which I knew thoroughly – I had lived in the DC metropolitan area for the first 7 years of the fourteen years that I had lived in the US.
Like any wise tourist, we got off the orange line metro at Smithsonian station, the central point on the famous national mall. The rectangular section of real estate that lies between the US capitol on one side and the elegant obelisk of the Washington Monument houses the museums that form part of the Smithsonian Institution. The red building of the Smithsonian Castle provides information regarding the magnanimous donor, Englishman James Smithson, who donated his estate to America for establishment of an institution for increase and diffusion of knowledge in Washington DC. The notable aspect of this generous donation was that Smithson himself had never stepped into America!
In pursuit of this lofty goal and from subsequent donations of other philanthropists, the Smithsonian Museums line the national mall which is borderd by Independence Avenue and Constitution Avenue on either side of the walk from Capitol to the Monument. There is no entry fee for any museum and there is a museum for all types – for art aficionados, science buffs, natural history lovers and curious people of all ages. We chose to visit the Natural History museum and admired its most famous possession, the Hope Diamond. The Sackler Gallery of Asian Art had an amazing collection of artefacts from Cambodia on display. The Air and Space Museum where I had seen many of the then new IMAX releases also houses “Kittyhawk”, the first airplane flown by the Wright Brothers.
It was a hot Saturday as we walked to base of the Washington Monument, standing like a slender watchman, the tallest building in the district at 555 feet. On one side marked the Capitol while the austere façade of the Lincoln Memorial looked humbly past the reflecting pool. The White House and the Jefferson Memorial could be clearly seen from the green mound which houses the entrance to the viewing gallery at the top of the monument. There was a time when you could stand in line and ride up the elevator for an aerial view but now advance reservations are required to ascend the tower, the next available tickets were for 9 July!
Lincoln Memorial continues to be my favorite tourist spot in DC; there is a sincerity in the hallowed hall where President Lincoln sits majestically, with his finest speeches including the Gettysburg address, inscribed in the marble walls. The reflecting pool faithfully reproduced the slim lines of the monument, blurred occasionally by ducks looking to cool off in the midday sun. We walked by the Potomac River that marks the boundary between the state of Virginia on the south and crossed towards the Tidal Basin where the picturesque Jefferson Memorial is located. We passed the sightseeing tourmobiles which dropped off tourists are various spots and plied in a continuous loop. The green lawns were dotted with teams practicing various sports including a Hindi-speaking cricket team. We stopped frequently to munch on peanuts or crackers, sip water and give our tired legs a break. The gently curved dome of Jefferson Memorial marks the centerpiece of the circular path lined with graceful cherry trees, a gift from Japan many years before the world wars. We sat on the shaded lawns and got a good view of paddle boats in the blue waters of the basin, too tired to walk around the water. We found out later that the memorial was closed for repairs.
Trying to retrace our path guided by the triangular apex of the monument, we wandered into the Roosevelt Memorial, a new addition to the multiple monuments dedicated to past presidents. Aparna loved the metal statue of President Roosevelt seated informally on a low chair, with his dog sitting by his feet. Quotes engraved in stone facades, flowing waterfalls provided welcome relief from the heat in this open structure. A standing figure of the diminutive Eleanor Roosevelt reminded me of one of her quotes which I try to live by “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.”
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