It’s summer in New York and the signs are everywhere. From the hundreds milling around me in their white T-shirts, bright skirts and flip-flops as I walk down Second Avenue to the icecream vans pelting out their familiar tunes to attract the neighbourhood kids to the throngs of tourists at the Museum of Modern Art, brighter days have arrived. And if you talk to a local they will say — thank god it’s finally summer in New York! After months of frosty cold temperatures, summer is the most anticipated and welcome season for Americans. And the pleasures of the season, unlimited.

There’s an excitement, a tangible buzz in the air as summer approaches in late April. I have never been a nature lover myself, but even for me the transformations are hard to miss. I find myself staring at the trees as the small buds appear and then the leaves and flowers start blooming heralding the warm weather. As a newcomer from a country where summers are hot and humid, and a time to stay indoors as much as possible, it was a surprise to see how summer can actually be enjoyed. Due to the long, dark and freezing winter months here, summer and the accompanying longer daylight hours means a time to step outdoors, set up the bar-be-ques and frolic in the sun.

This is the time when kids get long summer break and parents take their much needed vacations from work. Travelling is in the air, whether it’s a trip to Florida’s Disney World or to the next state to visit the grandparents. However, this year there is a break in the pattern as many Americans have to seek cheaper modes of transport given the sky-rocketing gas prices. In a country which has relied on driving for far too long, it is time to park the gigantic Hummers and SUVs and take the smaller car out or start travelling by trains — perhaps for the first time — to reach faraway destinations.

But other things remain the same. Come summer, towns big and small, roll out their attractions. Starting with the fourth of July fireworks for America’s Independence Day, a host of free events are showcased by the local municipality. Even my small suburban town is boasting of weekly farmer’s markets, open-air concerts, free movies at the library, and street carnivals this year. In true capitalist mode, every town in America is also in competition with the next one in attracting newcomers to their township, and these activities are one more way of demonstrating the benefits that come with choosing this one. And for residents like me, apart from the entertainment value, it’s good to see that my property tax dollars are being put to visible use by the authorities.

In New York City summer brings in hoards of tourists with the latest cameras, seeking directions at road corner, or viewing the new Salvador Dali exhibition at MOMA. Or if lucky, enjoying the free Bon Jovi concert this past weekend in Central Park, as they end their world tour in what Jon Bon Jovi calls the “greatest city in the world”. Not all summer concerts are free, but they are undeniably a treat for tourists and New Yorkers alike as this is the time when famous singers and bands ranging from The Police to Kenny Chesney come to town. But even if you don’t have the big bucks to pay for them, there is enough to keep everyone merry through the hot months.

Every corner of the city offers a feast of the arts with New York Philharmonic playing in the parks, along with the Metropolitan Opera, movies under the stars, free Broadway performances, jazz festivals, the list is endless. And all of these are free. Expensive restaurants open up their tables to less rich customers at discounted pre-fixed rates and the different ethnic communities of New York from the Indians to the Dominicans celebrate their heritage through street parade in Manhattan.

On many busy, frantic days at work on my way to a meeting, I have often passed through the UN Visitor’s Lobby where tourists gather from all nations for a guided tour of the building — one of the key attractions of New York — and envied their vacations. Why can’t I be on a holiday like they are in a different city enjoying some free time, I have thought. But the truth is if I couldn’t be on a holiday or at home in India, I can’t think of another city I would rather be in than New York, for the summer. I guess it’s the way Billy Joel described it at his concert this week — I am in a New York state of mind.