Atlanta: where heritage and happening come together

As I was standing in front of the Margaret Mitchell House on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, I could not believe my eyes that this was the very place where the author wrote “Gone with the Wind”, the  story of the beautiful Scarlett O Hara and dashing Rhett Butler, with the backdrop the American Civil War. 

It was the bestselling novel and later became the 1939 super hit film based on it. It is that very Atlanta and Georgia that I am talking about. 

Atlanta, capital of Georgia, is one of the largest cities of the United States. Georgia is in the South East of America. It is a southern state flanked by Florida to the South, South Carolina to the North, Alabama to the West and Atlantic Ocean to the East. Atlanta is situated in the northern part of Georgia. Atlanta is blessed with good weather. The winters are mild here, so the best time to visit or be outdoors is from October to February, when the weather is cool and comparatively dry.

 Spring is warm, wet and humid. During summer the days are hot, the evenings are beautiful warm, and breezy. 

Atlanta is steeped in history and has a charm of its own. I fell in love with the dazzle of New York City at first glance, I was awestruck the grandeur of Washington DC and enamored by the Old world beauty and elegance of Boston. But the city of Atlanta with the beauty of nature, magnificence of its architecture and warmth of its people has turned me into its ardent admirer.

This sun kissed city, made a humble beginning as it grew around a railroad intersection. 19th century Georgia was a state where cotton plantations thrived. The production of cotton skyrocketed during the 1800s. Railway lines were required to transport the cotton to markets around the country and to the ports for export. In 1837, Atlanta was founded at the end of the western and Atlantic railroad lines. It was called the Terminus at first, then Marthasville and finally Atlanta, the feminine form of Atlantic.

The city grew around the stake and was soon the transportation hub of the South. In 1864, during the American Civil War the confederate troops of Georgia clashed against the soldiers of the Union, sent by General Ulysses S Grant. The city once bustling with life was bathed in blood and totally destroyed. At the end of the battle of Atlanta the confederate troops fled, commercial and residential houses were demolished and the city evacuated. Soon Atlanta emerged from its ruins, like the phoenix from its own flames. Once again the need for transportation, helped Atlanta gain back its lost prosperity. 

The credit of the new South and new Atlanta went Henry Grady and his art of salesmanship. He successfully lured the Norther States to invest in Georgia. By late 19th century and early 20th century Atlanta was flourishing again. 

Atlanta is resilient and does not break down in the face of an attack but bounces back surpassing its former glory. Atlanta was shaken to its core a couple of times during racial riots and segregation. Many African Americans were unable to cast their votes and participate in the electoral process till the 1960s. The Civil Rights movement and the contribution of Martin Luther King Jr. brought about racial and social changes and a stable relationship between the races. This created the culturally and racially diverse people of Atlanta to be cemented together in harmony and paved the way for the spurt of growth of the 1970s.

In 1977 Jimmy Carter, ex-governor of Georgia was sworn in as the President of America and with his help Atlanta emerged as a hub of manufacturing, service industries and transportation with Hartsfield International Airport being one of the busiest of the country. In the next two decades Atlanta was transformed into a premier city with corporate giants like Coca Cola, Delta Airlines, CNN and UPS calling the city their home. During this phase Atlanta flourished, business grew, and universities received funding like never before. 

The success story of Atlanta reached its pinnacle when it hosted the Centennial Olympic Games in 1996. Atlanta proved to the world the metamorphosis it had undergone when boxing champion Muhammad Ali lit the Olympic Cauldron. 

The uniqueness of Atlanta is that both old and new coexist next to each other. Yet to adopt the new, Atlanta did not throw away its southern heritage. I still find the southern gentleman and lady and everyone is addressed as “Ma’am and Sir”. There is no lack of chivalry or hospitality. Just like the weather is warm, the hearts of the people are too. Of this I found plenty in the cuisine. Atlanta’s eating habits are still traditionally Southern, like fried chicken, fried okra, stewed squash and candied yam. At the same time I am not far away from French, Italian, Mediterranean, Japanese, Indian and modern American cooking. Bars and drinking holes abound the city that rock Atlanta’s weekend nights. 

Tradition and modern walk hand in hand in every aspect of life in Atlanta. In downtown Atlanta, the gold domed Georgia State Capitol built in 1889 overlooks modern landmarks of the city like the Centennial Olympic park. The swan house, the Atlanta History Center, the 200 year old working Smith Farm stand next to the modern sprawling business and IT village of Buckhead, the glamorous Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square shopping malls. 

The CNN Center, which used to be an indoor theme park is now a global news organization. The huge dome shaped atrium of CNN house the staff food court and a shopping center. Walking tours are conducted of the studio. I sat at a news desk where professional photographers took pictures of me in a mock news reading session. I also listened to the control room conversations. 

Next I strolled to the “World of Coca Cola” museum. The structure of a tall Coke bottle outside the museum is a favorite sport of tourist to click a selfie. The museum abound with Coke memorabilia. I explored the coke story down the ages and found out how Coca Cola shaped the popular culture, tasted more than hundred different beverages, took a sip of coke from different countries around the world, and watched 4D shows of the history of Coca Cola. I met the famous coca cola polar bear and saw the locked vault where the secret formula is kept. 

After a dip in this fizzy bubbly drink, I went next door to dive into the real waters of the Georgia Aquarium. When it opened its doors in 2005 it was the world’s largest. I would like to call it the most spellbinding one where I was transported to the world of deep seas. The aquarium holds more than 10 million gallons of water, different kinds of marine lives from rivers, lakes and oceans, from all corners of the planet. It houses the Ocean Voyager which a 6.3 million gallon exhibit with 61 feet wide viewing window and 100 feet long under water tunnel with a walkway.  I saw the largest species of fish in the world, the whale shark.

This is the only aquarium in America to house the Manta rays, one of which measures 9 feet across. There are Eagle rays, Sting rays and other species of sharks and a variety of fish. I was overcome by a serene and tranquil feeling watching these marine giants circling in the water. It was as if I was watching a Jacque Cousteau’s movie. Other attractions are the dolphin tales, which is a show developed by SONY Studio Hollywood. The dolphins are very friendly and curious and they kept splashing and coming up to the people at the viewing window.

Talking about animals, there is an interesting story about Zoo Atlanta. In 1889 a traveling circus went bankrupt just outside Atlanta. A philanthropist bought the animals at an auction and donated them to the city. Now after 125 years Zoo Atlanta is a home and scientific research and conservation center for 50 bird species, 100 species of native and exotic amphibians, and 40 species of mammals. I saw families of great apes, orangutans and observed their social life from a close distance. Orangutans are curious about human social lives too and move up close to the onlookers and watch them. They get bored quickly so they take tests and play games at the computer to keep busy. With the arrival of giant Pandas on loan from China, and later the birth of five cubs has made Zoo Atlanta the city with most pandas in America. 

Atlanta is green and organic and living in the heart of the city I get a sense of living in a garden. Spring and fall are splendid, and it’s tough to say whether the blooming season with its burst of colors is prettier than fall when leaves turn a dozen shades of red orange and yellow. The city is dotted with many parks like the Piedmont Park, Botanical Gardens, Chastain Park and other horticultural projects. These parks hold events all-round the year that are fun and free. My personal favorites are the holiday lights and the Christmas tree. Georgia is a Peach State and as New York celebrates with an apple drop, Georgia drops an 800lb peach to usher in the new year in Downtown Atlanta. It is an evening packed with events for the family. There are other cultural events like the Atlanta Jazz Festival, which is held every may and is a month long musical extravaganza featuring both jazz legends and upcoming artists. It is America’s largest free jazz musical show. 

The city is well endowed both in architecture and nature. This I could see together when I took a ride in giant Ferris wheel called Sky View Atlanta in downtown, from the top is a marvelous view of the city, lush green with architectural wonders like the state Capitol, the High Museum, Children’s Museum, Governor’s house and more peeping out. The city may lack water bodies, but the beautiful Lake Leniar and the Blue Ridge Mountains with its lakes and rushing streams are just a drive away. Even when I am enjoying nature its flora and fauna and taking strolls in the many parks and nature trails of the city, I am not too far away from the modern big names stores like IKEA, Crate and Barrel, Nordstrom and Bloomingdales. The shopping district of Atlanta is the mecca for shoppers in the South East of the country. The city of Atlanta is just as well suited for the southern gentleman and lady as it is for all the diverse group of people from around the world and for immigrants like myself. 

I would like to point out that Atlanta is home to about one lakh of people, who originally hailed from India. There are also people of other south Asian countries and the “desi” community is large and flourishing, especially in the area called Decatur.

As Jackson Heights in Queens, is to New York, Decatur is to Atlanta, where both lure the desi with smells of freshly fried samosa and jalebis in the air. Decatur is steaming with businesses that offer services and products targeting the desi community, be it fine jewelers stores, ethnic clothing, food, restaurant and entertainment and larger than life picture of our own Bollywood celebs like Amitabh Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan etc.

There are many places of worship for the Indian community like the Hindu temple at Lilburn which is a beautiful Swamy Narayan Temple with delicate and intricate architecture almost comparable to the Dilwara temple at Mount Abu. Thousands of Indians get together every year in the Centennial Olympic park to celebrate the Diwali Mela. 

A large chunk of the Indian community work in the healthcare sector in Atlanta like the Emory University hospitals and medical centers. The CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in Atlanta. It protects the USA from health safety and security threats. CDC fights and stops the disease or attack whether it started in the country or abroad. During the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa in March 2014, CDC deployed many teams to Guinea, Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone to help control and stop the outbreak. 

Just like the Centennial Olympic Games brought the five continents to Atlanta, in the same way the spirit of the city has brought together racially, socially and economically diverse people of America and the World together, in perfect unison in this city of brotherly love. Whether you are a resident of the city or a visitor, multifaceted Atlanta will hit the right tune for you as it did for me. 

Images: Author

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