Following Carl Sagan’s Footsteps Through New York, From Cornell To The Wilds Of Central Park

It was during the throes of the coronavirus crisis that a beacon of light shone when the third part of the world-famous documentary film series, ‘Cosmos’, originally produced and presented by the astronomer Carl Sagan, was shown on television, with Neil deGrasse Tyson as the presenter and Carl Sagan’s wife, Ann Druyan, as the producer. The programme gave me an occasion to marvel at all the multifaceted wonders of nature from a logical and scientific perspective. ‘Cosmos: Possible Worlds’ also gave me a much-cherished opportunity to cover the series in a number of publications. It was during that monumental crisis of human civilisation that it occurred to me and my wife, Payel Biswas, that we should travel to the United States to pay tribute to the originator of the ‘Cosmos’ series, Carl Sagan, as a stalwart of science research and science communication, because it was his work that had opened our eyes to appreciate the world around us, including the beauty of the birds that surrounded us regularly in profusion in Motinagar in New Delhi, where we were living.

It was one thing to conceive the American trip and quite another to have it come to fruition. The visa process had been stopped totally at the time due to the pandemic and, for a time, it seemed impossible to obtain a visa, given the US government restrictions. But we kept on trying and, given the inordinately long visa process, it took us four years to get all the necessary travel documents for visiting the United States of America for the first time in May 2025.

The USA is a huge country with an enormous range of attractions and venues to visit, so we made our specific choice to focus only on the state of New York, with travels restricted to New York City and Ithaca in upstate New York. The objective was to visit Cornell University in Ithaca to pay tribute to the place where Carl Sagan did his research and taught, his grave at Lake View Cemetery, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and zoos associated with Wildlife Conservation Society, Bronx, and Central Park zoos. Of course, we had every intention to visit any traditional tourist landmarks in New York City.

So, after a lot of planning and preparation for five years, and the desire to be in the USA going back much earlier, we left for New York via Kuwait on 8 May 2025. It was a significant time to leave India, because India and Pakistan were involved in a serious military exchange at the time and a lot of international flights were cancelled and rerouted because they could not overfly Pakistan. So, after a day’s journey spanning three continents, we arrived in New York in the afternoon of 9 May 2025. The first day was spent mostly resting in our hotel in Manhattan and, no doubt, the sight of the world-famous skyscrapers that we witnessed was precisely what we had expected in the Big Apple. After a well-deserved rest at night, we set off from New York City to Ithaca on 10 May 2025.

A Tribute To Carl Sagan

The bus journey from New York City to Ithaca was an experience in itself, with the sights of many birds, and the vegetation seemed unique because the trees were arranged in a way that made them appear as if they covered a hill. But then I realised that, as the bus moved through the road, it was the road that was winding, which made the plants appear as if they were on a hill, and the hill was actually an illusion. Arriving in Ithaca that evening, we could see birds around our hotel, Meadow Court Inn in Ithaca. During the evening, it was a pleasant realisation that we had somehow arrived in Ithaca after years and years of planning, and were actually witnessing the sights and sounds of the American countryside, having crossed three continents en route. Some birds that we saw in Ithaca on the first day included American Robins, Blue Jays, Red Cardinals, and Turkey Vultures.

The next day, 11 May 2025, we went to the Lake View Cemetery in Ithaca to pay tribute at the grave of Carl Sagan. We were a bit apprehensive about whether we would find the exact location of the grave. However, as it turned out, we could locate the grave very quickly, as it was in the Jewish cemetery that was clearly visible. It was a most poignant moment for me, to come face to face with the final resting place of the one man in modern history who has influenced my thinking the most, alongside Gerald Durrell. This was a place I had dreamt of visiting for years and years, having read the books of Carl Sagan like ‘Cosmos’, ‘The Dragons of Eden’, ‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors’ and having watched his television shows, including the ‘Cosmos’ series and numerous lectures and interviews.

We had carried many tokens of respect that we laid at his grave, which already had mementoes displayed like blue marbles, a book, and a small sign with the note, “The highest form of wisdom is kindness.” We placed Indian coins, a handwritten card expressing our gratitude to him, lots of flowers, a rudraksha garland and we poured water we had obtained from the confluence of the three rivers, Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati, at the Kumbh Mela held in Prayagraj earlier in 2025. This was particularly meaningful because when Carl Sagan was very ill with cancer, there was a gathering of people who prayed for him on the banks of the Ganga.

It was a poignant moment when I played his speech, ‘Reflections on a Mote of Dust’, that emphasises the cosmic insignificance of all human vanity and urges respect for all life, and is considered to be one of the most sterling invocations of planetary environmental consciousness ever spoken. We also played the recording from ‘Cosmos’ where Carl Sagan says, “The cosmos is also within us, we are made of star stuff, we are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” We did not realise that two and a half hours had passed at the site of Carl Sagan’s grave before we moved on. The Lake View Cemetery is also a haven for many species of birds as well as squirrels, and we saw them whilst we were at the cemetery. Cayuga Lake is also visible from a side of the Lake View Cemetery.

Waterfalls, Campus, And The Cosmos

Ithaca has numerous waterfalls and we had a chance to visit Ithaca Falls and the spectacular Taughannock Falls, that is higher in height than Niagara Falls. Both sites are good places for watching birds, and the American Robins seemed ubiquitous and Red Cardinals added beauty everywhere.

There was another high point for us when we visited the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University, which is headed by Dr Lisa Kaltenegger. It was a dreamlike experience to visit Carl Sagan’s office and see the view from the window that he had as a researcher and David Duncan Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences from 1976 to 1996. We had a chance to talk to Dr Lisa Kaltenegger about how our understanding of the ‘Cosmos’ has been shaped by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan’s vision of our unity with all life and how this realisation leads us to treat all animals with compassion.

We were also shown around the Spacecraft Planetary Image Facility (SPIF) in Cornell by Dr Zoe Learner Ponterio, who displayed many spacecraft images, including the original Voyager I and Voyager II images of planets in the solar system.

In Cornell University, we were also able to go around the campus, being aware that it is one of America’s elite academic institutions, part of the famed Ivy League. Cornell University also bears a sign stating, “Above all nations is humanity.” Apart from Carl Sagan, scientists Richard Feynman and Hans Bethe have also been associated with Cornell and the site of the university is spectacular, with profuse green natural vegetation all around.

Cornell University has the Ground Hog (Marmota monax), also known as the woodchuck, as their mascot and we were able to see a live animal, a most enchanting, and fascinating sighting of a wild creature on the campus of an academic institution.

In The Company Of Birds

Our visit to Ithaca also included a visit to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, a premier research centre of ornithology and natural history. My friend and colleague, Malyasri Bhattacharya, had given me an introduction to Shri Abhiram Sankar, an Indian Administrative Service officer who was closely associated with the institute. We were able to see the various educational displays in the lab, as well as watch free-living birds in Sapsucker Woods that is part of the campus.

This 300-acre sanctuary offers over five miles of trails for birdwatching, including wooded paths and boardwalks through wetlands and forests, and there is a lake adjoining the lab. More than 230 bird species have been recorded in the sanctuary, which is named after the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. We could observe, with great delight, numerous birds, including Blue Jay, Common Grackle, Starling, Pileated Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, and White-breasted Nuthatch. They were joined in their feeding by Grey Squirrels, flitting in and out of the feeding areas. The haunting calls of the Canada Geese also led us to their pursuit and we could see them in the lake alongside raptors like Ospreys flying around.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology has many beautiful signboards and educational displays, including a painting without bird identification that has a quote from physicist Richard Feynman:

“You can know the name of a bird in all the languages of the world, but when you're finished, you'll know absolutely nothing about the bird. You'll only know about humans in different places, and what they call the bird. So, let's look at the bird and see what it's doing—that's what counts. I learnt very early in life the difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something.”

It was also an experience to see signboards at Cornell University and Cornell Lab of Ornithology acknowledging that these sites originally belonged to the Native American people, who were displaced by European settlers when America was colonised. It was a humbling realisation.

New York City: Museums, Zoos, And Urban Wilderness

After coming back to New York City from Ithaca, we had many memorable experiences as well. At the American Museum of Natural History, we witnessed marvels of nature, including astronomical wonders at the Hayden Planetarium, where I had a chance to interview the globally renowned scientist, Dr Neil deGrasse Tyson. The exhibits at American Museum of Natural History are truly meaningful and educational, but sadness crept in to see the dead bodies of many animals killed for display there. I felt the museum recognises this kind of collection belonged to a different era.

Whilst returning from the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we saw a wild turkey at Battery Park, that was being studied by a German wildlife photographer named Anke Frohlich. We also saw many birds and turtles at the vast Central Park in New York City that can truly be described as an urban wilderness in the heart of a teeming metropolis.

The Wildlife Conservation Society Vice President, Mr Keith Lovett, had also kindly arranged our visits to Bronx Zoo and Central Park Zoo. There were many important sights to witness in these zoos, including the Madagascar exhibit and the structurally and biologically diverse Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit in Bronx Zoo and also the Kodiak Bears and Penguins at Central Park Zoo.

Bronx Zoo also supported George Schaller in his pioneering field research in Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. His books on display in Bronx Zoo are a solid testament to the important conservation work carried out by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which is a world leader in wildlife conservation initiatives and, no doubt, Bronx Zoo is ranked among the best zoos in the world.

We also tried to find a memorial to Ota Benga, a Congo Pygmy man who had been exhibited in Bronx Zoo in 1906, but this we found missing. His legacy in Bronx Zoo is still a matter of debate. Overall, we found the Wildlife Conservation Society-run zoos to be professionally administered institutions contributing positively to wildlife conservation, especially Bronx Zoo.

We visited other places of interest, including the United Nations headquarters, where we obtained memorabilia regarding the United Nations’ endorsement of biodiversity conservation, the New York Public Library and Times Square, where we unfortunately saw animals in entertainment, a Blue and Gold Macaw, a Cockatoo, and a Boa Constrictor being moved around for photographs with tourists, an act that was very incongruous among the din and lights of a most iconic landmark in New York.

It is hoped that the extensive use and abuse of animals in wildlife entertainment will cease in the United States of America, as is the trend worldwide. In India, some major steps have been taken in this regard by organisations like World Animal Protection and we hope this will continue.

The last place of interest we visited was St Patrick’s Church and we left with the hope that the motto, ‘In God We Trust’, that is imprinted on the American dollar, will truly and justly make the United States of America and the rest of the world a better place for all living creatures.

Shubhobroto Ghosh is Wildlife Campaign Manager of World Animal Protection and author of the book, ‘Dreaming In Calcutta and Channel Islands.’ He has more than five hundred publications in all forms of media.

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