Russia Calling

Siberia, Lenin, Stalin, Moscow, Trans Siberian Railway, Gorbachev, Garry Kasparov are but a few names that register in our mind when we hear the word Russia. Unlike Europe and USA, Russia is not in the regular tourist circuit. So, when I got an opportunity to visit this country, I was delighted. With an expanse of 170 lakh sqkm and a population of 15 crores (with a density of 8.4 persons/sqkm), Russia is a comparison in complete contrast to India’s physical and human geography. When we landed in Moscow by an Air India flight on an early morning in the second week of July, the weather was just perfect.

Russia is divided into two parts by the Ural mountains- European part to the West and the larger Asian segment towards the east. Siberia forms most of the Eastern side and is covered with snow for most part of the year and a sizeable chunk of the land is under permafrost. Unfortunately, Siberia was not a part of our itinerary and it remains a part of my bucket list.

On the first day of our arrival, we headed for a Moscow city tour with a knowledgeable guide named Maria. The city has a population of over 13 million and one in every three people has a car. Even though the city residents are frustrated over the increasing traffic snarls, wide roads and impeccable lane system ensure that the jams are cleared without blaring horns and flaring tempers. Russians are very proud of their achievements in space science and a statue of Yuri Gagarin occupies a place of pride in the heart of the city. The residents are not averse to talk about their dark past-the reign of Stalin-and understandably, we did not come across a single statue of this leader.

The Red square in Moscow is a favorite tourist destination and July being the beginning of the pleasant summer, the area was teeming with travelers, mostly Chinese. The location has several attractions such as the lovely St Basil’s cathedral, Kremlin, Lenin’s mausoleum, Kazan cathedral and GUM shopping mall. From Red Square we moved to the Moscow Metro. This metro is more than 80 years old and the stations are beautifully designed with paintings from Russian history, the Great October Socialist Revolution, space odysseys etc. Most of the stations and routes are underground and one of the stations is about 270 feet underground, one of the deepest in the world. The metro is Moscow is also one of the busiest with more than 2 billion ridership in a year.

The cruise on the Moskva river was delightful and the audio guide helped us to identify the landmarks as we traveled along the river enjoying the views of the the magnificent city sparkling in the neon lights. The cruises usually start near the majestic and imposing Radisson Royal Hotel and takes about two and a half hours.

There are many more statues and landmarks in Moscow and the most important among them is ‘Worker and Kolkhoz Woman’, a stainless steel sculpture that stands 78 feet high and portrays a male worker with a hammer in hand and a female farm worker (Kolkhoz) holding a sickle. Together, the figures form the Communist hammer and sickle symbol. Another important building in Moscow is the Ostankino television centre which is the second tallest man-made structure in the world.

From Moscow we moved to St Petersburg, visiting Novograd on the way, making a night halt there. The drive from Moscow was lovely as we could see the countryside and the rural landscape. The Sun was shining bright throughout and the drive was a breeze. Incidentally, during this time of the year and in this part of the world, nights are very short. Usual time of sunset was 10.30 pm and sun was up by 4.30 a.m. But this only helped us stretch our sight-seeing time!

Novograd is the old capital of Russia and Novograd Kremlin fort on the bank of the Volkhov river is the main attraction here. The enchanting five-domed 11^th century cathedral of St Sophia within the fort complex is a must-see. ‘Millennium of Russia’ is a big bell shaped bronze structure with statues of several important people who have contributed to the growth and rise of Russia over a thousand year period and was unveiled in 1862. While in Novograd, we also tasted, ‘kvas’, a local drink made of fermented rye which is mildly sweet and minutely alcoholic. 

Our last stop was St Petersburg. Again, regal and awe-inspiring cathedrals are the major tourist attractions here. St Issac’s cathedral with its golden dome is serene and the large columns at the façade of the building look grand and the interior decorations are lavish. The Church of Resurrection of Christ is an amazing panoply of colours and a photographer’s delight. We tried the night cruise along the Neva river but it was not as enjoyable as the one we did in Moscow. The Neva river has several bridges which are popular tourist attractions and the Palace Bridge (and several others too) opens in the night to allow the movement of ships.

We traveled back from St Petersburg to Russia by a comfortable high-speed train and before we could realise, our Russian love affair had begun and was over.

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                                              St Basil's Cathedral at Red Square

Metro Station, Moscow

Kremlin view

The Worker and the Farm Woman-Iconic Russian Landmark

A countryside house

St Sophia Cathedral, Novograd

Playing Bollywood Tunes!

                       
                                       

                                     Church of the Saviour of Spilled Blood, St petersberg

                             
                                             St Issac's Cathedral, St Petersberg

This has been published in Deccan Herald and the link is here:-

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/628560/ravishing-russia.html

Bihar Diary

Trucked-Away!

Laying out research plots in the forests, taking measurements of tree girth and height and collecting soil samples are a routine that my field staff performs for nine to ten months in a year. It is a tough and risky job, more so in wildlife-rich and naxal-affected areas. We work for an organization called Forest Survey of India under the ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change and our Southern Zone office is located in Bengaluru. My team is in Bihar measuring the growing stock of forests and estimating the trees outside the forest areas both in rural and urban areas. On the first day of my visit to inspect the field work, I head towards Arrah and further west. All along the road is a caravan of trucks, mostly laden with sand. They are everywhere, moving like a jaywalker or parked haphazardly obstructing the traffic. As we approach the British-era two-storey Koilwar bridge on Sone river, the truck-induced traffic madness is an incomprehensible maze. Honking match and overtaking spree is on from either side and there is no escape. But our driver, who is capable of extracting oil from sand, squeezes some space between the crisscrossed trucks, gets into the terribly and illegally mined sand bed of Sone and Voila! We are out of the gridlock, driving over the bridge and at the same time a train passes above us with a heart-shattering noise.

Of local cuisine and Delhi belly

When I ask my driver whether he had breakfast, he smiles and replies, ‘nahin sir! Aaj aapko ek badiya jagah leke jaoonga’. I protest stressing that I have already had idli and dosa at a restaurant. But he insists that the famous hotel he is alluding to is on our way to Gaya and there will not be any detour. The much-recommended restaurant is a roadside stall and the swarm of flies engulfing the bun, pedha and other assortment of dishes dissuades me from trying the fare. Rajkumar returns triumphantly after a couple of minutes with a big, makkhan-filled, sliced bun. He reveals with visible appreciation that the owner sells at least five quintals of milk every day. I would have loved to taste all the local delicacies-litti chokha, tilkut, khaja, anarsa, dal pitha, sattu but most of the decent-looking restaurants and sweet shops in Patna do not offer most of these. Unable to say no again to Rajkumar, I try tilkut and anarsa from a push-cart vendor and my superfluous anxiety about Delhi-belly remains just that.

The Grace of a Leaf

Vishnupada temple at Gaya is a complete contrast to the spic and span environs of the Mahabodhi vihar. Pujaris tail you urging not to forget ‘pinda danam’ to the departed souls at the Falgu river. The afternoon sun is scorching and the temple floor has turned into embers. I complete the darshan of black granite-carved feet of Lord Vishnu in a jiffy and head to the Bodhi temple. Mobiles are not allowed inside the complex and the security is tight. This is the place where Lord Buddha attained enlightenment and the progeny of the original ashwattha tree under which the Great Man realized that the world is full of sorrows, is well-protected. Visitors are not allowed to pluck any leaf but can pick up the fallen ones. There is not much crowd and I wait patiently. After a few minutes, a perfectly skeletonized brown-coloured leaf floats gracefully down to the ground.

The Bucket List Bricks

On my way to check the inventory of trees in rural areas, I cross Jehanabad, of the infamy of Dalit’s massacre. Today is Ramzan and the road through the town is blocked by the mosque goers who kneel on the road in large numbers. Children, dressed in their finest, greet each other with excited giggles and hugs. Gun toting policemen keep a vigil but there is a feel of relaxed calmness in the air.

After counting the trees and checking the GPS location of the research plots, I take a detour to Nalanda in the evening. The memory of brick structures from the faded pictures of primary school text book comes back to me. Surprisingly, the ruins look no different. A guide takes me through the amazing relics of this once magnificent university. The small prayer chambers dug into the walls of the hostel rooms look claustrophobic. A group of young men jump over a ‘no entry’ barricade and clambers up the remains of a building for selfie. There are only a handful of security personnel here and the raucous group returns to the same spot after being shooed away. Mocked at and outnumbered, the guard leaves the spot cursing under his breath. At the edge of an edifice, inside the university complex, a religious ritual is taking place. A young woman, dressed to the nines and sitting on a wooden stool is surrounded by a group of elderly ladies. It looks like a happy occasion and preparations are on for a feast on the adjacent lawn. There is a crowd of curious onlookers perching atop a nearby tree and on the compound wall. The setting sun casts a wonderful orange hue on the bricks of the ruins creating a brilliant mélange.  No wanderer can keep Nalanda out of her bucket list.

The Real Test Of Change

Open drains, garbage mounds and the visibly unchecked sand trucks-these were not the images I was hoping for when I landed in Patna. But I am just a visitor here and the best judge of change can only be Rajkumar. And I ask him the question. “Things have improved a lot”, he replies with conviction. “Ten years ago, the city used to shut down by six in the evening because of the fear of criminals. Now we can walk on the streets at night and enjoy dinner at a hotel”. Three cheers for that. 

Bodhi Tree

                                                              Maha Bodhi Temple

                                              

                                                      Nalanda