VolgayilManju Peyyumbol byPunathil Kujabdullah (Wne slow falls onVolga)

Volgayil Manju  peyyumbol

(When snow rains on Volga)

 by

  Punathil   Kunjabdulla

 

Volgayil Manju  peyyumbol    (when snow falls over Volga)  is a travelogue written by  DrPunathil Kunjabdulla. Kunjabdullah   is a well known writer in  Malayalam for his short stories, novels , biographical writings .  His book Malamukalile Abdullah has got award from  Kerala  sahithya academy and his book Smarakasila kal (memory stones) has awards from both National sahithya academy and Kerala saahithya  academy.

 Kunjabdulla  and his friend   Dr Sreejit   reached the Moscow`s Sherimatheva air port  and from there they   wanted to go to wards Minsk.  So they reached the railway station and have spent night there. Dr Abdullah meets old people and a woman who reads a pornographic book .He took some Vodka .His observations about  the porters in Moscow air port and other people over there is picturesque. They took train to Berlin in Germany. The two tickets cost around 200dollors and they had to pay for the birth 8 dollars each. They reached Minsk. From there they reached the hotel and spends the millennium new year there in a hotel .  As usual in any ex soviet country two girls meet them. Next day they met a painter who belonged to Belarus known as Gregor Danilyan. He had been to India and  showed Abdullah and his friend 3 paintings  one known as Mathsyam(Fish based on the Avathara of Lord Vishnu) and other Saraswathy  and third is “Dance of MavrTanka” The painter said that the   painting speaks to him continuously. Breaks his solitude, it loves him!!  Dr Kunjabdullah felt that the revolution has created  an exhibition of urbanization and  perishing. He found young people drunk and the man trying to kiss the girl.

 Next chapter is devoted to the Russian ballet and circus. He stayed in Moscow as the guest of a medical doctor from Pathanamthitta (Kerala) who is working as a sales executive of a   Delhi based pharmaceutical company. He never practiced as a medical doctor any time as the salary of doctors in Russia is very meager (around 50 to 70Dollors).  Russians consider medical practice  as a part of service to humanity!”

Though his friend tried to get a ticket for Ballet, he was not successful. They   could see a circus  at Minsk.  The place where circus is shown in Russia has an accommodation of 3thousad to 4 thousand people.   Kunjabdullah has described it as a tent, though my experience in Russia was that major towns used to have permanent buildings to show circus known as “Sirk  “.  Though people bring their snacks they do not throw the poly ethylene   covers or empty bottles here and there  as done inIndia. They deposit them in their own bags. The civic sense shown by Russians was perhaps that they inherited from   their communist past when more disciple was enforced.  There were lot of school children to see the circus and they all stayed  in the queue.  There was a music band, then animals came, young lady artists, then men with good physique, all made a round like a carnival.  Trapeze items were good.    Jokers did not show cheap things to create humor. The program was around 3 hours. There they met Dr Kurse   from Maharashtra and his Russian wife. Though a medical doctor, he too  does not practice medicine but sells tea. They took Dr Kunjabdullah and Manoj to their home and gave them Indian food. (Kunjabdullah expected a meals like a Malayalee).

 Then both went to the medical Institute. The Institute is vey huge and the Anatomy department itself is as big as an Indian medical college. Laboratory museum, library , dissection hall and all are of excellent standard. The dean Mr. Pithoyer   Grigariovich pivichango   was not able to speak in English.  They were interested to get some foreign students. Rector informed him that if needed , he can give authorization to recruit and send students from India. They were surprised to hear that in India the medical college professors do private practice!  Minsk has a news paper   `` Naasha Diva “ edited by Andre Dinko.  About 20 thousand copies are sold. The editor was happy that they have freedom to criticize any body after the fall of communist rule.

 They  reached St: Peter`s burg in the morning about 7`Oclock morning  after a good sleep in the train. They were welcomed by medical student from Kerala.  One of them   Mr. Illiyas has a car of his own. On the way one traffic police man stopped them and after paying 20 rubles as bribe Mr Illiyas drove ahead.  They had a reservation in a hostel where the  rent for a single room was30 Dollars and for two room suite 50 Dollars. As it was in the former Soviet Russia, most of the workers are women in the hostels, Trams ,super bazaars etc. In 1917 during October revolution ,  Russian Czar was killed by his own men .The naval ship Avrora was there in the river Neva. Lenin who was living that time in a place known as Smolny had ordered to fire at the winter palace of the Czar. The captain of the ship who was hesitant to do so was compelled by his cadets to fire. 

Though the time was over for visitors to see the ship, they bribed the sentry for 100Rubles and could go inside the ship   Avrora which is kept there as it was as a memoriam . They were narrated how the revolution took place overcoming the resistance of the palace guards. After over coming theministers of temperory government, a  soldier by name Anthanov Ovsenkov declared that the revolutionary council of Petrograd soviet removed the temporary government. The ship named Avrora  had a speed of 47 miles and 11000 CC capacity.  Doctor Kunjabdullah could see that the guards there were wearing the metallic badge  with emblem for the memory of the fighter ship. The soldiers were supposed to wear that always. Kunjabdullah paid him some Rubles as bribe and the soldier gave him the original emblem.

They boarded a chartered bus and went round St: Peter’s burg which was made capital by Peter 1 in 18^th century. (The Capital was shifted to Kremlin again after the revolution.)  They could visit the Kasansky Cathedral which was made using European as well as Egyptian architecture.  They came back after the circuitous route to the original location.    They met   an old lady selling ice cream on the way. A girl there,   begged for an ice cream and  kissed Kunjabdullah   after receiving the ice cream. She accompanied him for some time also and returned. On return he finds the same girl with the ice cream seller at the same place. Perhaps the old woman was her mother and she may have deposited the ice cream back to the mother after leaving Kunjabdullah and his friend!!  Cheating was always expected  when you travel in Russia and Kunjabdullah perhaps had a better heart than a common man who can always understand such tricks !

Kunjabdullah had an opportunity to visit the winter palace museum called Hermitage. It is a worth seeing place with corridors, bedrooms, Darbars, with a good collection of paintings including that of RajRavi Varma.  Then kunjabdullha and friends visited  a casino where they drank and danced. Out side the casino prostitutes were waiting with a price of 30 to 50Dollors per night.  Though the writer wanted to lift one of them to listen her story he was desisted by his companions. Perhaps the Kerala readers have lost an opportunity to read one  Russian  more story from the pen of the writer.

They started to the city Tula in a late night train to see the Tolstoy estate. There was strict checking by the police men on foreigners perhaps due to problems in Chechnya. They met an old   Russian couple who sang  poems of Pushkin to them.  They could see the Tolstoy`s memorial .Tolstoy museum was closed due to Xmas.

Visit  to Kremlin is  another good description in the book.  Dr Manoj and Kunjabdullah were guests of Dr Iftikar who is also an Indian doctor worked as a medical representative of Panacea Biotech. With the help of Iftikar`s driver they go round Moscow and saw   a super market, Kremlin , Red square , Asthankino Television tower. Kremlin is a fort covering more than 100 acres.   One side of Kremlin  is red square and other side is confluence of Moscow river  and Nenniglaya river. There is a big bell there which weighs 65000Kilograms.They have seen the Lenin`s Mausoleum also. Kunjabdullah met a history professor named Grigory M Bonguard Lev who has received Nehru award. He has respect towards Indian Ayurvedic medicine. They saw a cathedral known as Lavra Cathedral where holy water is attracting many believers  to cure them.   Kunjabdullah sees a street known as Oolis   Tharaya (I think , the name is not written properly by Kunjabdulla who was visitingRussia first time .   Ulitsa means road in Russian  and it could be Ulitsa  Taraya perhaps).There he gets a portrait made by a street  artist.    The writer in him wanted his portrait as caricature and he paid  150 Ruble against 100 demanded by the  artist !!He searched the place where Stalin is buried and could not find it ( Nikita Khrushchev removed Stalin`s   body  from his  mausoleum  Stalin is buried outside the Kremlin fort ) .

 

The book gives a good description of the Russia after the dissolution of USSR.   I had an opportunity to live in USSR   for four months during 1987 when  Ghorbechov was ruling  that country with his tools  Peristroika and Glassnost   inhands. I could see corruption and prostitution in that country that time though rarely. Russian women had lot of attraction towards Indian men and were willing to marry them mostly due to the fact that Indians had a robust family system with rare cases of divorce.  One thing perhaps Kunjabdullah forgot was Stalin was Georgian and not a Russian. Even in his home country Georgia (CIS)  Stalin has not much followers to day. I could see only one photo of Stalin in a pump house  near the Kura  river near Tibilitsi .I did not find any body speaking high of Stalin there also.  I had opportunity to visit CIS Georgia three times and also Azerbaijan after the fall of USSR. Georgia under Michail   Sakashvelli has become pro American.  I happened to be at Tibilisi on the day when Michail  Sakashveli  made a successful  blockade of the parliament and   Edward Sheverrnatze was forced to hand over power to the  speaker of their parliament.   I could see the Georgian Ballet once which is definitely a great classical art like our Kathakali. I have seen an opera  in Bolshoi theatre though I could not see an opera there.  I had a boat cruise in Moscow river once.  I have traveled many times in the Moscow metro which is very good. When I visited the Asthankino television tower , I was informed that it was that time the tallest in the world. I did not bribe any body those days to get a ticket to the TV Tower top though I was also late to reach there. Those days  we Indians were   “Indiskaya Drusyas “(Indian friends)   for Russians.  Indians were loved officially at least.  On careful examination,  even in 1987, one visitor could see gaps being developed with in the  Republics of Muslim dominated Azerbaijan etc and the Russian part.  Of course,  I met there a scientist  who married Muslim women from Eastern republics against the wished of their parents.  But even in those communist days Russians were Russians and Azaris azaris !!   Baku was definitely a tourist spot for Russians .    I too  loved  the beauty of Baku and  Ganza etc of Azerbaijan and the river Kura  of Tibilitzi (  capital of  CIS  Georgia) .

 Any tourist to Russia and CIS countries should be careful about the passport, encounter with hooligans and prostitutes, and their purse with dollars or other foreign currencies.  I am happy that   Punathil had returned India with all his belongings  !! If he had money he could have purchased a Samovar and presented to his loved ones. The cuckoo clocks  sold there is not tropicalised may not last long !!