Summer in Moscow
Summer in Moscow
Moscow -- a city that evokes a feeling of familiarity; a city I marked numerous times on blank world maps in school tests; read about when preparing for competitive exams; heard almost on a daily basis in news. A historic city of tsars, communism, cold war, KGB, Misha, defence deals, ballet But, despite all its familiarity, it somehow felt distant, unfriendly and unwelcoming. In short, cold -- whichever way I looked at it. And due to the mixed feelings it evoked, I was more curious than excited, on my trip to Moscow.
As I stood on its soil, smelling the air and taking in the sights, the first thing I noticed about Moscow was that it wasnt cold. The June sun had me awash in its warmth. But as we moved into our apartment to settle down, a cold feeling crept in, which was mainly attributed to the overuse of the word chisti by our apartment owner, in sentences that varied in stance from a request to a demand to an outright order! Initially it did feel discourteous, but considering that it came from an 82-year old lady, who was renting us her daughters apartment for stay, we waived it off as just an old age fixation -- in this case, cleanliness. When finally she left, after making us (un) comfortable, we let out a sigh and got back to making our plans.
The Red Square, flanked bythe Kremlin and St Basil's Cathedral
Soon we were exploring Russias capital city. Krasnaya Ploshad (Red Square) didnt look red, as I had expected. I learnt that Krasnaya in Russian means the same for beautiful and red. I assumed that in this case, it meant beautiful, since awash in the bright light of the June sun, the place looked big and majestic. The red Kremlin wall with its towers rising high does give a standoffish look. The St Basils cathedral, on the other hand is so colorful that it looks like an illustration from a childrens fairy tale book.
St Basil's Cathedral
My eyes also scanned the Russian Museum and GUM, a store for extremely high end products and super rich buyers. A plain looking T-shirt there costs 13,000 Rubles (approx. Rs 21,000/-). Perhaps its meant for the super rich belles to wear when they want to look plain! As for us, our exit was much faster than we expected.
Kremlin at night
We joined the long queue of people, mostly foreigners, snaking at the entrance to the Kremlin. Considering that it is the seat of power in Russia, the security was tight here. Inside the fortification, Kremlin is like another city, with important buildings, monuments and parks. There are specific routes visitors are required to follow. Apart from President Putins office, we saw the heaviest canon that never fired, the heaviest bell that never rang and numerous churches at the church junction. These churches, although not of much political significance now, were used for coronation and burial during the era of tsars. What I liked most here was the choir at the church of the Archangel Gabriel that sings without the aid of any musical instrument. In the pin drop silence, the voices of the male and female singers weaved a heavenly harmony that reverberated in the cupola and still does in my mind. It was perfect, to me, like the Taj.
President Putin's officein Kremlin
Heaviest bell in the world (in Kremlin)
Walking along the vast expanse of the Alexander gardens withfountains, kiosks and cafes, I had to remind myself many a times that I was in the precincts of the reticent Kremlin. Tourists of every race and color fleeted along, posing for photographs. We met a group of Chinese tourists, and in the course of conversation, casually enquired about their influx, since we observed that the maximum foreigners were Chinese. One of them went on to say that the climate had changed. Assuming that he was referring to the economic climate in his own country, we readily agreed. But then he clarified, No, Rasha, I am talking about Rasha. He went on to add that the present government in Russia had changed the climate; that Moscow was warmer than it ever was. Perhaps he was right. I think I could feel it. The ice cream in my hand was beginning to drip.
Sentry at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier atAlexander gardens, Kremlin
Several high-rises soar above the clutter of smaller buildings and give Moscow its unique skyline. The most conspicuous among them are a group of seven Stalinist skyscrapers, referred to as the seven sisters (vysotki, in Russian).
One of the seven sisters - Moscow University building
Newly weds outside Moscow University building
Barring a few remnants of the communist era that reminds you of the gloomy past, the city is like any other major metropolis in that, it bustles with life. Summers are celebration time and the malls, theatres, eating joints and streets are totally crowded. There are only a few islands of isolation and solitude within the city such as the Novodevichy convent, which has a panoramic view with a pond and lush greenery around. Along the Moskva River there are also green embankments that give the appearance of a forest in the city.
Among the several streets, Arbat makes an impressive and ineteresting stroll. On this pedestrian only street as you walk along under the wrought iron lamps, you can see street performers entertaining shoppers with music and songs, souvenir stalls selling traditional Russian gifts and artists doing portraits. There are also several cafes and restaurants which offer you everything ranging from blinys (Russian pancakes) to French pastries. This street is refreshingly different and hence a popular destination for locals and visitors alike.
The Arbat experience
Matrushka nesting dolls for sale
Getting to places anywhere in Moscow is easy and fast due to its efficient metro network. All you need is a metro map. In fact metro stations in Moscow are called underground palaces because of the royal splendour they exude. Marveling at the gilded and marble stations, decorated with precious stones, sculptures, mosaics, paintings, stained glass panels and mural, we missed many a trains. There is an interesting legend to the origin of the ring line, the circular line of the Moscow metro. It is said that when the engineers approached Stalin with a plan for the metro, he looked at the drawings and left after placing his empty cup of coffee in the centre of the Metro blueprints. The cup left a brown circle on the drawings and the engineers understood it as an indication to contrust a ring line.
As I spent more time in Moscow, my old impressions were being replaced by new. Wherever I went -- memorials, monuments, cathedrals and parks -- contrary to my expectations, I found the people to be friendly and warm. In fact, I was surprised by the remarkable display of tolerance even when my 5-year old son stumbled on the metro escalator causing a 10-minute delay (which is quite a lot during rush hour) and when he stuck chewed gum on an unsuspecting young ladys hair. In my own India, such incidents in a similar situation probably would have exposed me to considerable ire, but not in Moscow. On an average, people are refined and dignified, proud of their culture and tradition.
As we prepared to leave this impressive capital city, the old lady of our apartment was back again; checking every room, ensuring everything was in place. At the end of it, she mumbled something related to chisti. Not again! we muttered as we cooked up excuses in a bid to avoid this round of chisti-lecture. But something unusual happened. For the first time she smiled, flashing her golden dentures! Hey, the babushka smiled, ripples of excitement passed between us. Apparently she was happy with the way we left her apartment and explained that she put on the tough exterior for the fear that people would otherwise take her for granted due to her advanced years. To our astonishment she kissed us Da Sveedaniya (goodbye) and we left Moscow smiling.
For me it took this visit to write a new chapter in my mind about the city of Moscow -- a city that is warmer than I ever thought. And now when someone tells me, Oh, you visited Moscow, that cold place I say, Excuse me!
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