To Russia, Without Love
It has been about 20 yrs since I came back from Russia and every time I discuss my experiences there with any of my friends, they tell me to write about it. The same thing happened today too. So here I am using this blog as a medium to share my experiences in Russia and the erstwhile Soviet Union with all of you. I hope you guys find the time to not only read these posts but also enjoy doing so.
The year is 1989, the city Visakhapatnam and I have just been informed that I have got a scholarship to go and study engineering in the Soviet Union. I am elated... excited... happy beyond words. Like millions of Indians, I also want to get out of India and go see the world and hopefully settle down in a 'phoren' country. My family seems to be happy too....after all, a family member is going to a foreign land.......
The preparation for my departure to the Soviet Union starts. We shop for warm clothes, shoes, food stuff that I can carry there with me and seek advice from friends who have studied/lived there to be better prepared for the life in Russia. As the date for my departure approaches near, I feel more and more excited. Strangely, I don't seem to feel any sadness about the idea of leaving my family and friends behind... the idea of travelling abroad seems to have an overpowering effect on me and I am only thinking about what kind of life awaits me there. The days pass by quickly and finally it is the time to leave my country and countrymen and embark on a journey of about 4 yrs that is going to take me across 2 continents and teach me things about life that I would never have learnt if I hadn't left India.
It is somewhere in the August of 1989 and I have just landed at the Moscow International airport. I am not alone though, there is a big group of Indian students who have landed there with me.. some already studying there and others are first timers like me.... impatiently waiting to start life there. But we seem to have run into trouble the moment we landed there (something that will happen to me through out my stay there).... there is nobody to receive us and we are stuck at the airport! After the initial confusion clears, we find out that we will have to spend the night at the Airport itself. Meanwhile I have made friends with some other guys and two of them are known by the names Sameer and Rakesh.... both from Bombay (it was still known as Bombay then). A lot of the students occupy one corner of the airport premises and try to get some sleep there. Sameer is one of them and while Sameer and the others are sleeping, I try to spend time roaming around in the airport premises and looking at the people of various different nationalities who are transiting through that airport. All of a sudden I see Sameer walking towards me with a worried look on his face. When he comes nearer I ask him what the matter is. He informs me that somebody has stolen his brand new pair of Nike shoes. Apparently, he had removed them and was sleeping with the pair lying near his feet and while he was sleeping somebody took them away. He is very unhappy and I suggest to him that we should lodge a police complaint about this theft .... maybe they would be able to find the shoes for us??? We go to the police station at the airport to lodge the complaint. When we enter the station we see a lot of stern faces sitting across large tables and we are at a loss as to how and with whom should we broach the topic of the missing Nike shoes. Eventually we muster up the courage to speak to the police officer sitting closest to us. I tell him, in English, that somebody has stolen my friend's expensive Nike shoes and Sameer adds to what I am saying by describing the shoes to them. The officer looks at us for a couple of seconds and then looks at some of the other officers and then they all laugh with an amused look on their faces.We then realize that nothing can be done about the missing shoes and quietly walk out of the police station. After we come out, I tell Sameer that I have an extra pair of shoes with me. I give him the pair that I am wearing and, for myself, take out the new pair from my suitcase.
The night finally ends and at day break we are told that someone has organized transport and hotel accommodation for us. A bus comes and picks us up and takes us to a hotel near the airport where we spend a night before we move on to a hotel in the city. When we move to the hotel in the city, we are given individual rooms. We are also told that very soon we will be sent to different educational institutes in different parts of the Soviet Union to commence our studies. My room is at one of the higher floors of the hotel and from the window I can see a large part of the city. Someone tells me that the imposing building that I see a few kilometers away is the Moscow State university. One thing I can't help noticing from the window is the large number of couples walking arm in arm, hugging and kissing openly on the footpaths below. I have just had a heartbreak before I left for Russia and looking at these couples makes me feel more miserable.Loneliness is already creeping into me and unfortunately will stay there for a long long time.
The next day I am told that I will be going to Leningrad (now called St.Petersburg) for my first year of studies. I am very happy to hear this since the institute that I will be studying in is one of the best in the country and the city is also supposed to be very beautiful (one of the senior students also told me that Leningrad was known for its friendly beautiful girls.. an aspect of the city which a teenager like me was more than happy to hear about!). I was to depart for Leningrad the same evening and spent the whole day anxiously waiting for the evening to arrive.
The year is 1989, the city Visakhapatnam and I have just been informed that I have got a scholarship to go and study engineering in the Soviet Union. I am elated... excited... happy beyond words. Like millions of Indians, I also want to get out of India and go see the world and hopefully settle down in a 'phoren' country. My family seems to be happy too....after all, a family member is going to a foreign land.......
The preparation for my departure to the Soviet Union starts. We shop for warm clothes, shoes, food stuff that I can carry there with me and seek advice from friends who have studied/lived there to be better prepared for the life in Russia. As the date for my departure approaches near, I feel more and more excited. Strangely, I don't seem to feel any sadness about the idea of leaving my family and friends behind... the idea of travelling abroad seems to have an overpowering effect on me and I am only thinking about what kind of life awaits me there. The days pass by quickly and finally it is the time to leave my country and countrymen and embark on a journey of about 4 yrs that is going to take me across 2 continents and teach me things about life that I would never have learnt if I hadn't left India.
It is somewhere in the August of 1989 and I have just landed at the Moscow International airport. I am not alone though, there is a big group of Indian students who have landed there with me.. some already studying there and others are first timers like me.... impatiently waiting to start life there. But we seem to have run into trouble the moment we landed there (something that will happen to me through out my stay there).... there is nobody to receive us and we are stuck at the airport! After the initial confusion clears, we find out that we will have to spend the night at the Airport itself. Meanwhile I have made friends with some other guys and two of them are known by the names Sameer and Rakesh.... both from Bombay (it was still known as Bombay then). A lot of the students occupy one corner of the airport premises and try to get some sleep there. Sameer is one of them and while Sameer and the others are sleeping, I try to spend time roaming around in the airport premises and looking at the people of various different nationalities who are transiting through that airport. All of a sudden I see Sameer walking towards me with a worried look on his face. When he comes nearer I ask him what the matter is. He informs me that somebody has stolen his brand new pair of Nike shoes. Apparently, he had removed them and was sleeping with the pair lying near his feet and while he was sleeping somebody took them away. He is very unhappy and I suggest to him that we should lodge a police complaint about this theft .... maybe they would be able to find the shoes for us??? We go to the police station at the airport to lodge the complaint. When we enter the station we see a lot of stern faces sitting across large tables and we are at a loss as to how and with whom should we broach the topic of the missing Nike shoes. Eventually we muster up the courage to speak to the police officer sitting closest to us. I tell him, in English, that somebody has stolen my friend's expensive Nike shoes and Sameer adds to what I am saying by describing the shoes to them. The officer looks at us for a couple of seconds and then looks at some of the other officers and then they all laugh with an amused look on their faces.We then realize that nothing can be done about the missing shoes and quietly walk out of the police station. After we come out, I tell Sameer that I have an extra pair of shoes with me. I give him the pair that I am wearing and, for myself, take out the new pair from my suitcase.
The night finally ends and at day break we are told that someone has organized transport and hotel accommodation for us. A bus comes and picks us up and takes us to a hotel near the airport where we spend a night before we move on to a hotel in the city. When we move to the hotel in the city, we are given individual rooms. We are also told that very soon we will be sent to different educational institutes in different parts of the Soviet Union to commence our studies. My room is at one of the higher floors of the hotel and from the window I can see a large part of the city. Someone tells me that the imposing building that I see a few kilometers away is the Moscow State university. One thing I can't help noticing from the window is the large number of couples walking arm in arm, hugging and kissing openly on the footpaths below. I have just had a heartbreak before I left for Russia and looking at these couples makes me feel more miserable.Loneliness is already creeping into me and unfortunately will stay there for a long long time.
The next day I am told that I will be going to Leningrad (now called St.Petersburg) for my first year of studies. I am very happy to hear this since the institute that I will be studying in is one of the best in the country and the city is also supposed to be very beautiful (one of the senior students also told me that Leningrad was known for its friendly beautiful girls.. an aspect of the city which a teenager like me was more than happy to hear about!). I was to depart for Leningrad the same evening and spent the whole day anxiously waiting for the evening to arrive.
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