You Rock Me..

The whole week passed by in the MC flat, with the girls going for a training on selling skills for Friday and saturday. Well, the reason i did not join them is that the training was in russian. So, sitting in the office typing my journal of the past 1 month, i got a call from Katia saying that the weather is fine and i can come to the city and we will walk. Just when walking was becoming a little less interesting, we got a message from the finance director of Moscow that in the university a rock concert is going on.

University was a cool place to be...the concert was arranged by the Physics faculty and had bands from the city palying. After about 15 minutes, the announcement was made that the next group to play is 'Mara' and Zhenya screamed that this was her favourite band from school and started SMSing everyone in her contact list. No doubt that the group was good as even i was enjoying the music and till today still am. The next group to perform was the best pop group from Russia called "Uma Thurman". I could'nt believe that these bands were playing in a University on a saturday evening. WHEW. And for all those musicians in India and Pakistan who have said this cliched line a Zillion times, "Music has no borders and language", i am your biggest endorser....2.5 hours in a rock concrt without even understanding a single word..

15th may all set to see Moscow

Sab, me, Zhenya and Katia left the house at about 2. We reached Pushkinskaya and walked on the street till we reached the Red Square. As majestic as it looks and as serene as the sorroundings are, the Kremlin was the place to be that Sunday. All people, young and old, were there. Some looking at the mausoleum of Lenin, some at the Basil church, some throwing coins at the famous execution circle.

After capturing some memories, we set out towards the Moskva river. On the way we saw a Mercedez Collection of 22 old cars, including a Rolls...one of the Mercedez was owned by Marilyn Monroe. Walking through the Moskva, Zhenya told us the story of the church. The next destination was of course the Arbat, but this time after the old street we also checked out the new arbat. Casinos, showrooms, kids on skates, bikes and the best of em all, an Austen Martin and Hummer on display for bumper prize. Well talk about an outing...

It was time to say good bye to Sab (his flight for Budapest was early monday morning) and prepare for a MC meet 9:30 in the morning...and before i forget Happy Brithday Katia.

14th may....Sab was arriving.

Me and Katya reached at the airport half an hour before time and had to wait for about an hour and half as i had forgotten to calculate the extra 45 minutes Saurabh would need for his Emmigration. But at last about quarter to 10 he came out. About an hour and half after landing, and as usual he was the last person to come out. After the same train and bus journey we reached home. We dropped the idea of roaming around moscow that day as we had to go to the Local planning of AIESEC Moscow and me and Saurabh had to do an Indian party. We left the house and after 2 hours of travelling reached the venue which was owned by the University and was used by the various student groups for their work and gatherings. A picturesque place with lake, forest and small houses. Before the party began me, Sab and Katya took a small session on our AIESEC experiences and the learnings we have had. In between the party and our session there was another interesting thing happening, which was the election of the team leaders and awarding alumni status to some of the past EB members. Me and Sab didnt quite enjoy the whole period as all the speeches and announcements were in Russian, but the process was nonetheless interesting. And also it was quite different from what we were used to, in terms of EB members giving a speech telling people what their contribution was and how they plan to contribute to @ after becoming alumni.The indian party was full of questions..right from Hindu religion to yoga and Hare Rama Hare Krishna cult followed by some general stereotyped questions like whether a boy needs to marry the girl he touches, how is the caste system etc etc..

11th May, Cabana Club...

11th May, Cabana Club we were invited for the inuaguration party of the EB of AIESEC Moscow. But before going there i was also invited for taking a few interviews of people who applied for becoming Team leaders and OCP's for PBoX's. The interviews were at Moscow State University. The main building of the University is the tallest in Moscow and there are 6 other such buildings across Russia, with the same look and design. The 8th building however is in Poland, given as a gift.

The club was near the Moskva river. The party in the club was like a transition party where the old EB was giving a speech and then gifts to successors. While returning form the club i saw the Red square and Kremlin for the first time and was amazed by the beauty in the early darkness. Did i forget to mention that darkness here falls in at around 10 in the night and sunset happens around 9.

9th May, Victory Day

9th May, the celebration of 60 years of Victory of USSR, in World War II against facism. Who's who from the whole world were gathered in Moscow to witness the celebrations at the Red Square (The Kremlin). Even we ventured out but, of course the whole area was courdoned off only for the war veterans and VIP's. I was feeling so good as there were so many poeple on the streets all of them enjoying themselves. I saw a girl go to a veteran and give him flowers, the old man replied spasibo (thanks) and kissed her on the cheeks, the girl went back and reunited with her boyfriend/husband. It was so cool to walk on the main streets of Moscow (near Pushkinskaya) named after the celebrated writer Pushkin. We went to the Old Arbat Street, its a street and both sides you have shops, cafe's and restaurant. On the street you would find people playing music, singing, drawing portraits, doing acrobatics, break dance etc. for money and amusement. The whole stretch of Arbat is about 1.5 km. We roamed for about 4 or 5 hours around The Kremlin and then returned home. I didnt check the media reports of the next day but i heard that the celebrations were the main news almost across all channels and newspapers.

...back in Moskva

All set for the 2.5 days long train journey, after buying biscuits, noodles, bread, cheese and some coffee, we said goodbye to the OC members.

The train journey in itself was an amazing experience. It is not allowed to drink alcohol in the train, yet, you can find alcohol on all the stations. All the compartments have this hot water machine, so you can drink as much tea as you want, cook noodles etc. ( by the way, it's true that Russians don't drink water, they drink tea the whole day). We were travelling in the cheapest section, yet we had a mattress, blanket, pillow and sheets for us (Now i know why all the trainees use to hate Indian trains). Some people wanted to talk to me, but as language was a barrier, we kept the conversation limited. A few people also wanted to know if Raj Kapoor was dead or live and whether his production banner and theatre were still running.

We reached Moscow at about 4:30 and had to wait for about 1 hour for the metros to start. I had read somewhere that metros at some places go so deep that you have to stand on the escalators for about 2 minutes. This was the first time i was standing on one. The favourite passtime for couples on these escalator is to kiss each other throughout the journey, and people like me look at the advertising hoardings on the ceiling. Once home after switching trains a couple of times, everyone just fell on the bed.

Plan IT 2005

Venue of the conference was this campsite used by schools for organizing summer and winter camps. So it is evident that it had a lot of breakaways and swings, along with many cottages and a canteen. I had read in the reception package of this LC that guests are treated as Gods, just like INDIA. But the way me and Shantanu were treated was something spectacular. They arranged everything from mineral water, fruits (very very expensive here), milk, juices and of course vegetarian food.

I was taken to my room which I was sharing with 2 of my MC team mates, Ira and Sasha, they told me that i could sleep for about 2 hours or so as the plenary was at 9:00 (this was day 2 of the conference). After the last two days the only thing I had in my mind was some sleep so that i could stretch my legs and keep my whole body straight. I was woken up by a girl from the OC telling me that I should be in the plenary in 10 minutes. The plenary was a hall, were there were about 75 delegates. As soon as my name was announced, I walked in and people were standing for me. I don’t remember if music was playing in the background or not but I can still remember the sound of the claps. Meeting my MCP and seeing Shantanu after 11 months was so relieving. After the brief speech I was given some more time to go and refresh my self. That was the moment when the reality sank in of what responsibility I had taken up.

Everyday of the conference was full of strange realities and realizations, from food to sessions, from language to parties, everything was different and the biggest difference of them all - The People. But of course AIESEC was the same. Though some of them couldn’t speak English but still they wanted to talk to me. And the strangest thing was that sometime though they would speak Russian to me I would understand what they wanted to know. From questions whether I knew Yoga, to questions about Hindu religion, to answering their stereotypes, to an interesting questions whether it was possible for someone to become Rakshas (demon).

Heading a commission in itself was an amazing experience, meeting new people who were aged 20 on a average, full of ideas and enthusiasm to change the way they had been working was absolutely superb.

Another important thing that I noticed was that all the parties in the night were coordinated by the Alumni's of the hosting LC. They would arrange games, global village, performances everything very contrary to what I had seen in India in the last 4 years.

During the first facilitator's meet my MC team gave me a good welcome by doing a dance sequence on some Russian folk music.

After 5 days of working and partying the conference got over and it was time to bid adieu to the long list of friends, I made during the conference. The next time I would meet them would be in September. But everything that ends brings a new beginning, so it was time to check out the city (the third biggest in Russia). The city had almost the same features as Moscow (at least same as what I had seen of Moscow). We went to the Lenin Square, which was being prepared for the 9th of May celebrations (more about it later). So it was so good to see so many people on the streets, in the festive spirit. I went to a bookstore to find something to read during the train journey, but of course very limited books in English and the ones available were too expensive. Though my stay in the city was just 1.5 days but it is for sure that I am going there again.

Trip to Siberia

MC House 1:30 (29th May)
After a quick lunch and shower i was all set for express transition of 2 hours, amidst sleepy eyes and i dont know how many yawns, we were getting ready for my next flight journey, and it was qiute a relief when Sveta told me that an AIESEC member from Moscow was also flying in the same plane. We were to leave home by 7:00 as it was rush hour and we would need about 2 hours to reach the airport. Again the same journey, first from Mitino to Tushenskaya metro station, then from Tushenskaya to Central bus station (i still cant remember the name). The girl, with her mother was waiting for us at the station. The name of the girl was Inna (well of course beautiful). We left for the airport in a minibus which costs 4 roubles extra then the Government buses, this time the destination being Shermetyevo 1 (domestic airport).

If i was amazed by the way Shermetyevo 2 functions, i had seen nothing. Shermetyevo 1 was one step ahead. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 10:45 and the name of the destination " Novosibirsk" in the centre on russia, it comes under Siberia but is very near to Kazakhstan. The duration of the flight about 5 hours. If the same distance was to be covered by a train (my return journey) it was 2.5 days. So back to the airport. We reached the airport at about 9:30 which was a good 1 hour before the flight. But surprise surprise. they had opened security checks for the flight flying in the next 4 hours, so everyone and anyone who was supposed to embark on a flight was standing in the queue. 3 counters and about 200 people. Boarding for our flight was supposed to close at 10:15 and as each minute passed i could see Inna's eyes moistening.

My seat number was 32 A, again a window seat. After some announcements for safety precautions in Russian, we took off delayed by about half an hour. Amidst 15-30 minute sleep, cramped legs and some vegetarian food, sunlight suddenly filled the aircraft with bright light. I asked the attendant for Water and what he gave me was aerated water, and i thought that if this is what is called water in Russia then i am done. Finally, the announcements from the pilot (of course i didnt understand anything) but as people around me did not show any emotions i understood that everyting was allright and that we were about to land. Now came the announcement about seat belts and that the temperature outside was -1. Well all my fears about Siberia were coming true. Sveta in moscow had told me that the temperature would be about 10. As soon as we got out of the aircraft and went to cellect the luggage we saw 2 people from the OC. The girl (Yaroslava - from here on everytime i mention a girl just take it for granted that the girl is beautiful) was wearing an overcoat and fur cap. I was quite okay as my jacket was warm enough. After collecting the luggage we went to the car and i could see snow on some of the cars. So they informed me that they had snow fall couple of days back (Mind you April is the beginning of Summer).

Hello Russia

10:00 a.m. the plane landed in the Shermetyevo 2 and after some Spacibo (thanks) by the airhostesses, i got out without any clue of what was instore for me. None and i literally mean none of the airport staff spoke English, and to increase my worries not one sign board was in English. All i could understand from the radio announcements were words like Transit, Emmigration, Moscow, Canada and Brussels. As i was following the queue i ended on the platform where people with transit visas were getting their documents checked. And as it always happens with me (my friends from Jaipur would agree) Radhika Gupta was bound for a flight to Toronto, Canada :(

I knew that there was no point in asking the airport officials about where Emmigration was, so i decided to return back to the place from where i had started. The whole experience of Emmigration was a cool one in itself. After handing my passport, a girl took it inside an office and i was asked to wait. One by one i saw each one of my fellow passengers going out and there i was sitting without my passport alongwith (surprise surprise) another indian guy, who has been staying in Russia for more then 10 years now but has to go through the same process everytime he comes. One officer came to me and of course started talking in Russian, so this guy did the translation. This guy told me that he keeps about 50$ with him as generally these officials ask for money in these kind of situations. So waiting for about 45 minutes not knowing what is going to happen, the girl appeared and gave me my passport. Well, if you are thinking that this just happened on that day, then, you should get in touch with Shantanu and Saurabh and i am sure that they would have something to add to this story, so my guess is that it always happens.
For all those who have seen the IGI, the airport of Moscow was 1/4 of it, surprisingly the biggest country (at least in area) has such a small airport and specially the Emmigration area was smaller than my 1200 square feet flat in Jaipur.

Outside the airport, the second sigh of relief, i saw Sveta (MCP 2004-05) waiting for me. A few photographs for memory and we were all set to leave for home. One hour waiting for the bus and then travelling by bus, metro and bus again we were home at about 1:00. Throughout my travel from the airport to home, talking to sveta and checking out the cars on the streets and highways, whoooo..., BMW's and Mercedez's in all shapes and sizes were everywhere and one could see so many different varieties of cars that it was hard to remember when was the last time i saw this car. Some of the brands available in India are also seen here with the same names.

Bye Bye INDIA

12:30 in the night at the IGI airport on the 28th of April, waiting for the boarding to begin for the Aeroflot flight bound for Moscow. Looking at the faces of the fellow passengers i could make out that Russia was not just about beautiful girls. One of my fellow passengers (and one of 4 Indians) was a girl (Radhika Gupta), though we didnt talk but i was sure that as soon as we reach Moscow i would ask her for her contacts (not because i was interested in her, but maybe the beginning of romantic journey :)). After a few announcements for flight delays, finally the call for boarding was made.

5:00 a.m. on the 29th of April, i was in my seat numbered 12 A, all ready for my 5 hour long flight. I think the last time i flew in a aircraft was about 14 years ago. Well, for all those movies i have seen where the view of the ground looks so exciting from the plane. This was strange as all i could see were clouds. The sudden feeling was as if i was flying above the sky. Amidst sleep, food and checking out the Indian girl from time to time, the announcement by the pilot that we have been cleared for landing was a sigh of relief as by this time my legs had cramped up in whatever little space i had for moving my legs. And then it happened, as shown in the movies, i could actually see the outskirts and villages near Moscow. Small houses, cars as if ants running on the highways, people in the fields and then i saw the runway.

And so it begins....

28th April 2005 got my 1 year business Visa for Russian federation and thus began the journey...russiaxp.