Smart_Photography_-_December_2015_

I

travelled to Moscow with some

trepidation. Knowledgeable folks

had told me that language was

a big issue - not many understand

English there. Despite this, I took the

plunge and travelled. Thanks to a

friend’s contact in the Indian Embassy,

I got a cab driver who could manage

some English. Well, not really. But he

was eager to help and he had a Wi-Fi

router in the cab that turned out to

be a blessing – both of us were able to

communicate through a phone app that

could translate English to Russian and

vice versa.

Upon landing at Sheremetyavo

Airport in Moscow and after facing the

customary once-over by the passport

control, I made my way towards the

baggage carousel. To my utter surprise,

there was no ‘duty-free’ store at the

Airport. Upon inquiring, I was told

that the ‘duty free’ store is only at the

airport departures!

As I made my way to the hotel, I

felt a certain lack of character that

most other cities normally exude.

Over the next couple of days,

this first impression was totally,

comprehensively and permanently

changed.

I started my sojourn the following

morning with the capital of Russian

Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. My

first stop was Red Square - a globally

famous city square. The sky was

overcast. So, while I shot some images,

I made a mental note that I needed to

visit this location again during my short

stay. Sergei, my young cabby, pointed

out that it would be better if I visited

again in the evening. And that is what I

did the following evening.

This remarkable landmark is 330x70

metres in area. It is surrounded by five

heritage marvels - Gum Departmental

Store in the North-East, State Historical

Museum in its North West, Kremlin’s

Outer Wall in the South West with

Lenin’s Mausoleum projecting out

from the middle of this wall and St.

Basil’s Cathedral at the South East

corner. While we may be more familiar

with the onion domes of St. Basil’s

Cathedral, I found the State Historical

Museum and Gum Departmental Store

to be true architectural gems. Gum, for

instance, has an intricate façade that

extends an unbelievable 242 metres in

length, while the museum’s brickwork

is brilliance personified.

From here, I proceeded towards an

imposing Orthodox Christian church

• Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It
  is scenically located at the northern

Kremlin Wall, Red Square - Structure in the middle is Lenin’s Mausoleum

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Smart Photography December 2015