Problems in Moscow

THEATRE: Note from Diary - 19th Jan. '65' - "Went to see the Kremlin premises and the Armoury, with Zoya. The armoury is very interesting - contains a lot of relics from the Tsarist regime."

"Ibsen's Doll's House at the Vahktangova. The main actor and especially the actress who played the part of Nora, handled their roles superbly. The actress was absolutely relaxed and went through her role with the greatest ease..."

We had news that there is going to be a general election in Ceylon very soon. The Ambassador was concerned. He flew home as soon as he had heard the news. We were not sure if he was going to resign his Ambassadorship or if he was planning to come back.

What I felt was that he liked this job. Once he told me, "Henry, I feel comfortable here. I like the people here. There are so many things I can do for my country from here..."

My diary notes that Breck had hosted a dinner for Mrs. Subasinghe, the children and the usual office crowd, on January 22. I was invited too. From all this, it was apparent that the Ambassador was not coming back.

Most likely he will be the candidate from Katugampola in the coming elections. What I felt was that he would have been much more useful to the country as an Ambassador than as a member of Parliament or even as a Minister.

I could not picture him in the hurly-burly of politics. Of course, my knowledge of him was very little.

Nobody in the Embassy office spoke much about the elections. Not even Breck. He was a new recruit in the Foreign Service and he would have preferred to hold his tongue in the presence of a senior diplomat such as Tissa Jayakody.

Gerry Gunasekera, Ananda Tillekeratne, Wijedasa etc. may have worried about their future. I felt nervous too. A general election meant troubled times. I felt I should be with Manel at such a time and not in a far away country.

Hilarious letter

My diary note of January 23 says, "Zoya came for a lesson. Went to Embassy for lunch. (this was the time I was waiting for permission from Gosconcert to travel to Leningrad, Kiev, Baku, Tashkent etc.) Recd.

A hilarious letter from Roy (the late Fitzroy de Mel, one of my most trusted actors, cricket umpire etc.) and another from Santin. Completed my long letter to Manel to be hand sent (in the diplomatic bag) tomorrow.

Manel has been complaining a little bit of late of being lonely etc. Rather unusual of her. Perhaps she is worried about the coming elections too. She should not worry. We are not 'political' people."

Diary note of January 23 - "Could not go to the airport to see Mrs. Subasinghe and party off. Yesterday I went there with Breck for the same purpose, but the flight was delayed and finally cancelled.

Went to the Policlinic in the morning with Zoya. My backache has been bothering me again - the past few days. X-rays were taken. When I was undressing for examination, the lady doctor who was going to examine me said something to Zoya (who was standing outside the screened cubicle) and laughed.

Once outside I asked Zoya what the joke was about and she started laughing once again. When she saw that I was annoyed she said that the Doctor had said that undressing me was like undressing a cabbage.

"How does your guest carry so many layers of clothes..?" she had asked Zoya. I had not thought about that. Yes, there was the over coat, then the full suit, muffler, shirt and tie, warm underclothes and finally the normal underpants, which, mercifully was spared! "Don't you and your people wear warm under clothes?" I ventured to ask Zoya.

She gave me one of those motherly looks and told me, "I don't know about other people, but I certainly don't wear so many underclothes. I don't want to look like a cabbage..." She added making me go red in the face.

Prediction

To get back to my backache, the doctor said there was nothing wrong with my spine (!) but that there was a very slight displacement of a couple of cartilages due to an accident or overstress or some such thing.

I admitted that I had had a rather nasty accident some years back and that my spine ached for quite a few days after that. "You should have attended to it at that time itself," she told me looking very kindly at me. And then she prescribed some exercises to be taken regularly.

They consisted of bending backwards (!) slowly, as far as possible and rotating my trunk from waist upwards, very slowly, a few times, both ways. (I have been doing those exercises for a long time, but neglected recently, and I find the backache coming on again.) I was advised by the doctor to take those exercises regularly, every day.

"If you don't, your spine is likely to give you a lot of trouble (!) in ten years' time," she warned me."

"Breckenridge phoned me and picked me up in the evening. Asoka was there too. We went to his flat in Kuthusovsky square. Velusamy, the Ambassador's cook, is going to be with him for some time - until he finds another job.

We helped to put the flat in order - it was as he left it after the party to Mrs. Subasinghe and party on the 22nd. Velusamy cooked a fine meal of rice and curry for us."

As I said earlier, I had almost finished my intended four months in Moscow and was very keen to travel out. As Breck had predicted, I was beginning to realize that this was going to be difficult. "You can see all you want to see in Theatre, here in Moscow."

The official at Gosconcert told me with a broad smile - rather unusual for Russian 'officials'. "Sir, I have come a long way and I would like to see, not only your Theatre, but also other parts of your beautiful country.

I am sure I will not have a second chance..." I 'buttered' him, "Yes, you have a point there." He responded gravely. "You see, we have this problem of providing you with an interpreter. We will have to meet with his or her travel expenses, lodging etc.

There in no provision for that kind of expenses in your fellowship.." He added, looking even more grave. "Sir, I am sure, Unesco will oblige if you ask them. If they decline, and if you don't mind, I could travel alone and look after myself." I urged.

The official smiled a tight smile at that and made use of my suggestion to outwit me. "You are a very respected guest in our country Mr. Jayasena. Your well-being is our responsibility. Oh, no we cannot send you alone, Mr. Jayasena. Anyway, don't worry.

Enjoy yourself a little more in Moscow, er..., perhaps with your friends in your Embassy. I hear you have many friends, not only in the Embassy but even outside - in the Lumumba University for instance,: he said looking straight at me.

I still wonder what he was trying to get at. Did he think I was socializing too much or was he suggesting that I keep away from areas that don't concern my studies? In any case, he must have been well informed.

Fortunately I had not discussed any 'politics' with any of my friends, with any of the Theatre people that I met or even with my interpreters and I was happy about that. Even with Miriam Salgenik, I had only spoken about Mr. Pieter Kueneman, our Ambassador and just a little bit of 'polite politics'.

"I have some friends here Sir." I replied honestly. "They are some of the members of my embassy and a few students from the Lumumba university. They are either writers, poets or painters.

They have nothing to do with politics. Even at home I never dealt with politics," I added. "Don't worry Sir, I will be a very well behaved traveller in your country." The official smiled. Not that tight little smile, but a far more relaxed one. I felt assured that I will be allowed to travel.

Matinee performance

Before I end my Moscow tour I must relate a rather funny thing that happened there. As I have said earlier, Zoya was an 'indefatigable' explainer of things. Once we were travelling in a tram car - something I love.

We had gone to a matinee performance and I suggested that instead of taking the tube, could we travel by tram?. Zoya agreed readily and there we were on the beautiful green painted tram (I wonder why tramcars in most parts of the world are painted green?) and coming to the city with all the beautiful noises that a tramcar makes.

Suddenly I noticed some pictures of young men displayed prominently inside the car and something written in Russian under the pictures. "Ah, here's something to score a point with Zoya."

I though and as soon as we got down from the tramcar I told Zoya. "You see Zoya, I noticed some of the best drivers of your tramcar service today, even without you having to tell me that." I was triumphant, I thought.

Zoya looked at me in a funny way and started laughing. She could hardly stop. She laughed till she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. "What's the matter?" I asked her incredulously.

"What is so funny about good drivers?" I demanded. "Gyenry, poor Gyenry. It looks like my lessons have done you no good." She spluttered amidst laughter. "Those chaps displayed in the tramcar are not good drivers.

They are fellows who have tried to travel without a ticket!" "Don't tell me you have such dishonest fellows in your Socialist society...?" I teased her. "There are dishonest fellows all over the world," she said soberly and somberly.

"It is in order to correct them that we give them prominence in that manner!" she said finally and started walking at a brisk pace.

Diary Note, January 26: "Went to Policlinic at 9 in the morning and got blood and urine tests done. Came back for Zoya's Russian lesson. At 1 p.m. to Metropol cinema to see the Russian 'Hamlet'.

A superb film. Even better than the Laurence Olivier production. Hamlet was played by a rather well-known stage actor. Smothkonovsky is the name, if I read correctly. Thanks to Zoya."

'Went to Embassy, looking for letters. Manel has sent me a nice long letter. Her handwriting, I must say, is not at all like her. They are scrawls at best, but readable. Came back to my room and wrote a reply, since the evening was free.

Funny, she might say the same thing about my own handwriting. Mine are not 'scrawls' but rather unreadable straight lines with just a few dips and downs that suggest they are actual letters.

When we were engaged, there was no need for letters, as we lived close to each other - at Wellawatte and Dehiwala to be exact. So, this is the first time I am writing letters to her and she, to me. She must be finding it difficult to read me, to say the least.

Thought of the week

The competition among the various TV channels is disgusting and also disturbing. What is happening to the viewer is that he becomes cheap pulp in the hands of these channel handlers.

TV has taken such a hold of the viewer that it has become extremely difficult to uproot him away for anything else - a stage play, concert, ballet or symphony.

If the parents set the pattern, children will follow suit and there will be no point blaming the children for neglecting their studies.

Actually it is the woman of the house and any other unemployed women in the house that become first victims to this onslaught.

They are exposed to all kinds of rubbishy films from South India as well as North India with a hugely spiced, gorily blooded mixed grill of action with scantily clad lasses and morose looking moustached men chasing each other and of course dancing for all they are worth.

It is the same mixed grill that prevailed 25 years ago, but faster, fleshier and baser.

The authorities should take a very serious look at these intrusions into our way of life and our values. They should bring in regulatory laws (which is already there in clause No. 13 (if I am not mistaken) of the Rupavahini Act of 1979 or 1980) to sweep away this rotten fare from all the TV channels.

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