By Shevlin Sebastian
In November 1979, a six-member team of Tholpavakoothu artists travelled to Moscow.
They included Ramachandra Pulavar and his father, K.L. Krishnan Kutty. They were going to take part in the art festival at the Tashkent International Trade Fair. “This is the first time we were travelling abroad,” said Ramachandra.
Artists from 56 nations had arrived to perform at the fair.
After their performance, the team flew to Moscow (3393 kms away). From there, they were supposed to take a flight to Delhi.
The Indian delegation leader was G. Venu, a Koodiyattam master. He was the only one who could speak English. They arrived at the Sheremetyevo airport and discovered that two seats were wait-listed. The two who stayed behind were the youngsters, Ramachandra and Ramaswamy.
“It was freezing,” said Ramachandra. “We could see ice on the streets. At dawn, loaders had to sweep the ice away using a plough so that the roads could be usable. We had thin coats. We did not know Moscow would be so cold.”
In the end, a lady member of the festival organising committee took the pair to a posh hotel. “Since it was non-vegetarian food, we ate a lot of fruits,” said Ramachandra. They enjoyed their stay. November 7 was October Revolution Day. They could observe the ceremonies on the street.
Because of a lack of telephonic contact, the team in Delhi was unaware of the whereabouts of the two youths. Neither was any information passed from Moscow to Delhi.
Venu and Ramachandra’s father would come every day to the Palam Airport. They would wait to see the passengers of the flight from Moscow. Because of the tension about the fate of the youths, Venu’s hair turned white. In November 1979, a six-member team of Tholpavakoothu artists travelled to Moscow.
They included Ramachandra Pulavar and his father, K.L. Krishnan Kutty. They were going to take part in the art festival at the Tashkent International Trade Fair. “This is the first time we were travelling abroad,” said Ramachandra.
Artists from 56 nations had arrived to perform at the fair.
After their performance, the team flew to Moscow, 3393 kms away. From there, they were supposed to take a flight to Delhi.
The Indian delegation leader was G. Venu, a Koodiyattam master. He was the only one who knew how to speak English. They arrived at the Sheremetyevo airport and discovered that two seats were wait-listed. The two who stayed behind were the youngsters, Ramachandra and Ramaswamy.
“It was freezing,” said Ramachandra. “We could see ice on the streets. At dawn, lorries had to sweep the ice away through a particular machine so that the roads could be usable. We had skinny coats. We did not know Moscow would be so cold.”
In the end, a lady member of the festival organising committee took the pair to a posh hotel. “Since it was non-vegetarian food, we ate a lot of fruits,” said Ramachandra. They enjoyed their stay. November 7 was October Revolution Day. They could observe the ceremonies.
Because of a lack of telephonic contact, the team was unaware of the whereabouts of the two youths. Neither was this information passed from Moscow to Delhi.
Venu and Ramachandra’s father would come every day to the Palam Airport. They would wait to see the passengers who came from the flight from Moscow. Because of the tension about the fate of the youths, Venu’s hair turned white.
The group sighed in relief when the youths finally arrived on the seventh day. “This was an unforgettable experience for me,” said Ramachandra.
Even now, whenever Venu meets Ramachandra, he will say, with a smile, “Because of you, my hair turned white.”
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