MADE IN RUSSIA: AN INDIAN SAGA

An Indian raised in the U.S. finds himself in uncharted Russian lands east of Siberia—and acultural caper ensues

- AJAY KAMALAKARAN

BY LOCAL STANDARDS, IT’S A PLEASANT LATE WINTER EVENING, with temperatures hovering around minus 10 degrees Celsius. Thermal underwear, jeans, shirt, sweater and a winter coat, along with a pair of gloves and a woolen cap make the conditions tolerable. That is not to forget the special boots that keep me from slipping and falling on the icy sidewalks of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, eastern Russia. The capital of Sakhalin Island is a town of 200,000 that is geographically far closer to Tokyo and Beijing than it is to Moscow or St. Petersburg, and I’m just getting under its skin. It is March 2003, and in my backpack are soap, a change of underclothes, a towel, and a couple of bottles of local unfiltered beer. Victor, one of my two local friends who speak English, has invited me to the banya or Russian sauna. He says this is the best way to become “one of the guys” in Russia.

ONE NIGHT IN YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK