All Around the World with the Most Travelled Indian
By Nitin Gairola
There are quite a few weird cities around the world and most of them are country capitals. But first let’s figure out what I mean by ‘weird city’ and why such cities are capitals. When I say weird in this context, I mean you really don’t understand why the city was built in the first place, why it is so ostentatious and ornate yet so devoid of people, why it is so impractical and most importantly, why does it reek of political power and propaganda for one man – the so called ‘supreme leader’. The last bit ensures it is a capital – most likely that of a country so as to merit the scale of the impracticalities and decadence.
Some such capitals that spring to mind are Ashgabat of Turkmenistan, Nur Sultan (earlier called Astana) of Kazakhstan, Naypyidaw of Myanmar and the one and only Pyongyang of North Korea. In November, we stumbled upon one such capital, and that was Dushanbe of Tajikistan. As you may have noticed, all these names which I have mentioned are in Asia. This obsession for the grand, the biggest, the tallest, the greatest etc, etc is a very Asian thing (and American too) and that’s why you now have Saudi Arabia trying to outdo UAE by constructing the world’s tallest building. Incidentally this happens with statues in Asia too although USA’s Statue of Liberty started it all way back in 1886 when this trend was not ‘trending’ yet.
Dushanbe just blew us away especially since we had done no research on it. We saw lots and lots of posters, paintings, hoardings, statues and carving of their supreme leader Emomali Rahmon. He has served as the president of Tajikistan and has been the commander-in-chief of the armed forces since 1994. As you would have guessed, he has a ‘charm’ that ensures he ends up ‘winning’ every election and has an unbroken track record spanning 3 decades (incidentally the next ‘elections’ in Tajikistan start on 2nd March 2025). It is quite incredible that he took office on 16th November 1994 and we just happened to be in the city around his 30th anniversary at the helm of affairs. The city and its walks, gardens, roads and monuments were brightly lit up to celebrate the occasion which made it all the weirder, since one wondered where all the funds were coming from. Remember this is a relatively poor country (mostly rural like North Korea), has a sparse population but its swanky capital has ‘splurge’ written large all over it. It is a clear case of excess and of spending beyond one’s means and for no clear purpose. The only reason an outsider can give is that it is the whim of its whimsical ‘leader’.
It’s not as if the money was being spent on building schools, hospitals or general infrastructure. No, it was for erecting grand monuments, one of which was the Monument Istiklol (Freedom Tower). It is a massive over-the-top structure with seemingly no clear reason for its existence, other than a statement. This monument stood in the middle of the city inside the Rudaki Park. The concrete area around the tower took the space of a least 2 football fields with hardly any footfall on it. It felt rather strange to have our photographs taken (by each other) without having to worry about anyone else getting in the frame and photo-bombing it. It was just Richa and me and no other soul nearby and as you can imagine, it wasn’t something we were used to. There was also the grand Independence Monument which had exactly 3 people (including us) around it. Then there was the deserted area near the ‘world’s tallest flagpole’.
We saw a lot of security near some sites too, such as around the Monument of Ismoili Somoni. And while this security was keeping a keen eye on trouble makers and anti-establishment citizens, there were always some policemen on the kerbsides keeping themselves busy and warm by stopping cars and Yandex cabs (their Ubers) for some quick bucks, aka bribes. Police bribery is actually such a menace across Tajikistan and especially in the capital, with all the power in the hands of the establishment and not the people (as it should be in a democracy).
However Dushanbe was not all extreme and excessive. It was definitely more normal compared to Pyongyang as it does have a functioning economy, people have some basic rights (but can’t speak against the government) and hell, they even have the ‘Delhi Durbar’ restaurant. That is the same Delhi Durbar of Colaba Causeway, Mumbai which dishes out some of the yummiest butter chicken and dal-makhani. After weeks of being deprived our lip smacking, mouth-watering Indian food, we hurriedly ordered dal-makhani and naans (our favorites) and licked up the last evidence of it from the bowls. All this gluttony was to the tune of Bollywood’s D.D.L.J. songs (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and it really couldn’t get any better than that. Even the Tajik locals serving us at the restaurant were swaying to D.D.L.J. music, especially since there were no other customers to serve that day (or most days I suspect). As we figured, the chef turned out to be an Indian and we were ready to hug him for the dal. I think Richa almost had tears in her eyes.
With our bellies full, we walked back from the plush city center to a slightly seedier (and out of sight) part of town where our hostel was and where most locals lived. This was all very typical of a place that was on display. It was quite a show put up by this quirky capital for its residents that were putting up with it all. Dushanbe – You were properly weird, but I loved you.
Nitin Gairola is from Dehradun and has travelled the natural world more than almost any Indian ever. He has set world travel records certified by India Book of Records, has written for Lonely Planet, and holds National Geographic conservation certifications. He is also a senior corporate executive in an MNC and in his early days, used to be a published poet as well. More than anything else, he loves his Himalayan home. Reach him at: www.facebook.com/MostTravelledIndian/ ; www.instagram.com/MostTravelled_Indian/; nitin.gairola@gmail.com
