Skip to main content

THE RUSSIAN MADONNA

Image
By
http://www.masharasputina.com/
The closest I came to the real Madonna of popstar fame was the Russian Madonna, Masha Rasputina. She had it all; sex appeal, the awesome presence, the spoilt-brat syndrome of a Prima Donna and enormous talent. I remember getting vaguely excited when my Russian travel agent Helena Sorokina booked a group with a brief to look after this famous but difficult client. A Russian equivalent of People's Magazine had paid her to visit Nepal on a photo-shoot to promote the magazine as Masha had just released a huge hit single called, "Put Me on Top of the Himalayas". In the process Nepal too would be promoted in Russia.

The Russian ambassador at the time Alexander Kulagin looked scandalized, "Oh that wench has come here", he laughed out loud heartily. I did not know what reputation the Russian Madonna had back home but I was ready to cut her some slack. After a VIP welcome at the airport I brought her to Hotel Yak and Yeti, the presidential suite reserved for her use. The next morning I was to learn what handling a diva was all about. Along with her entourage and the Russian speaking guide I had arranged I too was waiting for her to come down to the lobby at 9:00 AM sharp for a photo shoot in Bhaktapur. She appeared at noon with a sheepish grin and a warm hug and exclaimed aloud, "Where is everybody?" as if she was the one waiting. She had set the tone for the rest of her stay.

I sent her to Machan Wildlife Resort inside the Chitwan National Park, to Nagarkot, to heritage sites for the usual photo ops. Sometime later I was most pleasantly thrilled to see a multi-page exposure of her Nepal visit with Masha in her many poses. It was a great exposure for Nepal in Russia and blissfully Masha did not have many of the scintillating poses she had struck for Playboy's Russian edition in an earlier photo shoot.
Oh, those Russians!

Comments

  1. Akash BhairabJanuary 14, 2010 at 12:04 AM

    Hey Subodh just when we got started this thing finished off. Wish it were longer!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HoratioJanuary 14, 2010 at 11:13 PM

    If this amazing lady is still around, could she not be the catalyst to promote Russian tourists coming to Nepal? "Rasputina"...any relation to THE Rasputin??

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RANI MAHAL, THE STORY OF ITS MAKER

By
PROLOGUE Rani Mahal Palpa The first time I ever saw this historical edifice thirty five years ago, she was in ruins and looked like an old hag during the winter of her life, simply waiting for her eventual demise. I was then on my way further west on a week-long trek from Tansen to Tamghas in Gulmi District. Thirty five years later, I found myself at the same spot once again, this time out there on purpose. I had seen pictures of the building with a coat of new paint before and I wanted to see how much change had been made by the Nepal Government’s Department of Archeology.  Yes, the outer façade still looked brand new with fresh paints, which to me personally was a bit too gaudy. But when I walked through the inside of the building and saw nothing but empty rooms without even a single piece of furniture, my enthusiasm took a nose dive . And when I entered one room where there was a fireplace with the floor in front of the hearth still looking as black as charcoal, I ...
8 comments
Read more

THE SATI WIVES OF JUNG BAHADUR, MAHARAJAH OF NEPAL

By
I f only the Tudor King Henry VIII of England was as lucky as Jung Bahadur Rana, he would have had male heirs aplenty and he would not have had to behead a few of his queens in the hope of his next one presenting him with an heir. All the Maharanis would live together at Hampton Court Palace in seeming harmony at least until the death of the Maharajah . If England had the tradition of Sati, who among Henry's wives would have had the macabre honour of being buried alive with him? Would her be Catherine of Aragon his first queen? Or Anne Boleyn? Or the fair Jane Seymour, his favorite queen who gave him his only male heir, had she not died in her postnatal illness? Maharajah Jung Bahadur Rana had many wives because he did not have the Catholic Church to worry about. He had at least a dozen sons and innumerable daughters from at least 13 recorded wives. He married some for love, others for political alliances with various noble hous...
8 comments
Read more

WHITE TIGER

By
N o, this blog is not on Maharajah Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal although there is a famous story of the white tiger bringing the demise of Jung Bahadur during his last shoot in 1877 A.D. This story is about white tigers. White tigers have about them mysticism linked to their rarity. There is some other-worldliness about them that captivates peoples' imagination.  They appear frequently in myths and legends. There are also numerous books titled The White Tiger , the recent one being Arvind Adiga's Booker Prize winning novel. An old classic on Nepalese history written by Diamond Shumsher Rana, Seto Bag , was later translated by Greta Rana into English titled Wake of the White Tiger . But in this story I am writing about the white tigers carrying the recessive genes subduing the rich golden pelt and making it alabaster white. They are not albinos. White tigers grow bigger than normal ones. I begin with a hunt, a Shikar, my father organized for Ralph...
23 comments
Read more