Band Baaja and Wine (Maldova travelogue that appeared in TOI Crest in 2013)

On choosing a holiday destination like Moldova, you are first met with quizzical glances followed by wild guesses as to where could it be.  Not on the average traveler's radar, Moldova is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine with its culture and traditions treading between Russian and Italian. The aerial view one gets just before landing is a large oasis of greenery interspersed with water bodies. 

 Moldova’s main natural resources being soil and sunshine, it was the agricultural basket of the Soviet Union. Lush with plantations, its agrarian culture dominates the countryside. On your drive a common sight would be miles of giant sunflowers and grape vines, walnut trees flanking the road with meadows stretching into the horizon and meandering rivers. The undulating terrain is ideal for different crops and this medley absorbs you in its natural beauty with an odd Lada passing by, the only car in erstwhile Soviet bloc countries. But the most interesting sight is the many wells and in diverse ornamented styles since each house has its own well!

The churches here look different as there are no pews or idols since the communist regime didn’t encourage religion, however the few orthodox churches present were interestingly allowed to continue on the condition that the priest will be a KGB agent. Hence the flash back from many a war time films where people would often get caught at the confession box.

 We were on our way to Balti (pronounced as Belts) the second largest city with an old country appeal. As you drive into town, it surprises you every now and then when in between the old super markets with local produce and gothic structures you chance upon the popular retail chain Zara that makes you wonder if the town is after all not as stuck in time as it’s perceived. The whole town is dotted with parks, libraries and old churches and the taxi rate from any part of town to another remains 20 lei / Rs 80 (local currency) so one can let their guard down for a change. The activity is all centred around the central square named after Vasile Alecsandri, a Roman poet and playwright with the oldest national theatre after his name standing tall in baroque style. The parks and street benches are always filled up with cheery teenagers and families along with children chattering over Inghetata (icecream) or a refreshing glass of Cvaz,  that is a non-alcoholic refreshing drink made of fermented barley that everyone can be seen enjoying from kids to grandparents as they go along their chores. Open bars that are referred to as Terraces are all over for those thirsting something stronger as they watch the world go past with their tall mug of draught beer. An odd person around the corner can be heard on the Accordion as everyone stops in their track to catch a few light moments. In Belts nobody is in a hurry and with a summer holiday of three months, children are everywhere.

 July also seems like a busy wedding season as the cost of renting a wedding gown almost doubles with all town halls booked and florists, photographers, make-up artists and limousines suddenly in peak demand. Wedding gowns with fancy trails don clothes store and the talk is that the rentals for these gowns is higher than the actual price for the same in other parts of Europe.

Despite all the talk of slow economy, one is surprised to see the thick density of beauty parlours, over booked for weeks in advance and boasting of a vast portfolio of hair-dos and skills, that challenge their counterpart in bigger cities such as London.

We were fortunate to get a closer feel of the traditions as we attended a Moldovan wedding. If you thought Indian weddings are an over load of celebration, try Moldovan. You need a royal appetite and the spirit of a court jester to see you through. It’s a whole night affair that begins at 7pm and ends the next morning at 4am with courses and courses of meals that include exotic offerings such as caviar, roast pork, local cheeses, cold cuts, fruits, scores of desserts and all the courses come with their matching wines. The dance floor dominates the venue where the official coordinate ensures everyone dances until they literally can move no more and are accompanied by the traditional Kozachok dancers. The night is also replete with games and trickery such as the handkerchief ritual where the boy or girl has to choose a partner to dance with everytime they are caught in the ring or when the bride and the groom have to break the traditional ring bread and whoever lands a bigger piece is considered to be the one who will dominate the relationship.

 The entrance of the bride into the community of married women is marked by the covering of her head with a scarf and donning an apron that signifies that she is now entering the domestic sphere. This is accompanied by a solemn song where the bride also receives farewell gifts. It is amazing how across cultures similar traditions are observed just in different forms. During the meal, epic hero songs are played out but as the evening progresses the music gets more foot tapping and everyone forms a circle and does the can-can. As an Indian it was also amusing to know that in between all the Russian traditional music, the familiar sounding beat was from none other than Mithun Chakraborthy old time hit number ‘Jimmy Aaja’ to which the dance floor reverberated - another hang over from the Soviet times when movie viewing was restricted but included Bollywood. After Raj Kapoor, the actor who caught their fancy was Mithun Chakraborthy! And often just being an Indian is enough to endear yourselves to them.

 

The fun and games seem entrenched in their culture as apart from big occasions such as these, all their socializing happens around the dining table as families gather and share jokes and remember the past, but not with nostalgia. Tables groan with all the food - traditional delicacies that keep getting replenished and jugs of wine that they savour over a minimum of three hours.

And all of this laid outdoors under vine covered terraces since daylight hours extend well past 10pm. If u ever dare say you’ve had enough wine and think will give it a skip you’d probably hear- ‘It’s a digestive, must be had to wash down the meal!’

Since the country produces a great variety of grapes, wine is overflowing in every house as they make their own wine and preserve it in their cellar that is usually the basement of the garage.

 

However the most famous cellar, also a popular tourist destination and a haunt of famous wine connoisseurs in history is at Cricova, which boasts a 120 kilometres of labyrinthine underground tunnels. It’s here that we saw the wine collection of Herman Goreng. While the wine cellar is under state care, our beautiful guide tells us that China (biggest importer of Moldovan wines) is keen to open an inspired wine emporium with wines from Moldova.

 We end our stay with an equally memorable meal of traditional Boch soup, Mamaliga (corn meal with sour cream to be had with the hands) along with other accompaniments such as grilled pork, topped with cottage cheese and sour cherry placinta (puffs). All of this was accompanied with some sparkling wine at a local inn Casa Verde where we clinked our glasses and wished each other Noroj or Cheers for even greater times ahead.