First Grain of Sand — Page 49
CHAPTER SIX Transfer to Tashkent A fter three and a half months, it was April 1925 when I was transferred from Ashgabat to Tashkent [capi- tal of present-day Uzbekistan]. I was so keen to learn the Russian language that during the two-day train journey to Tashkent, I continued learning from the commanding officer in charge of the officers escorting me. His name was Baанчугов [pro- nounced Vanchugov]. Any time he bought food for me during the train ride, I would ask him the name of that food item, and he would tell me the Russian word for that item, which I would then memorize. In the same manner, any animals, rivers, etc. we saw along the way, he would teach me its appropriate word in Russian. This way, I learned about 50 new words en route to Tashkent. In return, he would often ask me about the condition of the British and what their government was like. I would tell him that I was a religious person and had no connections with politics. I said the British had a great quality of allowing freedom to preach religion. The impression I got from speaking with the Russian officer was that he really wanted the British people to leave India