At the moment I am in the middle of a new project … putting together information for a website and publications (leaflet, brochure, booklet …) about the year in Kyrgyzstan.

The idea for the project comes from the fact that Kyrgyzstan is not exactly well known for its festivals – in fact one website used to claim that “Kyrgyzstan isn’t exactly full of festivals” … which is not exactly fair, (people here enjoy a celebration as much as any other nationality), and in fact the people of Kyrgyzstan enjoy a festival … however …it is true to say that it can be difficult to find information about events.

There are a couple of possible reasons for this … it can be difficult to find any information about Kyrgyzstan.  There is actually a wealth of information around … and the internet is a wonderful tool … I often wonder how I managed without it.  However, it’s often a case of knowing how to find the information that is relevant and in the right format.

We are often visited by the authors of the popular guidebooks which are appearing about the country and the region.  They are always looking for information which could be useful and on one occasion, one of them asked how we had amassed such a mass of information about Kyrgyzstan to include in our website, our CD and our “information pack”.  I looked at the bookcase which, although quite small by the standards of a library shelf, was weighed down with books, magazines and newspaper cuttings and simply said, “I have an advantage – I’m based here and an immersed in the country … I come across things in books or newspaper articles, in news reports on television, on internet pages and so on, and I file them … I’ve been here for almost fifteen years – and so I have been able to accumulate information almost by osmosis”.  True, some of the information available locally is in Russian – which cases me a few problems, or in Kyrgyz – which means I have to get it translated – but I have greater exposure to information than someone sitting down to write a book, back in the UK.

Although surfing the internet can be fun, and you can discover some fascinating and very interesting facts, (did you know, for example, that the Portuguese were fishing the waters off Newfoundland years before Columbus “discovered” the Americas?), however, finding specific information can be difficult and sometimes it is simply easier to find someone you can ask and we often get asked by tourists about the weather and what sort of things they can see and do when they visit.

Secondly, events in Kyrgyzstan, even the grand national celebrations, can seem to have a “low key” or impromptu nature.  This is possibly because they are the result of a rush of last minute preparations … even those major events which have been long in the planning.  For example, in his novel, “This is not civilization”, Robert Rosenberg describes how an American Peace Corps volunteer is bewildered at the apparent inactivity in the build up to the Manas 1000 celebrations in the summer of 1995.  (The Manas 1000 festival was a special festival which was held to commemorate the Millennium of the Kyrgyz epic telling of the life and exploits of a legendary hero, which is the worlds longest epic poem – longer than Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, combined.)  Signs were erected announcing the great event during the  previous winter – although there seemed to be a lack of any visible preparations being made.  When he commented on the diminishing timescale available for such work he was assured that: “It is the Kyrgyz way … Relax, relax, relax, and at the last minute work, work, work.”

As a result, we often get information about events at very short notice – often we only hear about events a few days before they happen – sometimes on the day, (and sometimes even after they have happened), which makes planning difficult.

Last year, (2008), we received a notice in the last week of September about a festival which was being planned for the middle of October, with the suggestion that we send some tourists to it.  My response was not very complimentary: “It’s not that simple … If we had heard about it earlier than we could have advertised the event and it might have been easier to find people to visit the festival …  however, as it is, I am doubtful if we can send anyone.”  Apart from the fact that there aren’t that many tourists in Kyrgyzstan during October, (which is a pity, because the weather is usually quite nice at that time of the year – although it can be cool and the nights distinctly chilly – and there is much of the country that is still easily accessible).  In addition, any tourists that are in the country probably already have their itinerary settled and they might well be in a totally different part of the country at that time.  As it happens, however, we managed to find a few clients for the event and they enjoyed it immensely.

It helps if we know that when event is going to happen later in the year … we can advertise it or suggest to potential clients that they might want to visit, and plan the itinerary accordingly.  Unfortunately, it is often not clear so far in advance.  Whenever we hear about a festival for the first time, I tend to ask about it’s history – and the plans of the organizers for the future.  Is it planned to repeat the event every year, or is it a simple “one -off” event.  I once saw a poster for the “First Annual Festival … “, and I complained that it was a bit early to claim that it was an “annual” event … and said that it would be better to wait until the third or fourth event before making such a claim.

Having said all that, we are sometimes asked by people who have learned about a festival, to create a tour itinerary around attending it … something we are very happy to do.

So, in order to prepare our materials I started looking through the archives for some photos I could use to illustrate some of the events that take place here in Kyrgyzstan.  Although I have attended a wide number of events over the years, I didn’t always have my camera with me, (and to make matters worse, I lost a lot of photos a couple of years ago when my hard disc crashed … I know, I know, I should have had a backup … !!!).  Anyway, this year I decided to see if I get some photos of the celebrations for some of the holidays.

I sent one of our staff, armed with a camera, off to the Annual May Day celebrations.  Now, it is some years since I last attended a May Day celebration.  Being British, we have an image of grand parades – true, they were based on photographs of the parades that marched before the Politburo in Red Square, but the photo-albums of the Kyrgyz SSR that I have include photos of the mass gatherings – everyone in their “Sunday Best”, young boys and girls spick and span in brilliant white shirts and sporting bright red “pioneer” neckerchiefs, and many of them clutching bunches of spring flowers in their hands.

The city authorities have been making a real effort to tidy up the town … squares and parks are being reconstructed, and the streets are being cleaned more frequently and thoroughly.   Despite the fact that we’ve had a lot of rainy days over the last few weeks, the sun shone brightly and it was quite warm – it should have been a good day for taking photos.  You can imagine my surprise, therefore, when he returned with just half a dozen photos.  This year there were only about 60 people in the main square, none of the masses that there would have been just a decade or two ago, a few of them carrying flags or banners.  No parade.  No stalls selling snacks or souvenirs.  The press were there – but I didn’t see any reports of the event in the local media, so they didn’t think there was anything worth reporting … which is quite an indictment on the proceedings.  Not only was the whole event “low key” and impromptu, it was almost a non-event … what a comedown!

I am so, so glad that the one visitor that I had offered to take to the celebrations had decided to decline the invitation, saying that he was too tired and needed to “rest up”.

I suppose it is only to be expected … May Day is basically seen as a Socialistic holiday – even in the UK this used to be the case … the Labour movement is not as important in society as it used to be,  the Trade Unions, although still important, have lost much of the status that they used to possess … nowadays there are other things to do with a “day off” … other holidays, such as Independence Day, have assumed more importance … and so, May Day has descended into the status of just another “non-working day”.

May Day is indeed in need of a distress call – a “mayday” call – to ensure that it does not disappear completely into oblivion.

Birthdays are very important here.

To forget a birthday is a great faux pas.  Even if you haven’t seen someone for the whole year, it is customary to seek them out and “congratulate” them with their birthday: “S dnyom rozhdeniya!”   A small gift is in order … nothing extravagant … just a token to show attention … Oh, and then there is the obligatory toast: “I wish you health, happiness, good fortune, that your business flourishes and everything goes well”.

It’s important to do something to commemorate the event.  Sometimes there’s a party, and sometimes people go out for a meal – even if times are hard and it is only for manti in a simple cafe with one or two close friends and a small bottle of vodka.  Tell someone it is your birthday and everyone is pleasant to you!

To be invited to a birthday party is a great honour – and not one to be turned down lightly.

I remember on occasion I had a meeting with some grand government official and I turned up at the appointed time and place and, as is often the case, was kept waiting in the antechamber.  Eventually she emerged from her office full of apologies.  It was her birthday, she said and some of her student friends had come, unexpectedly, to congratulate her.  “OK.  No problem!  I understand.  I’ll come back another time.”  “No, no … come in and join us.”, she said.  So I did.  We sat round her desk and they swapped stories.  There was cake … and vodka …I really don’t like vodka that much, but in honour of the occasion I drank the obligatory toasts and offered my own.  When every got up to go, it was already quite late so we agreed to postpone our meeting to the same time the following day.  I turned up at the appointed time and place and, as is often the case, was kept waiting in the antechamber.  Eventually she emerged from her office full of apologies.  It was her birthday, she said and some of her colleagues had come, unexpectedly, to congratulate her.  I wasn’t phased by this, even though I thought her birthday was yesterday … “OK.  No problem!  I understand.  I’ll come back another time.”  “No, no … come in and join us.”, she said.  So I did.  We sat round her desk and they swapped stories.  There was cake … and vodka …and once again I drank the obligatory toasts and offered my own.  When every got up to go, it was already quite late so we agreed to postpone our meeting to the same time the following day.  You can probably guess what happened the next day … yes, exactly the same.  “Rosa,” I asked, “how many Birthdays do you have?”.  “Ian,” she replied, “my birthday is Saturday, but I have lots of friends and can’t see them all on the day itself, so we celebrate it all week.”

And I thought it was only the Queen and Jesus, (here there are two Christmases: December 25th and January 7th), who had two birthdays!

Just about everyone celebrates their birthday.  Even firms celebrate their birthday!  Occasionally we get a phone call from agencies which publish business directories and after they have asked for the name of the company, contact details, (address, telephone and fax numbers, email and web addresses) and the name of the director, they often ask for the company birthday.  We had to celebrate the anniversary of the opening of the hotels … and the tenth anniversary of the founding of the company.

It’s probably only the Jehovah’s Witnesses, (and there is quite a sizeable community of them here in Kyrgyzstan), who don’t celebrate birthdays here.  Oh, and me … I’m not a spoilsport but, it seems to me that when people get to my age, they normally want to forget them and, anyway, I think they are like Christmas celebrations, mainly for the kids.  Also, just like Christmas, it can be a time of stress and if things do turn out badly, then they seem to be that much worse because it ruins what should have been a great day.

Not that I get much chance to overlook my birthday … March 8th is a holiday here: International Women’s Day.  Even though it is supposed to be an “international” holiday, we don’t celebrate it back in the UK -0 although I notice that in recent years there have been some attention paid to it in the press.

To mark the holiday, it is usual to give female acquaintances flowers or small gifts and everyone jokes that my mother decided to give herself a present when I was born.  (I don’t suppose that there aren’t that many people who have to celebrate their birthday by giving presents to lots of other people – but I do.)  When addressing women – even strangers (for example, shop assistants – or when asking for directions in the street), it is customary to “congratulate” them on the holiday by starting the exchange with the phrase “S’Prazdnikom”, (or “S’Praszdnikom Vas”).  At mealtimes it is usual for a toast to be drunk “to the ladies”, with a speech praising their beauty, wisdom and hard work – and wishing them health, happiness and long lives.

Anyway, as a result of the holiday everyone remembers my Birthday.  I can’t escape it.

Some people say that I am very lucky having my birthday on a holiday … I can have a great celebration.  I think they are wrong, however.  It would be better to have been born the day before … then I could really celebrate and spend the next day getting over any hangover!

Maybe it’s because I am not fond of birthdays, but I’m not very good at remembering them … ask Tony, my brother, or any of my friends back in the UK. I have them written down in the diary, but that doesn’t seem to help.  When it comes to remembering the birthdays of people here, however, it’s a lot easier.  My staff, all being local and knowing how important birthdays are, keep their own tally and come and make sure that we mark the occasion accordingly … arrange a small present and a cake.

On one of the few occasions that I did remember my brother’s birthday, I tried to order a copy of newspaper for that the day of his birth from one of the national dailies … a great idea for a birthday present, I thought.  There was, however, a problem … we were both born on Sundays … and the paper, being a “Daily” wasn’t published that day.  Instead they sent him a copy of the next day’s paper … and, as it happens, I think that was actually better, more interesting, because it recorded what else was happening on that day, apart from his being born.

It’s not that I have aversion to birthdays because I had a bad experience, or anything like that.  Generally I enjoyed my birthdays as a child. I do remember, however, that, as I was approaching 30, there were two films which did have a detrimental effect on my attitude to the marking the milestones as one got older: One was “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, in which the Katherine Ross character says something like: “I’m single, twenty six and a schoolteacher.  Then there was I’ve reached rock bottom” – it was not a very encouraging thing for a young, single, schoolteacher to hear.   Then there was the Dudley Moore comedy “Thirty is a dangerous Age”.   The name says it all!  With a title like that, it must have alienated a whole generation – and every subsequent generation afterwards – as they approached that particular landmark!  All of my friends of a similar age seemed to enter a deep depression as the dreaded three-zero approached.  I like to think that I took a much more sanguin approach to the great event.

I certainly approached 40 with great aplomb, even if I say so myself.  To be fair, I didn’t really have much choice.  I had already adopted the attitude that “I want to forget my birthdays” and had planned to ignore the event.  It didn’t help that was it was my 40th … as I still remembered the 1960′s TV adverts for Sanatogen vitamin supplements, which “fortifies the over forties”!  This didn’t exactly fill me with confidence and optimism about getting older.  That year, however, my birthday fell on a Monday … a school day.  As it happens, I discovered that some of my colleagues had learned that my birthday was approaching and that it wasn’t just “any” birthday … it was the big four-zero.  Someone dropped me a hint that there was a plan afoot to mark the occasion.  OK, I thought, I don’t have much choice about this … so I spent the weekend preparing … ordering cream cakes, (I think the Baker went into apoplexy when on a Saturday morning, he got an order for an extra two hundred and fifty cream cakes to be ready for nine o’clock Monday morning) and “real” coffee … individual coffee filters, instead of the more mundane instant coffee.  (It was a working day – so we couldn’t have vodka … and, anyway, at that time, I didn’t drink vodka).  So, at the regular staff meeting at the start of the morning on the great day, I managed to spike the guns of my friends, and made an announcement … “If you are free at break time … I think you might like to come down to the the Staff Room”, before they were able to put their plans into operation.  Nothing about: “It’s my birthday … I’m forty! … come and have some cake!” … just a sense of mystery.  Because I had got in first they didn’t feel able to destroy the sense anticipation and suspense that I had created, I had succeeded in avoiding any potential embarrassment that they might have planned.

I wasn’t so lucky when it came to the big five-zero.  As I said, everyone here knows when my birthday is and they had plenty of time to prepare for it … so I just had to grin and bear it.

I’m not sure if I am looking forward to sixty.