The quiet capital of Tatarstan

When we reached Kazan Central Railway Station yesterday after a 13-hour journey from Moscow, it was five in the morning. The city was still sleeping and the first impression we got as we headed towards the city after one-and-a-half hour ride was that we were at a place far away from all the hustle and bustle.

It was actually a perfect summer morning in a city that starves of glorious sunshine for most part of the year. As we moved along, our driver showed the two rivers -- the great Volga and the Kaznaka -- on either side of the road. This is the city where Volga's width is the longest -- 43 kilometers. But we could only see a glimpse of it.

For the last three weeks that we have been in Russia, we had not noticed a mosque. But as we moved along the city centre of the great Tatarstan capital after offloading our luggage at the hotel, we saw same people coming out of mosque after having offered their juma prayers. We passed through the white walls of historic Kazan Kremlin and the Kul Sharif Mosque, which is one of the largest in Russia. The professional life of journalists hardly allowed us to see these historic places as headed to the Kazan Arena to catch the press briefing of France and Argentina, who will feature in a Round of 16 clash at that spectacular venue today.

A welcome note on the brochure read: “Tatarstan is a land of wealth, peace and harmony. Here you will find an authentic way of life -- it defies the notion of East and West, it has its own character that is modern, colourful and diverse”.

This is something we could ill afford to explore because we would have to take a trip to Samara after finishing the Argentina-France game today. But the little time that we have spent in this laidback city, we have found it very different from cut-throat Moscow.

When we boarded a bus to the Kazan Arena, the lady conductor said that we were on the right bus. But the other passengers looked a bit worried. Among them was a young lady, who was having a long deliberation with the conductor in Russian. After she was finished talking with her, she came to us and explained in fluent English that we would have to walk for about ten minutes after we got down from the bus.

Her concern was really moving. We told her it was okay without mentioning that we had already become used to long walks since landing in Russia. The taxi driver also appeared very cooperative and did not demand any astronomical charges which we had confronted in Moscow, where you will find people similar to those you see in Dhaka's Kamalapur Railway station.