In 1919, Thomas Beecham, who sponsored D. Dyagilev's "Russian Seasons", invited N. Roerich to paint sketches for several operas of N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, including "The Tale of Tsar Saltan". In this period, Nikolay Konstantinovich wanted to make a trip to India, and the sketches for the opera were given a purely oriental, Indian flavor. However, the Pushkin's tale itself came from the East, and we can see there some motives of Mahabharata, the Indic epic therein. The performance has never been realized. The sketch named "Coast, Lollipop" is filled with sensation of a "desert eastern island": everything is covered with golden sand, and even the sky is hot golden-pearly. By the way, there is a squirrel gnawing golden nuts. A lone cedar at the harbor is ready to meet the overseas guests.