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zohrabcenter – Page 2 – The Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center
Armenian studies in the heart of the Armenian diocese
Krapar & Kini (Գրաբար եւ Գինի)
REMINDER: Poetry Reading Group around Tenny Arlen’s “To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here?” begins tonight at 7:00pm
On June 23, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Zohrab Center EventsLeave a comment
Tonight’s session, the first in a 5-week series meeting on Thursday evenings at 7:00pm (June 23–July 21), will be led by Dr. Hagop Kouloujian, professor of Western Armenian language and literature at UCLA, who was Tenny’s Armenian language teacher and wrote the afterword to the book. Readings and discussion will take place in Armenian and English.
The readings to do in advance of tonight’s session are:
Յետգրութիւն այս գիրքի մասին (էջ 107–118) | Afterword about this book (p. 54–61)
Գիշեր (էջ 7) | Night (p. 1)
Բանաստեղծութիւն (էջ 8–9) | Poetry (p. 2)
Պատումը (էջ 10–11) | The Narration (p. 3)
PDFs of the book are available in Armenian and English.
Summer Poetry Reading Group: Tenny Arlen’s “To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here?”
On June 9, 2022June 21, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn General Interest, Zohrab Center Events, Zohrab Center UpdatesLeave a comment
The Zohrab Center is hosting a dual language summer reading group around Tenny Arlen’s newly published volume of poetry To Say With Passion: Why Am I Here? (Կիրքով ըսելու՝ ինչո՞ւ հոս եմ, Yerevan: ARI Literature Foundation, 2021), which will meet by Zoom on the five Thursday evenings between June 23–July 21 at 7:00pm ET. Each session will be led by a different facilitator, around a cluster of poems from the volume. Readings and discussion will take place in both Armenian and English. The schedule and reading list is below.
To register for all the Zoom sessions, please click here.
With no prior knowledge of Armenian, Tenny began taking Western Armenian classes in 2011 at UCLA with Prof. Hagop Kouloujian. Over the next two years, she began to compose her own poetry in the classes, and with Prof. Kouloujian’s assistance was preparing a book of verse, before her untimely death in a car accident in 2015 at age 24, just before beginning her doctoral program in Comparative Literature at the University of Michigan.
The posthumous book release event, which took place at UCLA on May 20th, can be viewed here. An article about the event can be read here.
The book is available for purchase here. Or, be in touch directly with Jesse Arlen to arrange payment and shipping (zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org)
PDFs of the book in Armenian and English translation are available below.
Session 1: Thursday, June 23 with Prof. Hagop Kouloujian (Professor of Western Armenian Language and Literature, UCLA)
Յետգրութիւն այս գիրքի մասին (էջ 107–118) | Afterword about this book (p. 54–61)
Գիշեր (էջ 7) | Night (p. 1)
Բանաստեղծութիւն (էջ 8–9) | Poetry (p. 2)
Պատումը (էջ 10–11) | The Narration (p. 3)
Session 2: Thursday, June 30 with Dr. Jesse S. Arlen (Director, Zohrab Information Center; Postdoctoral Fellow, Fordham University)
Բառեր (էջ 12–13) | Words (p. 4–5)
Արծաթէ սանդուխը (էջ 14–15) | The Silver Staircase (p. 6)
Զարթնում (էջ 20–21) | Awaking (p. 9)
Մեծ քաղաքը (էջ 32–33) | The Big City (p. 15)
Մշուշ (էջ 36–37) | Mist (p. 17)
Երազ (էջ 56–57) | Dream (p. 28)
Պատուհան (էջ 62–63) | Window (p. 31)
Session 3: Thursday, July 7 with Dr. Christopher Sheklian (Postdoctoral Fellow, Radboud University)
Հայ լեզուի խնդիրը (էջ 19) | The Problem of the Armenian Language (p. 8)
Տեղատուութիւն եւ մակընթացութիւն (էջ 22–23) | Ebb and Flow (p. 10)
Մտմտալով (էջ 38–39) | Musing (p. 18)
Հին ու նոր (էջ 48–49) | Old and New (p. 24)
Լոյս (էջ 58–59) | Light (p. 29)
Յուշագրութիւններ (էջ 71–79) | Memoirs (p. 36–40)
Մեռելածին (էջ 82–88) | Stillborn (p. 43–46)
Session 4: Thursday, July 14 with Dn. Yervant Kutchukian (PhD Candidate, Oxford University)
Անվերջ սկիզբ (էջ 18) | Endless Beginning (p. 8)
Գիշեր (էջ 24–25) | Night (p. 11)
Գնացք (էջ 26–27) | Journey (p. 12)
Լուսանկարներ (էջ 30–31) | Photographs (p. 14)
Ըսել (էջ 40–42) | To say (p. 19)
Հիւանդանոց (էջ 43) | Hospital (p. 20)
Մինչեւ (էջ 44) | Until (p. 21)
Լուսանցք (էջ 64–65) | Margin (p. 32)
Աստ անդ (էջ 68–70) | Here there (p. 34–35)
Session 5: Thursday, July 21 with Alexia Hatun (PhD Student, UCLA)
Միտքս (էջ 16–17) | My Mind (p. 7)
Ես ու ես (էջ 28–29) I and I (p. 13)
Մենք (էջ 34) We (p. 16)
Անաւարտ (էջ 45) | Unfinished (p. 22)
Եղար (էջ 46–47) | You were (p. 23)
Կարապներ (էջ 50–53) | Swans (p. 25–26)
Ծաղիկ (էջ 54–55) | Flower (p. 27)
Երկուք (էջ 66–67) | Two (p. 33)
Գեղեցկութիւն (էջ 80–81) | Beauty (p. 41–42)
Կիրքով ըսելու՝ ինչո՞ւ հոս եմDownload
To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here?Download
Sonia Tashjian’s personal library finds a home at the Zohrab Information Center
On June 2, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Articles, General Interest, Treasures from the ZIC, Zohrab Center UpdatesLeave a comment
Sonia Tashjian (née Ekizian) was born in Jounieh, Lebanon in 1929 to parents Hampartzoum and Haigouhi (née Karagosian) Ekizian who hailed from Chomachlou and Yozgat, Turkey, respectively.  Her father had emigrated to New York prior to World War I to earn money for his family.  Her mother survived the Armenian Genocide by walking in constant peril through the Syrian desert before reaching a refugee camp in Aleppo, Syria, where Hampartzoum had rescued his two surviving children, Garabed and Turvandah.  He married Haigouhi and together they had four children, Margaret, Youghaper, Sonia, and Hagop.
Sonia Tashjian (middle back) with her father, mother, and three siblings
Sonia emigrated to New York in 1937 at the age of eight with her parents and siblings.  She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in the Bronx, NY.  She married Martin Sonny Tashjian, in 1951, shortly before Sonny was deployed to Korea.  They had four sons: Douglas, Glenn, Craig, and Roger.  Sonny died in 1981 from Leukemia.  With her well known strong will and determination, Sonia re-entered the workforce and still managed to send her two youngest sons to Lehigh University.
Sonia Tashjian in 1950
Sonny and Sonia were among the founding families of St. Thomas Armenian Church in Tenafly, NJ.  She later became an active member of St. Leon Armenian Church in Fair Lawn, NJ, where she was a member of the women’s guild for 30 years.  Sonia’s faith in God and never-give-up spirit got her through several illnesses, including her final battle with COVID-19 and its aftermath.  She died peacefully on the morning of July 29th, 2020.
Sonia Tashjian later in life
Sonia was an exceptional bibliophile, as evidenced by her collection of over a hundred Armenian-related books that were donated by her son Douglas to the Zohrab Information Center in 2021.  Several titles were original contributions to the Center’s library, e.g., The Adventures of Wesley Jackson by William Saroyan, and Source Records of the Great War, Volume III (an anthology of official documents for the year 1915, with a chapter dedicated to the Armenian Genocide).
Title page of The Adventures of Wesley Jackson by William Saroyan, from the Sonia Tashjian Collection
Many other titles were in better condition than the Center’s copies, such as George M. Mardikian’s autobiography, Song of America, which also included the original 1956 dust jacket.
Front cover of Song of America by George Mardikian, from the Sonia Tashjian Collection
Others were earlier editions than books in the Center’s collection, such as the two-volume travelogue Armenia: Travels and Studies by H. F. B. Lynch. Sonia had the first edition from 1901, while the Center had previously only held later editions.
Front cover of Armenia: Travels and Studies, vol. 1 by H. F. B. Lynch from the Sonia Tashjian Collection
Title page of Armenia: Travels and Studies, vol. 2 by H. F. B. Lynch from the Sonia Tashjian Collection
One of the most intriguing dimensions of Sonia’s collection was the compilation of book-related ephemera: book catalogues of bygone decades, correspondence, and order receipts with Armenian book dealers spanning from 1961-1982, notably seller Mark Armen Kalustian in Arlington, Massachusetts, with whom Sonia exchanged extensive correspondence and was a loyal customer of many years.
Sonia Tashjian correspondence with bookseller Mark Kalustian
Sonia Tashjian correspondence with bookseller Mark Kalustian
Bookseller Mark Kalustian order form and correspondence with Sonia Tashjian
Bookseller Mark Kalustian order form and correspondence with Sonia Tashjian
Sonia’s collection, both the books and the ephemera, are a magnificent testament not only to the strength of life pulsating through the 20th century Armenian-American community, but also to the love and care of one extraordinary woman toward that community and its literary heritage. Her personal library of Armenian books, collected over a lifetime, has now found a permanent home in the Zohrab Information Center’s research library.
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! | ARMENIAN DIASPORA SURVEY
On May 31, 2022May 29, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn General InterestLeave a comment
We are delighted to note that the Armenian Diaspora Survey (ADS), a public opinion study project, has been launched throughout the United States and in the province of Ontario, Canada.
If you consider yourself to be a member of the Armenian Diaspora, we invite you to share your thoughts and views about identity, culture, and community and help us gain a better understanding of the Armenian diaspora.
The survey will be available across the Unites States and Ontario, Canada until July 29, 2022. Your answers will remain anonymous and the results will be made public early next year through the ADS website.
Your views and ideas are important. Make your voice heard by completing the questionnaire at www.armeniandiasporasurvey.com.
We also kindly ask for your help in spreading the word by forwarding this information to your friends and family currently living in the United States and Ontario, Canada.
The study is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and administered by the Armenian Institute in London. For more information, please consult ADS’s Frequently Asked Questions and Privacy Policy.
Artsakh: Angel of Peace Photography Exhibition TOMORROW
On May 25, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Events in New York, Zohrab Center EventsLeave a comment
Book Release and Reading of Tenny Arlen’s Book of Armenian Poetry
On May 19, 2022May 18, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn General InterestLeave a comment
On Friday, May 20, 2022 at 6:00 PM (PST), the release of Tenny Arlen’s book of Armenian verse entitled Կիրքով ըսելու՝ ինչո՞ւ հոս եմ (To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here?) will take place in Bunche Hall 10383 of the University of California, Los Angeles. As the first full-length volume of creative literature composed in Armenian by a US-born author after over a century of Armenian-American community development, this is a landmark achievement. It is also one of the first public outcomes of the emphasis that UCLA Narekatsi Chair’s Armenian program places on the concept of Armenian as a living and creative language in diaspora. [This is a hybrid event. Those unable to attend in person may register by Zoom.]
Tenny Arlen grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA far removed from any Armenian community. She began her undergraduate studies at UCLA in 2011 with no prior knowledge of Armenian. She took courses in Western Armenian language and literature for two years with Dr. Hagop Kouloujian, and, already a talented writer, soon began to write poetry in Armenian. In 2013, she graduated from UCLA with highest honors, earning a B.A. in Comparative Literature. In 2015, she was admitted into the University of Michigan’s doctoral program in Comparative Literature with a plan to study French and Armenian symbolist poetry, but she passed away in a car accident in the summer of 2015 before beginning the program.
She wrote the first drafts of most of the poems collected in this book about 15–20 months after beginning Armenian language studies. Her posthumous book of poetry, published by the ARI Literature Foundation (Yerevan, 2021) with the support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, is entitled To Say with Passion: Why Am I Here? (Կիրքով ըսելու՝ինչո՞ւ հոս եմ), a line taken from one of her poems, in which the Armenian language speaks about its own existence in the twenty-first century Diaspora. The book was edited by Dr. Kouloujian, who also wrote its afterword, in which he tells of Tenny’s creative journey in Armenian and highlights the book’s significance as the first full-length volume of creative literature written and published in Armenian by a US-born author.
Zohrab Center director, Dr. Jesse Arlen, will be one of the readers and speakers at the event, celebrating his sister’s posthumous book.
The event is co-sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,  UCLA Narekatsi Chair of Armenian Studies, UCLA Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, The Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA, and the UCLA Armenian Students’ Association.
Copies of the book will be available for sale at the release (paperback $15; hardcover $20).
For more details, please visit: https://www.international.ucla.edu/armenia/event/15664
“Artsakh: Angel of Peace” – A Photography Exhibit by Dr. Marina Mchitarian on May 26th at 7:00pm (ET)
On May 10, 2022May 10, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Events in New York, General Interest, Zohrab Center EventsLeave a comment
On May 26th, 2022, at 7:00pm a photography exhibit entitled “Artsakh: Angel of Peace” will debut at Guild Hall of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church, organized by the Krikor and Clara Zohrab Information Center, with a wine and cheese reception. Featuring photographs taken before and after the war and highlighting Armenian cultural heritage now under Azerbaijani control, Dr. Mchitarian’s photographs nevertheless offer an inspiring message of hope.
Dr. Marina Mchitarian is an independent researcher and the founding president of “Action for Peace,” an Armenian NGO. After completing her Ph.D. at the crossroad of mathematics and mathematical modeling, she pursued postdoctoral studies in archaeology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece) and conducted research in archaeometallurgy at Ghent University (Belgium).
Fluent in four languages (Armenian, Greek, Russian, and English), she worked for fifteen years for the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. By curating a personal documentary of photographs from three Genocides (Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian), she was drawn into the work of safeguarding cultural heritage. She worked for three years for the Dutch NGO ‘’Walk of Truth’’ (The Hague, The Netherlands), whose mission is to protect cultural legacy in zones of conflict.
Her documentary photography project “Peace and Photography” featured Artsakh and Turkish-occupied Cyprus, which had exhibit-presentations in New York, London, Thessaloniki, Yerevan, and Shushi (Artsakh).
Since February 2020, she has worked as an independent researcher investigating religious freedom, religious diplomacy, ecumenism, peace and reconciliation, and the endangered Christians of the Middle East. In August 2020, she registered the NGO ‘’Action for Peace’’ (Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid and Peace-building) in Armenia. Through her NGO, she has conducted documentary photography and oral history projects in Artsakh: “Women of Artsakh: War, Identity and Peace” in September 2020 and “Nostos: The Aftermath of the War” in January 2021. She also collaborates with NYC-based Save Armenian Monuments, which operates under the auspices of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America.
Some of Dr. Mchitarian’s previous work may be viewed here:
Memory in Action. From Mush to Artsakh, from the Desert Generations to the Independence Generations
Can Memory Trigger a Genocide Prevention? (Documentary photography project)
Peace and Photography (Documentary photography project)
Hellenes of Armenia (Documentary photography project)
Զարմինէ Պօղոսեանի «Ազէզէն Ամերիկա» գիրքը (թուայնացուած օրինակ) / Zarmine Boghosian’s Book “From Azaz to America” (PDF)
On May 4, 2022May 4, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Book of the Week, Digitized Books, Events in New York, General Interest, Treasures from the ZICLeave a comment
Ապրիլ 27-ին Առաջնորդութիւն Հայոց Ամերիկայի Արեւելեան Թեմը տեղի ունեցաւ Զարմինէ Պօղոսեանի անցեալ տարուայ լոյս ընծայած Ազէզէն Ամերիկա (Երեւան՝ «ՎՄՎ-ՊՐԻՆՏ», 2021) գիրքի շնորհանդէսը։ Ծրագրին մասին կարդալու համար՝ սեղմել այստեղ։ Նկարներ տեսնելու համար՝ սեղմել այստեղ։
Աւելի քան չորս հարիւրէն էջնոց գիրքը մէկ տեղ կը հաւաքէ մանկավարժ-տնօրէնուհիին/հեղինակին 1960-ականներէն մինչեւ մեր օրերը գրած յօդուածները, փորձագրութիւնները, յուշագրութիւնները, եւ բանաստեղծութիւնները։
Գիրքը աւելցաւ Զօհրապ կեդրոնի գրադարանին, եւ ըստ հեղինակի ազնիւ փափաքին, գիրքի թուայնացուած օրինակը կարելի է վարբեռնել այստեղ։
On April 27th, the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America hosted the book release of Zarmine Boghosian’s From Azaz to America (Yerevan: “VMV-PRINT”, 2021). To read about the program, click here. For photos, click here.
The over four-hundred page book gathers into one place the educator-principal-author’s articles, essays, memoirs, recollections, and poetry written from the 1960s until recent years.
The book was added to the Zohrab Center’s Research Library, and in accordance with the kind wishes of the author, a PDF of the book is available to download here.
Զարմինէ Պօղոսեանի «Ազէզէն Ամերիկա» գիրքըDownload
A Letter from Kars dated February 11, 1917
On April 26, 2022May 6, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Articles, General Interest, Treasures from the ZIC3 Comments
Last month, I was approached with a request to translate a letter written in Kars in 1917, from one Sarkis P. Jigarjian to his daughter Araksi (Arax), after a fire had erupted on the family property, causing the loss of several buildings (though not the family home or anyone’s life). The letter is written in the Kars dialect and contains several words of foreign origin (particularly Russian and Turkish). That the letter was written in haste after a sleepless night is evidenced not just by the numerous spelling errors and grammatical irregularities,[1] but by Sarkis’ own words in the final lines where he describes his state as like that of a drunken man and apologizes for his bad handwriting. Despite this statement, the handwriting is rather beautiful and mostly legible.[2]
The Jigarjian family portrait, circa 1910, with Arax seated between her parents.
Descendants of the Jigarjian family who produced the letter also provided the following background information: “This is believed to be the last letter Sarkis wrote to his youngest and favorite child, Arax. We suspect that the fire he reported was a result of arson. At some point within the following year or two, Sarkis was murdered. His murderers were identified as Turks by his wife who then fled Kars and lived her remaining days with her daughter, Arax, and her family.”[3]
World War I and its immediate aftermath was a time of upheaval and instability in Kars, when the city was a heavily contested site between the Ottoman and Russian Empires and then the young Republics of Armenia and Turkey.[4] In February 1917, when this letter was written, Kars was part of the Russian Empire, then considered to be an important strategic outpost and fortress for the empire in the Caucasus. In the wake of the instability caused by the Bolshevik Revolution in late 1917, the Turks looked to expand their position eastwards and shortly after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 3, 1918) occupied Kars on April 25, 1918. This may have been when the letter’s author, Sarkis Jigarjian, met his bitter end. A year later, with British assistance, Kars became part of the First Republic of Armenia on April 28, 1919. But on October 30, 1920 it fell with little resistance to the Turkish Republic, within whose borders the city remains to this day.
The Caucasian Front in World War I, 1914–1918 [from Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia: A Historical Atlas (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001), map 221, p. 229.]
Below is a digitized scan of the two-page letter, written on Sarkis Jigarjian’s business letterhead, followed by a transcription and translation, which should be of interest both to scholars as well as the general public. Any corrections to the translation or transcription may be made in the comments below or by private email to zohrabcenter@armeniandiocese.org.
— Dr. Jesse S. Arlen
[1] In fact, there is no punctuation in the letter, which reads as one very long sentence.
[2] I would like to thank Vartan Matiossian, Nareg Seferian, and Sonya Martirosyan for their many helpful suggestions and especially for their assistance with the Russian words in the letter.
[3] Private communication; 20 April 2022.
[4] For a historical survey of Kars in this period, see Richard G. Hovannisian, “The Contest for Kars, 1914–1921,” in Armenian Kars and Ani, edited by Richard G. Hovannisian (Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2011), 273–317.
Սիրելի որդեակ իմ Արագսի,
Ամսուն 10ին երեկօեան ժամը 7ին ժամանակը խօրէնը շատ զարպանձ զըվանօքը տըվեց բէրդա գընաց դուռը բացէց իսկուն ներս եկաւ եւ ասաւ որ մեր հաեադին մէջ պաժառ կա իսկուն հէվէտդուրս վազեցինք որ մեր փետանօձի վրաի պալկօնը բօլօրօվ կըպերէ եւ սուր կերպօվ վառւումէ խօրէնը սկսեց այդ կրակի մէջ պալկօնը քանդել յետօ տեսանք որ չաբազանձ շատացաւ վառելը խօրէնը արմէնը ըսկըսեցին մէր փօքր հայեադի դուռը եւ քօվի նուժնիկը բօլօրօվին քար ու քանտ էրին եւ հէտօ մեր կուխնիի դըռան քօվի յօտին տախտակէ պուտկէն բօլօրօվին քանտեցին տեսանք որ շատ յուժէղացաւ պաժա[ռը] արմէնակը կամանտիրին քօվէր գընացէր եւ կամանդիրը իսկուն յիրան պառքի սալտատնէրուն հրամաեր էր եկան բօլօր վէշջիքը տարան կամանտիրի տունը ի հարկէ թան ո փօխինդ էղաւ բօլօր վէշջիքը վէրչապէս այսօր առա[ւօտ] նօրից պառքի Սալտատնէրը վէշջիքը բերին տուն դեռ եւս մէզ յայտնի չէ թէ ինչ բան չիկա միեայ[ն] թէ այս քան յիմացիր որ մէնք լավ պրծանք եւ վեշջիքը արթէն մեր կուխնիին եւ փատանօձին վրաի եղած շինութիւները բօլօրը վառվեցան քարուքանտ էրին հիմա մէր տունը բօլօրօվին սելեմեդէ ոչ ինչ կըրակ չի դիպաւ [page 2] միեայն թէ շատ չարչարվեցանք ժամը 12ին գընացինք հաճօնձը այն տեղ 2 կամ 3 ժամ իբրեւ թէ քընէցանք սիրելի Արաքսի ճան այս պաժառը շատ կը բարձրանար միեայն թէ ինչպէս բարի բաղդութիւն ունեցեր էինք որ քաղաքիս կամէնտանտը եկեր էր եւ տեսաւ որ պաժառը շատ պիտի բարձրանա իսկուն տէլէֆօնօվ ձօրի պաժառնի կամանտիրին բերել տըվեց որ պաժառը մարեցին իսկ եթէ քաղաքին պաժառի կամանտին մընայինք այս մէր սրան բօլօրն ալ կը վառէին ես քեզի տեղօվը գրեցի որ չի լինի թէ յուրիշից յիմանաս թէ ինչէ եղեր կամ ինչ չէ եղեր ավելի լավէ որ բօլօր բանը մանրամասը այս նամակօվս յայտնեցի ես այսպէս յարմար գըտա որ ինչպէս կատարվէլ եւ բօլօրը մի առ մի ձեզի տեղեկացնեմ սիրելի Արաքսի ճան դու հանգիստ եղիր այսօր էկան բօլօր վեշզիքը յիրանձ տեղերը կը տեղաւորցընենք վերչապէս Աստված բաները աջօղէ պառքի կամանտիրին եւ պարքի սալտատնէրուն եւ մէկ այլ քաղաքիս մեծապատիւ կամենտանտին վերչապէս Աստված հեռու պահէ այս տեսակ գալստական փօրձանքներէ եւ յուրիշ այլ եւ այլ գալստական փորձանքներէ Աստված պահէ. սիրելի Արաքսի ճան այս նամակս գրեցի քեզի ի միամըտութեան համ[ար] միեայն թէ գիտես թէ հարբածի պէս եմ գըլօխս դըմդըմպումէ սրա համար գիրս գէս դուրս կեաւ օտարական չէս խօմ մնամ քեզ միշտ օրհնօղ քո ծընօղ հայր։
My dear child Araksi,
On the tenth of the month[1] at 7:00 in the evening[2] Khoren rang the bell[3] very frantically, Berta went and opened the door and he rushed inside and said that there is a fire[4] in our courtyard.[5] We immediately ran outside and saw that the entire balcony of our woodshed had caught fire and was fiercely burning. Khoren began to demolish the balcony in the middle of the fire but when we saw that the burning had increased too much, Khoren and Armen then began to utterly reduce to rubble the small gate of our courtyard and the outhouse[6] beside it and then they also completely tore down the flock’s wooden pen[7] next to our kitchen.[8] But when we saw that the fire had grown even stronger, Armenak went for the komandir,[9] and the komandir immediately gave an order to his park[10] soldiers,[11] who came and took all our belongings[12] to the komandir’s house, and of course all our belongings got mixed up.[13] Finally this morning the park soldiers brought our belongings back home. It’s still not clear to us what all was lost but know this much: we escaped safely along with our belongings. All the structures that were in our kitchen[14] and woodshed were burnt and destroyed, but for now our house is entirely unharmed[15] and the fire didn’t touch any of it. It’s just that we were very distressed. At midnight we went to the hajonts[16] and there we tried to sleep for two or three hours. My dear Araksi, this fire was rising so high, that was our only good fortune that the city kamendand[17] had come and seen that the fire was going to grow even more and so immediately called on the phone and had the valley fire chief[18] brought over and they put out the fire. And if we had been left to the city’s fire crew,[19] everything would have burned. I wrote to you on the spot so that you wouldn’t learn from someone else what had happened. It’s better that I reveal to you in this letter the whole affair in detail, I thought it was more appropriate for me to inform you of how everything happened in order.[20] My dear Araksi, don’t be worried. All our belongings came today, we’ll finally put everything back in its place. May God grant success to these things and may God keep the park commander and the park soldiers and our city’s highly honorable kamendand safe from such apocalyptic tribulations and may God protect [us] from all other kinds of apocalyptic tribulations. My dear Araksi, I wrote you this letter to reassure you. But know that I feel like a drunk man, my head is throbbing and for that reason my handwriting came out so bad, you are so dear to me[21] and I shall ever remain your devoted father,
[1] i.e., February 10th (the day before he wrote this letter).
[3] Zevanok (Russian, зBoHok), ‘bell (doorbell).’
[4] Pazhar (Russian, пoжap), ‘fire, conflagration.’
[5] Hayat (Turkish), ‘courtyard, yard, sheepfold.’
[7] Putke (Russian, бyдka), ‘booth, shack, cabin.’ Likely referring to a ‘pen’ or other small enclosure for the sheep.
[8] Kukhni (Russian, kyxHя).
[9] ‘Commander, chief’ (Russian, koMaHдиp).
[10] Park (Russian, пapk).
[11] Saltat (Russian, coлдaT).
[12] Veshjik (Russian, Beщи), ‘stuff, things, belongings, possessions.’
[13] թան ո փոխինդ էղաւ. Literally, ‘became tan [yogurt drink] and polenta.’ Meaning of the idiom is uncertain— I thank Nareg Seferian for the above suggestion.
[14] Kukhni (Russian, kyxHя).
[15] Salamat (Arabic), ‘safe, secure.’
[16] Հաճօնցը. Uncertain meaning— perhaps a spelling mistake for hawnots (‘chicken coop’). Alternatively, it could be “at Hajis’ house,” perhaps a neighbor.
[17] ‘Commander, leader’ (Russian).
[18] Komandir (Russian, koMaHдиp), ‘chief, commander.’
[19] Kamand (Russian, koMaHдa), ‘team, crew.’
[20] Մի առ մի. Literally, ‘one by one,’ i.e. bit by bit, piece by piece.
[21] Օտարական չես խօմ Literally, “You’re not a stranger, are you?” asked rhetorically.
Upcoming Events at ZIC: Lecture, Krapar & Kini, Photo Exhibition
On April 11, 2022 By zohrabcenterIn Events in New York, Zohrab Center Events1 Comment
Mark your calendars for the following upcoming Zohrab Center events:
Mon, April 18, 7:00pm in-person — Lecture: “Naming the Armenian Genocide: Language, Politics, and Medz Yeghern” by Dr. Vartan Matiossian at the Guild Hall of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America: 630 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016. Reception and book signing to follow.
Mon, April 25, 7:00pm ZOOM — Krapar & Kini (Classical Armenian & Wine) with Prof. Abraham Terian on Prayer 53 from the prayer book of St. Gregory of Narek, which Prof. Terian has recently translated. Register for the session here.
Thurs, May 26, 7:00pm in-person — Photographic Exhibition: “Artsakh: Angel of Peace” by Dr. Marina Mchitarian, featuring material shot before and after the 2020 war and offering a life-affirming message of hope. Includes a brief documentary screening and conversation with Dr. Mchitarian. Wine and cheese reception will accompany the viewing of the photographs. At the Guild Hall of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America: 630 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10016.
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