Simon Vratsian’s Appeal and Stern Rebuttal

Translated by Vahe H. Apelian

Mikle Babayan (Մայքլ Բաբայան) has posted the following from Simon Vratsian written when Vratsian was the Minister of Agriculture (rural economy գյուղատնտեսության) and State Property (գույք) in the First Republic of Armenia. Ministries may have changed their designations nowadays but surely not the needs. Vratsian’s public appeal stands true today as it did then. It reads as follows:

“Having assumed the responsibility as the Minister of Agriculture (rural economy) and State Property and wanting to Armenianize the institution, I appealed through diplomatic representatives, and as well as the press, the specialists in the Diaspora inviting them to come to Armenia and fill in positions. I promised them better wages and facilities than those who already are on the jobs. It has been three months and I have not received a single applicant from any Armenian specialist from overseas. 

Again, and for the last time, I appeal to you Armenians specialists in rural economy, animal husbandry, forestry, mining, water, farming, dairy, and in other specializations. Come to Armenia. There is a lot of work and many positions open for you. It is true that working in Armenia is challenging and calls for sacrificing. But if you are not going to come during these difficult days, and sacrifice today, when the better days come, you will not be needed in Armenia any more.

How come the Poles and the Russians are able to work in Armenia now but you cannot? For when have you reserved your patriotism? Are you under the impression that giving us good advice while staying in Tiflis, Bolis or in America you are doing your patriotic duties? If you are with Armenia and are friends to Armenia come to Armenia. If you do not want to come now, leave Armenia alone (minding its own issues). Armenia does not need your rhetorical speeches and your advices. What are needed in Armenia are your work, your knowhow, and your specialty, your Armenianness.

Come!

Simon Vratsian

Minister of Agriculture & State Property and Labour

June 12, 1920

Yervan”

«...Ստանձնելով գյուղատնտեսության և պետական գույքի նախարարի պաշտոնը և կամենալով անմիջապես հայացնել հիմնարկությունները՝ ես թե՛ Հանրապետության դիվանագիտական ներկայացուցիչների, և թե՛ մամուլի միջոցով դիմեցի արտասահմանի հայ մասնագետներին՝ հրավիրելով նրանց Հայաստանում պաշտոն ստանձնելու։ Դրսից նորեկողների համարես խոստացա ավելի բարձրվարձատրություն և դյուրություններտալ, քան արդեն պաշտոնավարողներին։ Երեք ամիս անցել է ահա և մինչև այսօրՈՉ ՄԻ դիմում չունեմ արտասահմանի հայ մասնագետներից, որոնց թիվը հարյուրներով է հաշվվում։ 
Նորից և վերջին անգամ հրապարակավ դիմում եմ ձեզ հայ գյուղատնտեսներ, անասնաբույծներ, անտառագետներ, հանքագետներ, ջրագետներ, այգեպաններ, կաթնատնտեսներև ուրիշ մասնագետներ՝ եկե՛ք Հայաստան, ուրձեզ համարկա առատ գործ և հարմարպաշտոններ։ Ճիշտ է, Հայաստանում աշխատելն այժմ դժվարէ և կապված է զոհողությունների հետ, բայց եթե դուք չեք գալու դժվարին օրերին, եթե չեք կամենում զոհողություն անել այսօր, վաղը, երբ հասնեն լայն ու հեշտ օրեր՝դուք այլևս ավելորդեք Հայաստանի համար։
Ինչու՞ ռուսը, լեհը կարող են հիմա էլ ծառայել Հայաստանում, իսկ դուք չեք կարող. ո՞րօրվա համարէ ձերհայրենասիրությունը։ Թե՞ կարծում եք, որԹիֆլիսում, Պոլսում և Ամերիկայում նստած, գեղեցիկ ճառերարտասանելով ու լավ-լավ խորհուրդներտալով մեզ՝ արդեն իսկ կատարած եք լինում ձերազգասիրական պարտականությունները։
Եթե դուք Հայաստանի հետ եք ու Հայաստանի բարեկամ՝ եկե՛ք Հայաստան, եթե չեք գալիս՝ թողե՛ք Հայաստանը հանգիստ։ Հայաստանը ձերճառերին ու խորհուրդներին կարոտ չէ. Հայաստանին ձերգործն է հարկավոր, ձերհմտությունը, ձերմասնագիտությունը, ձերհայագիտությունը։ 
Եկե՛ք»։ 

Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գյուղատնտեսության, պետական գույքի և աշխատանքի նախարարՍիմոն Վրացյան

1920 թ. հունիսի 12
Երևան

A Tribute to Lebanon: The Cradle of Armenian Diaspora Pop Music

Starting from the early 1960’s a host of Armenian singers and musical bands appeared on stage in Beirut, Lebanon using for the first time non-traditional instruments such as guitar, percussion drum-sets, electronic organ (keyboards), saxophone and the like ushering the Armenian music onto a new era away from its Ottoman influences. The ‘invasion’ of these musical bands lasted until the mid-1970’s and tapered off with the onset of the Lebanese Civil war having altered the popular Armenian music. Boghos Shahmelikian, a musician and a bass guitar player, narrated the era in his book titled "ՅիշատակներԱնցած Օրեր" ("Memories and Bygone Days"). I translated and expanded it into English. My maternal cousin Jack Chelebian M.D. edited the book as “The Dawn of Armenian Pop Music”. The Armenian Cultural by Hrach Kalsahakian published it.  The attached is the concluding chapter

The Five Fingers 

"Not long after I arrived in the United States, Adiss [Lebanese-Armenian singer, bandleader Harmandian] offered me to play bass guitar in his band at the nightclub he owned. At the end of my first day’s performance as I was getting ready to go home and leave my guitar behind, Pierre, Adiss’ brother, who played the drums in the band, advised me to take my guitar with me and cautioned that it could get stolen.

For years I had played with The Five Fingers [band] at the La Fourmi [a restaurant in a Lebanese mountain resort]. All of us left our instruments at the open-air restaurant. The possibility that they may be stolen had never crossed our minds. Lebanon is a small country. It was the country where everyone knew everyone else.

Lebanon not only welcomed the survivors of the Genocide of the Armenians but it also integrated them in the social and political fabric of the country. Unhindered by unwarranted intrusion in their personal and communal lives, the Armenians prospered financially and thrived culturally. In the sectarian make-up of governance in Lebanon, the Armenian community is considered one of the largest and is constitutionally assured of representation in the government. The Armenians thus became not only a constituent of the political make-up of the country but also enriched the cosmopolitan culture of its society.

The 1960s and the first half of the 1970s marked the golden age of music in Lebanon, especially in Beirut. The Armenians contributed far more than their demographic share. Many of the musicians and the music bands that made Lebanon the entertainment capital of the Middle East were Armenian.

The News

In summer the music bands and the singers entertaining the public in Lebanon’s famous mountain summer resorts--stretching from Dhour Shweir up to Mrouj--were almost all Armenian. In the center of Dhour Shweir, at the restaurant Le Centre, Vartivar Antossian sang with his Los Amores band. Right across it, at the Hawie restaurant, Adiss Harmandian sang accompanied by Jacques Kodjian and his band. Some 200 yards up the hill in a restaurant next to Hotel Kassouf, Ara Kekedjian sang accompanied by his band. Almost next to it, at the Homenetmen restaurant Varouj and his Days band performed every weekend. The La Fourmi restaurant wasn't far from it. The Five Fingers performed there. A little farther up the hill was the next summer resort of Bois de Bologne. Levon Katerjian sang there at the Samaha restaurant accompanied by his band. All these restaurants would be filled to capacity on weekends and the great majority of the customers were Armenian. The "Aztag" daily featured a cartoon, by Massis, depicting singer singing, “Who am I”, while the singer in the next restaurant sang, “Who are you?” In fact, while sitting in a restaurant one could hear the singer in the next.

In the late 1960s (the early 1970s), Alex Manougian was invited to Lebanon for the inauguration of a community center to be named after him. A dinner dance was held in his honor in Beirut's famed Hotel Phoenicia. The partitions between two large adjoining ballrooms were removed to accommodate the festivities. Almost all the prominent members of the Armenian community were present to pay homage to the great benefactor. The ballroom exuded exuberance. Only several years earlier, the Armenian community had commemorated the 50^th anniversary of the Genocide of the Armenians in the stadium named after President Camille Chamoun. That somber event had become a psychological boost to the community as well. The community had realized that it had come a long way since the 1915-1923 ordeal and was thriving, felt prosperous and confident. An Italian music band and Adiss, who was at the pinnacle of his career, provided the evening’s entertainment. I accompanied Adiss and his band.

While, addressing the audience, a teary-eyed Alex Manougian said that Ashoogh Djeevani (Աշուղ Ջիւանի)  had gotten it all wrong when he had sang that "bad days, much like winter, come and go...”. It’s not only the bad days, Manougian said, but also the good and happy days are also ephemeral. His words were not meant to be cautionary but were uttered to reflect his joy at the moment. The words proved to be prophetic nonetheless. Civil war erupted in Lebanon not too long after and changed the course of the country and of the Diaspora forever. The heart and soul of the Armenian Diaspora, the Armenian community of Lebanon, much like its host country, was gravely wounded, dysfunctional and prone to large-scale emigration.

Almost all the musicians I have mentioned in this book had their debuts in Lebanon. Some of them eventually achieved worldwide acclaim. I have attempted to portray the era as completely as possible and their contributions to the golden age of Armenian pop music in Lebanon as objectively as I could. I pray readers found my narration not only unbiased but also entertaining and enjoyable.

I have been in the United States for over three decades. I often reminisce about the bygone days in Lebanon. Last but not least, I would like to note that along with the many musicians I mentioned in this book, I also remain indebted to Lebanon for making my youthful aspirations to be a musician and our collective experiences in music possible. In doing so Lebanon became the cradle that ushered the “Dawn of (Diaspora) Armenian Pop Music ”.

Flowers- Dzaghigner (Ծաղիկներ) by Adiss

Those who came of age in 1960s in the Middle East remember the Armenian pop music star Adiss Harmandian who, out of the blue, burst onto the Armenian music scene with his Ծաղիկներ (Dzaghigner--Flowers) song and ushered a new era of Armenian pop music. Boghos Shahmelikian, a musician and a bass guitar player, narrated the behind the scenes of the musical phenomenon in his book titled "Յիշատակներ Անցած Օրեր" ("Memories and Bygone Days"). I translated and expanded it into English. My maternal cousin Jack Chelebian M.D. edited the book as “The Dawn of Armenian Pop Music”. The Armenian Cultural by Hrach Kalsahakian published it. The book may be purchased from Amazon.com. The attached is an excerpt from the book

“Among the Armenians who are interested in the theater, Calouste Jansezian is a well-known stage actor. He has successfully played different roles in the Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural Association’s Kaspar Ipekian Theater Group in Lebanon. He also loved to sing and wanted to produce Ծաղիկներ (Dzaghigner) song. He approached Daniel Der Sahakian, a successful producer of records. Daniel saw a business opportunity in Calouste’s proposal and financed the orchestration of the song with Reddy Bobbio, who was a well-known musician in Lebanon and played in prestigious nightclubs such as Phoenicia and Paon Rouge. The recording of the orchestration went smoothly. It was time to produce the record.

Any song that is produced on a record has its orchestration done ahead of time. Later it is played in the studio as the vocalist sings the song. The situation was no different when Calouste attempted to record the song. But alas, he did not succeed. His repeated attempts to record the song ended in failure. It became obvious that he did not possess that particular talent.

Daniel Der Sakakian, who had invested a lot of money in the orchestration of the song, naturally did not want to give up on his investment. He looked for singers to record the song. He approached Eddy Kev (Kevork Khacherian) and Manuel Menengichian. The two were notable singers with national acclaim. Both had won first prize in successive years in Pêle-Mêle, the Lebanese national television talent competition. They sang European songs and both refused to sing Dzaghigner.

Daniel then approached Ara Guiragossian who sang Armenian classical songs and exuded opera influences whereas the orchestration and the lyrics of Dzaghigner were of the popular genre. They agreed the song was not a good fit for the singer.

Daniel then approached Ara Kekedjian who had established a reputation as a singer of Armenian children’s songs. His records for more mature audiences had not been well received. After further consideration neither one found the song to be a good fit for Kekedjian.

Daniel was close to giving up on his investment when Antranig Mardirossian, who ran Lebanon’s first record store, suggested a young singer he knew from the Bourj-Hammoud neighborhood. “He sings well. He has already produced a record in French,” said Mardirossian and asked whether Daniel would like to try him. The young singer’s name was Adiss Harman. Having produced a record, Adiss had acquired experience in recording in a studio. His voice proved to be a natural fit for the song. They recorded the song and produced it under Daniel Der Sakakian’s label, VOS (Voice of the Stars). To promote the record, Adiss dropped his adopted surname, Harmand, in favor of his family name but retained his adopted artistic name.  The rest is Armenian musical history.

Ծաղիկներ (Dzaghigner) became an instant hit with a demand for more. The Armenian community seemed to have been craving for lighthearted songs and had finally found one. There was no time to waste. Soon after, they recorded other songs that proved to be no less popular: Մանուշակ (Manooshag), Մթնշաղ (Mntshagh), Ծաղիկներս ում Նուիրեմ (Dzaghigners Oum Nvirem), Այլ Աչեր Կան Իմ Սրտում (Ayl Acher Gan Im Srdoum).The songs were simple, easily understood. Hasmig Manasserian, a self-educated composer in Armenia, had composed the songs.

After Reddy Robio left Lebanon following his orchestration of the Ծաղիկներ (Dzaghigner), Jacques Kodjian took over and worked with Adiss for many years. Overnight, an Armenian pop--estradayin’-- star was born. Adiss gave concerts in many countries. He even toured the United States. Some fifty years ago that was no small feat. It was unprecedented for an Armenian singer to travel so far to give a concert. For a while I accompanied Adiss. It is hard to fathom that an Armenian singer could have mustered such popularity in the Armenian Diaspora or that the Armenian community could bestow such adulation on one of them, as they did on Adiss.

Adiss was 20 years old when he burst on the Armenian pop music scene. He had good looks. His overnight rise from obscurity to national fame arguably remains unprecedented in Armenian Diaspora music. Calouste Jansezian was the catalyst of Armenian pop music in the Diaspora. A catalyst accelerates the rate of a happening without itself undergoing any permanent change. He remained the notable stage actor but Adiss emerged as the undisputed pioneer and idol of Armenian Diaspora pop music. 

Adiss’ baptismal name is Avedis. His name means someone who brings good tidings. Indeed, he brought good tidings to Armenian culture by popularizing Armenian music. Thanks to his stamina, good looks, drive, likable personality on and off the stage, Adiss remains an undisputed leader of Armenian pop music. His contribution to Armenian culture was formally recognized when Catholicos Aram I bestowed upon him the Order of Saint Mesrob Mashtots in 2005. Adiss Harmandyan, the first Armenian pop music singer is also the first modern Armenian pop music star to be bestowed with the ecclesiastical order.”

Yetvart Boyadjian: The Writer and the Man

By Ohan Tabakian M.D.

The attached is my abridged translation of the first chapter from Dr. Ohan Tabakian's book "Memories and Life Experiences from the Dreamy Aleppo - Յուշեր ու Ապրումներ Երազային Հալէպէն). Both of them were my teachers in Sourp Nshan School. Yetvart Boyadjian taught us Armenian language for many years. Ohan Tabakian M.D. taught us chemistry during our graduating year, when he was a medical student. Both and some of the other teachers graciously accepted my parents' invitation to celebrate my graduation as depicted in the attached pictures. Vahe H. Apelian.

Yetvart Boyadjian

“Yetvart Boyadjian was my teacher in the Haigazian School in Aleppo from 1946 to 1948.

We lived in the same neighborhood. In those years the students had a lunch break at noon and went to their homes to have their lunch. He had tasked me to stop by their house, on my way back to school, and bring to him his lunch in the three-tier copper lunch canister that was customarily used in those days. I proudly carried the canister to school gently swinging it back and forth. I felt honored that I was given such an assignment. After all, I was the one who brought the teacher’s lunch to school. Thus I considered that I had a privileged relationship with my teacher.

After I graduated from kindergarten, I started attending another school and thus lost touch with him. In 1958 we moved to Beirut so that I will be able to continue my education in medicine there. I was offered a part-time teaching job in the Sourp (Saint) Nshan Armenian school where I was to teach chemistry and biology while continuing my education.

I was pleasantly surprised when I met him on the very first day I reported to the school. Baron Boyadjian taught Armenian to the higher classes of the school. Right after I greeted and embraced him he told me to address him by his name Yetvart and do away using the adjective “baron”. “We are colleagues now,” he told me. In time a special relationship blossomed between him and me.

Yetvart Boyadjian was born in 1915 in Jabal Mousa (Musa Dagh) in Khdr Bek village. He received his primary education from the local schools of Khdr Bek and Yoghun Oluk and at the age of fifteen, he started the second phase of his education in the Armenian Jemaran School of Beirut where he stayed for five years until 1935. Afterward, he became a teacher.

The clear bright days and the star-studded nights of his ancestral village always enamored him. But the turn of events in his life mostly kept him away from his ancestral village and left him wanting to live the village life. To make up for what he lost, he started writing an early age noting that he did not play much. He contributed to "Hayrenik" monthly, "Haratch", "Aztag" daily, "Nayiri" weekly, "Hask", "Dziadzan", "Aztarar", and "Agos" publications using different pen names such as Vazken Diranian, Y. Sarian, and Y. Dzovigian.

He wrote stories, prose, and poems and authored the following books “Love and Sorrow” (Ser Yev Vishd – Սէր եւ Վիշտ, 1944),  “The Land” ( Hoghe – Հողը, 1948), “Letter To My Children) (Tought Zavagnerous – Թուղթ Զաւակներուս, 1961),  “ An Exile’s Ledger” (Domar Darakri – Տոմար Տարագրի, 1963),“Two Letters” (Yergou Namagner – Երկու Նամակներ, 1964),  “Faces” (Temker – Դեմքեր, 1964), “Lost Birthplace” (Dznntavayr Gorousial – Ծննդավայր Կորուսեալ, 1984). 

" Often during our free time in the school, he and I would walk in the school’s yard conversing. Our walk also  gave him the liberty of smoking. In those days there was no ruling against smoking. But a few of our colleagues had complained to the principal voicing their opposition for his smoking in the break room during recess. 

The  Soupr Nshan school, its namesake church, and the Prelacy were next to each other in the same compound. Often time the Prelate, Archbishop Khoren Paroyan would join us. Most of our conversation was about the turmoil that affected the Armenian community in those years. 

Yetvart Boyadjian had a  daring and rebellious streak in him. His writing style reflected those traits. In one of his writings, he wrote: “Whoa to those who have no power in their nails. Whoa to the person who is away from the battlefield, away from the land. Alas to such persons and what a pity to such nations.”

He was a true son of the legendary Mussa Dagh. He was a man of strong convictions and remained steadfast in his principles. He was extremely kind, good-natured, unpretentious and an unassuming man. 

As a teacher of the Armenian language, he made a modest living. The good natured villager was his hallmark. He maintained a simple lifestyle camouflaging anguish and deprivation. He remained a very attentive parent and a much sought social company. He remained true to himself and there was nothing that masked him, 

 Yetvart Boyadjian drew contentment in teaching the Armenian language to the children of the genocide survivors growing up in a far away land. He drew much satisfaction in imparting to them the love of the Armenian language and all things Armenian. Nowadays his former students are dispersed all over the Diaspora. They are torchbearers of the present day Armenia. They remain steadfast in pursuing a just resolution of the Armenian cause. Undoubtedly something from Yetvart Boyadjian’s soul reverberates in his former students.

He passed away in 1965, at the age of 50, in Beirut, Lebanon far away from his ancestral village where he was born. Incense and wreath to his unforgettable sweat memory."

Sculpting the Bust of Nerses the Great and the Statue of David

Vahe H. Apelian

Did Michaelangelo sculpt the statue of David in its entirity?

Not necessarily. Let me explain why do I think so.

Years ago Albert Arakelian, an Armenian sculptor from Armenia sculpted the bust of Nerses The Great with a background depicting Armenian cross-stone and had the two pieces placed on the grounds of the Home For The Armenian Aged, presently called Armenian Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He did the sculpting all by himself in the one-room storage that was on the grounds at that time. He donated his artistry to the Home as a gesture of his appreciation because the Home of the Armenian Aged had provided him and his family room and board on the second floor. The seond floor is not used for resident care and reained mostly unoccupied.

I was a member of the Board of Trustees at that time and I was tasked to assist him in purchasing the pieces of the marble for this sculpting. It is from him that I learned that the sculptor does not necessarily sculpt the whole piece by himself. He told me that in Armenia there are certified chiselers who do that under the supervision of the sculptor.

What does a sculptor do and how is piece sculpted then?

Albert first prepared a small clay model of the bust. He worked the details on the clay model. He then had a solid gypsum cast made from the clay model. He told me that what distinguishes the sculptor from a chiseler is the sculptor’s artistic creation.

Once the gypsum cast was ready, he and I went to a dealer and bought the two pieces of the marble, one for the bust and the other for sculpting Armenian cross-stone for the background. Based on the size of marble piece and his gypsum model, he estimated how much to enlarge the gypsum cast model to fit the marble piece. He measured the different features on the gypsum model with a compass like measuring device he fabricted and had the gymsum model enlarged so many times. He tmarked the marble piece accordingly and started chiseling to sculpt.

He sculpted the whole piece. He said that had it been in Armenia he would have certified chiselers do that under his supervision because chiseling the stone is a very tedious and lengthy process. In this case, the process took longer than what he had experienced in Armenia because the marble is a very hard. He told me that Armenia’s famous volcanic rock called douf is relatively soft when quarried and lends itself to sculpting with relative ease and that it gets harder and harder when exposed to the elements. The longer the sculpted douf rocks are exposed to the elements of nature, the harder they get.

The other challenge he encountered was imperfection is the solid white marble in appearance. Colored veins appeared as he chiseled the marble and thus had to work around them by chiselling more of the marble to get rid of such veins while keeping the features of the bust.

Albert had a lot of experience and hence overcame such challenges. Recently I read about a young Armenian girl from Lebanon, Narine Poladian, who has moved to Armenia and has learned sculpting cross-stones and is working in that capacity. Over time she design her own and have assistants to carve her artistic creations.

I had always thought that Michelangelo sculpted the statue of David head to toe. After witnessing what Albert Arakelian did, I now remain skeptical that he sculpted the entire statue by himself. Surely he made a small model of David’s statue and had the model enlarged so many times to fit the piece of the exquisite marble he used but I envision that in all probability he had chiselers who chiseled the marble under his supervison based on the model he had created. Surely he did the finishing touches to create that exquisite piece for all times.

Naturally, Albert Arakelian did not know about the founding of the Home and wondered what to sculpt. I suggested to him to sculpt the bust of Neses the Great and presented him with a fictional drawing I had come across. Sculpting the likeness with its overflowing beard was a huge challenge but Albert Arakelian accepted the challenge.

Archbishop Karekin Hovsepian was the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the United States since 1936. He was elected Catholicos on May 10, 1944, but had not left the country to occupy his seat in the Catholicosate of Cilicia in Antelias, Lebanon due to the raging of the great-war, often referred to as the Second World War. It was Catholicos Karekin I who suggested that the newly found Home For The Armenian Aged be dedicated to the Catholicos Nerses the Great whose patriarchate marked a new era in Armenian history. “Until that point, the Church had been more or less identified with the royal family and the nobles; Nerses brought it into closer connection with the people. At the Council of Ashtishat he promulgated numerous laws on marriage, fast days, and divine worship. He built schools and hospitals and sent monks throughout the land to preach the Gospel/” (Wikipedia).

Albert Arakelian’s sculpted bust stands on the grounds of the Armenian Home in Emerson, NJ with a plaque gratefully acknowledging his artistry.

Ohan Tabakian M.D. and the Dreamy Haleb

Vahe H. Apelian

Ohan Tabakian, M.D

Ohan Tabakian was a teacher of mine when I graduated from Sourp Nshan in 1962. From kindergarten to the 9th-grade graduating class, I was a student there.  I had noted that our graduating senior class had an unusual array of teachers who were part-timers because they were continuing their education. Naturally we looked upon them as sources of high authority and senior figures but in reality and hindsight, we students and they as teachers were contemporaries. Naturally, they were older than us by a few years but in all probability less than a decade

After my graduation, we parted ways. I have no recollection of having met them in person since. But lately thanks to the social medium I have connected with two of them. Most of the rest have passed away. 

Ohan Tabakian taught us chemistry while he was pursuing his medical education in the Université Saint-Joseph. Recently he published two books. One book is a collection of stories and anecdotes about his medical practice. Each story ends with a thoughtful conclusion about aspects of the life his patients lived. The other is a collection of stories about his formative years living in Aleppo. He graciously gifted me a copy of his books.

The following is noted in the short biography stated in his books.

Ohan Tabakian, M.D. received his primary education in Haigazian School in Aleppo and his secondary education in the Lycée français d'Alep Mission laïque Française in Aleppo as well.

He received his medical school diploma in 1964 from the Saint Joseph University in Lebanon and a few years later he immigrated to Canada where he continued his specialty training in Hotel Dieu hospital in Montreal, Canada. He authored and co-authored research articles in French and general health-related articles in Armenian periodicals.

He has been a member of the Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Association from his youth and over the years he has assumed responsible roles in the same. He continues to be active in the Montreal Armenian communal life.

It would be worthwhile to note that his book about his life in Aleppo in his formative years will be the third book I will be reading about Haleb, the Armenian Aleppo. The first is Antranig Zarougian’s book whose title “Dreamy Haleb” (Yerazayin Haleb – Երազային Հալէպ) has become a commonplace expression about the post-genocide Armenian experience in Aleppo. The second book I read is Zaven Khanjian’s book titled “Aleppo First Station” (Haleb Arachin Gayaran – Հալէպ Առաջին Կայարան). Ohan Tabakian’s book is titled  “Memories and Reminiscences From Dreamy Aleppo” (Housher yev Abroumner Yerazayin Haleben – Յուշեր եւ Ապրումներ Երազային Հալէպէն)

No doubt that the Armenian experience in Aleppo has left an indelible favorable impression on those who grew up amid the vibrant Armenian community in the city. Otherwise we would not have encountered such books about it. Viken L. Attarian succinctly noted the following about Aleppo. “Haleb is undoubtedly a milestone in the evolution of our Armenian Diasporan identity of the post-Genocide period.  I believe that it is there that the future community of Beirut was forged, and from then on to the different realities of our existence in the West.  In the great migration of our people, Haleb was the first place of a Great Gathering after the initial murderous big bang of the Great Dispersion. The above applies to all aspects of community life, whether they be historical, cultural, political, artistic, literary and so on.  This is not to minimize the roles of other places.  Far from it, but if there are temporal and geographic points of reference around which our existence coalesced after 1915, Haleb was surely the first.”

We all know that the Armenian community in Aleppo, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the city, faced lately an existential experience because of the raging civil war in Syria. It is claimed that the overwhelming majority of the Armenians living in the city have left it and dispersed all over the globe.

In his book about Aleppo, Antranig Dzarougian noted the following. “I have had numerous occasions to write and speak about Haleb Armenians in large halls, in front of hundreds of people. Let me say my real thoughts from the heart. However the number of Haleb Armenians dwindles, the root remains. I remain with a deep conviction that the Haleb Armenian is the rose of the Diaspora. If we liken the Armenian Diaspora to a tasty fruit, its seed has come from Haleb.” 

The war-torn city of Aleppo endures so do the remaining Armenian inhabitants of the city and Haleb, the Armenian Aleppo, remains indelibly entrenched in the memories of those who lived in city once, including Ohan Tabakian’s.

“Memories and Reminiscences From Dreamy Aleppo” by Ohan Tabakian M.D.

"Anecdotes From A Physician's Life" By Ohan Tabakian  M.D.

The Lord’s Prayer: Do VORBES and INCHBES mean AS?

Vahe H. Apelian

Recently Pope Francis made waves when he approved an updated translation of the Lord’s Prayer changing it to read “Do Not Let Us Fall Into Temptation” instead of the customarily recited “Lead Us Not Into Temptation”. One cannot argue against his choice of the verbiage. Surely the Lord does not lead us into temptation.

Historians claim that the Bible was first translated in Armenian in 434, naturally after the discovery of the Armenian alphabet. Linguists claim the original translation of the Bible in Classical Armenian is so pristine that it is called the “the Queen of the Translations” (Թագուհի Թարգմանչաց). The Armenian Apostolic Church uses this version of the  Bible to this day.

The Armenian vernacular translation of the Bible came about in the 19th century due to the movement that gave birth to the Armenian Evangelical Community. The translation from the classical to the vernacular inevitably brought in words that appear not to convey the same or not to convey the intent with same intensity and depth.

It was interesting for me to read recently an exchange between my maternal cousin Jack Chelebian and paternal cousin Ara Apelian. Both are physicians and both are avid readers both in Armenian and in English. Their exchange highlighted nuances in the wording of the Proverb 1:2 which the Armenian tradition claims, is the very first phrase that the translators translated. They found that the Proverb in the Vernacular Armenian is not as eloquent as the original in Classical Armenian and does not coney the same depth. Such is my opinion as well.

Years ago, my mother pointed out to me a similar situation between the  Classical and Vernacular Armenian translations of the Lord’s Prayer, pertaining to the following sentence.

«Եւ թող մեզ զպարտիս մեր, ՈՐՊԷՍ և մեք թողումք մերոց պարտապանաց» (Գրաբար)

« Եվ մեզ ներիր մեր պարտքերը, ԻՆՉՊԵՍ մենք կներենք մեր պարտապաններին» (Աշխարհաբար)

“and forgive us our trespasses, AS we forgive those who trespass against us”

First, let me dwell on the word AS in English. Often, whenever I recite the Lord’s Prayer in English, I am reminded of the following when it comes to the word AS. A physician telling his patient: “Do AS I tell you, but do not do AS I do”. In the first instance, the word AS conveys instruction by the higher authority, the physician, to the patient. In the second instance, the word AS conveys not acting as the person does. In the latter case the word AS links two actions, much like saying “ I was listening to music AS I was reading”. In both instances, I find the use of the word AS in the Lord’s Prayer, out of place because the one who prays seems to tell the Lord to do towards the person as the person does toward others; consequently, the person presents himself or herself as a role model for the Lord to emulate. Or at best, invites the Lord to do as the person does. In both instances, I believe, the use of the word AS violates the essence of the prayer because I believe that a person prays the Lord to forgives his trespasses SO THAT he can forgive others. Surely someone whose trespasses the Lord has not forgiven cannot possibly have a devine authority in the person’s sinful self, to forgive the tresspasses of others.

The Lord’s Prayer in Vernacular Armenian vernacular conveys what AS conveys in the English and hence uses the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), which means AS.

The Lord’s Prayer in Classical Armenian, on the other hand, uses a completely different word, ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). All the rest of the words of the Lord’s Prayer both in Classical and Vernacular are phonetically similar to each other and mean the same with the exception of these two words ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES) and ՈՐՊԷՍ (VORBES). Although phonetically difference does not necessary means differences in the meaning. Sounding the Lord’s Prayer in Classical and in Vernacular Armenian, I remain under the impression that I am not reciting the same. I remain under the impression the word VORBES in Classical Armenian is more closely related to the Venracular Armenian  word VORBESZI (ՈՐՊԷՍԶԻ), meaning SO THAT, than the word ԻՆՉՊԵՍ (INCHBES), meaning AS.

Let us face it. Words in a language have inherent nuances that evolve over time and have profound implication in our daily use. For an example. Both of my parents have  passed away. During their lifetime I could not, nor would I do now, use the word love as a verb when addressing my affection to them. Let me state it in Armenian  “Hayr gam mayr yes tzezi  shad ge serem” (Հայր կամ Մայր ես ձեզի շատ կը սիրեմ). But in English one could use the verb love with the same comfort as loving a certain ice cream flavor or expressing affection to one’s Dad or Mom. 

I continue to remain unsure whether VORBES in Classical Armenian and INCHBES in Vernacular Armenian, when reciting the Lord’s Prayer, convey the same.