UNFOUNDED OUTCRY

Vahe H. Apelian

In my blog regarding installing a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Yerevan, I had noted the following: “Throughout my penning in my blog, I have steered away from making commentaries that may come across polarizing in nature. The 283 posted blogs attest to that. Most of my blogs are originals. They are my own. But I have also translated many stories that I thought shed light on our history which otherwise might not have been accessible to my English reading audience. The primary language of my blog is English. This blog will be an exception.”

And exception it became with almost hysterical and unfounded outcry against the government of Armenia for having accepted the Indian government’s proposal to have a statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed in Yerevan which the municipality of Yerevan has agreed to do and have the statue installed in Armenia’s capital city, Yerevan.

I make no biblical reference but allude to the common parlance that “no man is a prophet in his own country” and surely Mahatma Gandhi is not in his own country. But yet again he is generally accepted to be the father of passive resistance. I quote Wikipedia “passive resistance. passive resistance A tactic of non-violent resistance to authority pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi in his campaign against the British government in India in the 1930s and 1940s. Passive resistance has since become an accepted way for minorities to place moral pressure on majorities.”  I am no social scientist so I invite those who have expertise in the matter to refute what is generally accepted to be the case regarding Mahatma Gandhi, that Martin Luther King Jr. based the Civil Rights movement he led on such a principal; so did Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Tutu led their movement that ended apartheid in South Africa.

As to a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, I quote Wikipedia to note that: “In the United States, there is a statue of Gandhi outside the Union Square Park in New York City, and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, and a Mahatma Gandhi Memorial on Massachusetts avenue in Washington, D.C.  near the Indian Embassy. There is a Gandhi statue  in San Francisco Embarcadero Neighborhood. In 2009, a statue of Gandhi was installed outside the Bellevue Library in Washington state.”.  

As a further note from Wikipedia again, there is a statue in Brisbane, Australia, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Burgos, Spain, Beijing, China, Johannesburg, South Africa, and list goes on.

A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Yerevan, surely would not be looked out of place.

As to Armenian Indian relations, I would like to bring to the attention of interested readers that  during the last few years I have read several authoritative articles in keghart.com about the Armenian presence in India by Liz Chater, who is an authority on the presence of Armenians on the historic Indian subcontinent. I invite interested readers to visit Keghart.com and type her name in the search and read the informed articles she wrote about the presence of Armenians in Indiat, that continues to this day where prominently stands, I quote her “ the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA) of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta)” that celebrated in 2016, its 195^th year, "honouring founder Arratoon Kaloos, financial supporter Sir Paul Chater, and six former students who left their mark on the Far East business life and on the Armenian Diaspora.” Armenian students from Diaspora continue to study there.

For my contemporaries growing in the close-knit Armenian community in Lebanon and attending Armenian schools, the following were fairly known. I quote Wikipedia to substantiate what I had accepted to be true.

        “Under the shade of frangipani trees in the quiet garden of Chennai’s 245-year-old Armenian Church is a grave decorated with an open book. Engraved on the book in block letters is the word “Azdarar”, which means “The Intelligencer” in Armenian. This was the first Armenian journal in the world, published in Madras in the year 1794, when the merchant community from the mountainous, Eurasian country was thriving in the city. The grave belongs to Reverend Haruthium Shmavonian (1750-1824), who was the editor and founder of Azdarar, hailed as the Father of Armenian Journalism. Shmavonian was born in Shiraz, a cultural hub in Iran. After the sudden death of his two sons, Shmavonian moved away from the crowded city to study Persian, which he ultimately mastered. His later voyages led him to settle down as a priest in Old Madras, where he eventually began the journal Azdarar on October 28, 1794 publishing business and world news in Armenian for the settlers in Madras.” Yes, the first Armenian journal was printed in India.

The great Armenian sea faring merchants were based in the city of Madras, the present Chenai. As a testament of their prominence to this day stands “Armenian Street, locally known as Aranmanaikaran Street, is one of the historical streets of the commercial centre of George Town, in Chennai, India” .

It is fascinating to read  that  “The little known Armenian constitution was titled Vorogayt Parats and Nshavak – “Snare of Glory” and “Target” – which were volumes that represent some of the very earliest modern constitutional political writing in the world. Authored and published by Shahamir Shahamirian in his printing house in Madras (India) where he settled as a merchant among a small Armenian community of India.” The printing of this constitution took place in 1773. 

No, I am not going to bother the esteemed readers with tidbits such as the ones I quoted. Those interested to read about the few century old presence of the Armenians in India, may do so by purchasing the following book “Armenians in India, from the earliest times to the present day: A work of original research”. The book is written by Mesrovb Jacob Seth. It is printed on January 1, 1983. The book is 629 pages long. Amazon.com claims that it has only one copy left and it retails  for $935.25. No, I do not have a copy and yes, I have not read the book.

To the person who cynically questioned me if I am a member of Yerevan Municipality for standing by its decision to have a statue of Gandhi installed in Yerevan; I say, no I am not a member of the Yerevan municipality but I, not only  support its decision to have responded affirmatively to the Indian Government’s proposal, but I also applaud its decision. 

It’s high time that we acknowledge the historic ties of Armenia / Armenians with India by honoring one of its internationally acclaimed historic figure, Mahatma Gandhi.

Anna The Bride

By

Shahe' Kasparian

Shahe' Kasparian wrote this poem in the memory of Anna Titizian from village Kaladouran in Kessab. She is the heroine of the epic novel titled “Anna The Bride” by her late grandson Kevork George Apelian. The book was translated into English by Annie Hoglind.

Anna The Bride

A striking pearl necklace adorning  her neck,

she was so stunning with hazel almond eyes,

a gorgeous complexion with no speck,

glowing  beauty in the midnight moonrise.

Long silky black hair, braided to her waist,

she shined, the  moon paling in comparison,

a daunting and arduous  journey she faced

in a lacy traditional shawl delightfully crimson.

In the middle of the night, shivering  and cold

with a scant foot sandal, walked over rocks

amidst the howling of coyotes so bold,

never to look back, strolled  so many blocks.

She was engaged to one not of her choosing,

she denied her father's & mother's strong wish

and in spite of their will, not a minute losing

she embarked on  a voyage of uncertain finish.

No one so pretty like her had dared  elope

alone in the dark she carried on and on,

frightened and confused down the slope,

determined to get to her lover before dawn.

Sobbing at times but surely always smiling

she longed for the encounter and anticipated

the last step in her new passage  and yearning,

new beginning,  new chapter, to be created.

And so she was united at last with her lover,

betrothed  to each other for all eternity

conceived their first child under heavy cover

only  to be separated from her community.

He travelled  far away to the land of free

sent word for her to name their second child

possibilities  for a family reunion never to be

but she never lost hope and always complied.

Sad  circumstances looming over the horizon,

once again she was forced against all her wishes

time to walk the march of death with no reason

like her million and a half sisters and  brothers.

Evil Ottoman empire schemed to annihilate,

eradicate any trace of Armenian descendants

but their plans were destined to a different fate

children scattered in the world of remnants.

She and her firstborn went through carnage

succumbed to an untimely and tragic death

her angelic life curtailed like her marriage

only to leave a legacy of precious breath.

Anna  Bride  will always be remembered

even though she has no grave or tombstone

she lives on in the ten million strong bred

her indomitable spirit surely infinitely grown.

Shahe' Kasparian 2-14-14

Posted with his permission.

Kevork George Apelian

Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue in Yerevan

Vahe H. Apelian

 

First and foremost, I would like to note the following. I have been maintaining my blog since March 2017. Throughout my penning in my blog, I have steered away from making commentaries that may come across polarizing in nature. The 283 posted blogs attest to that. Most of my blogs are originals. They are my own. But I have also translated many stories that I thought shed light on our history which otherwise might not have been accessible to my English reading audience. The primary language of my blog is English.

This blog will be an exception.

 It pertains to the issue of installing the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Yerevan. Many in the social media post commentaries against the installation. Those who make those commentaries do not necessarily come from Armenia only. Many are from the Diaspora.  Most attempt to impart an air authority as if having mastered the history of India, center it on a stand that Mahatma Gandhi allegedly took against Armenia during its crucial history between 1915-1920. I say allegedly because I have not read the statement he made in any history book. But my layman’s knowledge of Mohatma Gandhi and India, I bet, is no different than those who comment with a mistaken authority on Mahatma Gandhi’s stand and hence blame the Municipality of Yerevan and the Armenian Government for planning to install Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Yerevan. The debate acquires a far-reaching dimension claiming that the government is more interested in installing Mahatma Gandhi’s statue than those of the Armenian historical figures, further muddying the issue with such unnecessary linkages. The issue basically pertains simply on the merit on the installation of the statue.

My commentary pertains only to that. That is to say, on the merit installing  the Mohatma Gandhi’s statue.

.First and foremost, it is not the Yerevan municipality or the government  of Armenia who, out of blue, have suddenly decided to install Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. It is the government of India who has proposed to have his statue installed.  I quote: “YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 17, ARMENPRESS. The Embassy of India in Armenia has proposed to install a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Yerevan, Yerevan City Councillor Levon Zakaryan from the My Step faction said on social media. He said the proposed locations of the statue are either the Circle Park or the park adjacent to the Republican Hospital.”

Obviously those who comment against the installation of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue want the Armenian government refuse Indian Embassy's proposal. I see no justification for Armenia to take such a draconian stand against the Indian Government. Needless to say, Mohatma Gandhi is an internationally revered figure. “Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.” Famously said Albert Einstein.

I noted earlier that I have not read the statement about Armenians Mahatma Gandhi has said in any history book other the comments I read on Facebook. I will not question the veracity of Gandhi’s statement allegedly against Armenian during the 1915-1920 crucial period of our history, but I will put it in context.

We have to bear in mind that India gained its independence from the British rule in 1947. Wikipedia notes that  Indians celebrate their  Independence Day  annually on  August 15, as a national  holiday marking the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the UK Parliament passed the Indian Independence Act. Consequently, India was a not accepted onto the fold of nations as an independent state to have set its course of foreign policy during 1915-1920 period.

We should also bear in mind that Mohatma Gandhi, who is considered to be the father or the architect of independent India, was not elected into any office although he remained the voice and the conscious of the Indian people throughout his life and naturally remains revered to this day.

What was India then during 1915-1920 crucial period of our history?

India as we know today did not exist then. It was the British India that comprised what is modern day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the disputed Kashmir region. It will be a historical understatement to note that the British India was a whole subcontinent and within this subcontinent Gandhi led the fight against the powerful British Empire of the day. It was the global empire where sun never set as it carved the world according to its interests. India had no say during those years.

What was the vision of Mohatma Gandhi during independence war he led during 1915-1920?

Mahatma Gandhi stood for an undivided British India gaining its independence. To assure the Muslim minority that they will be welcomed and not harmed in the emerging India he led, Mahatma Gandhi went out of his way to placate the Muslim population of India by making serious concessions to their political leaders to occupy the important seats of the emerging India he envisioned and advocated. Gandhi’s stand did not sit well with the Hindu nationalists and as a consequence of which he was assassinated by one of them. The outcome is history now.

It does not surprise me that within the context of what he advocated and envisioned for India, he might have made statement to the affect having Armenia within Turkey. Surely Mahatma Gandhi had experienced the British ire but not the Turkish yatagan, Armenians experienced for centuries.

Whatever Mahatma Gandhi said within the context of what transpired over 100 years ago, not honoring the Indian Government’s proposal and not erect a statue  of Mahatma Gandhi and accord it an official opening worthy of what Mahatma Gandhi stood for, will be a serious political mistake and will adversely effect our bilateral relations. And those who oppose the erection of the statue with uncalled for rhetorics, would be contributing to that grave mistake.

Bloody News From My Friend

Vahe H Apelian

"Human justice, I spit on your face" often quoted by the Armenians is from the  eminent author Siamanto's poem titled "The Dance" from his "Bloody News From My Friend” book. The title of the book has an interesting story pertaining to its titling.

The book titled “Կարմիր Լուրեր Բարեկամէս" (Garmir Lourer Paregames) in Armenian, was fairly well known in my days attending Armenian School in Beirut. But, I often wondered why Siamanto gave the book such an odd title. Whenever I inquired about it, the customary explanation given to me amounted to no more than a repetition of the title. It took me a few decades to uncover the answer. My eureka moment happened midway reading Peter Balakian’s “The Black Dog of Fate", which in my estimation, propelled Peter Balakian to the forefront of the Armenian-American literature, if not American literature as well. 

Peter Balakian elaborated on the turn of the events that led Siamento title the book the way he did in his translation of the book with Nevart Yaghlian. In the introduction, Peter Balakian noted that growing up he had heard during family conversations that his grandfather, who had died more than a decade before he was born,  had something to do with a very famous book of poetry among the Armenians. Peter's grandfather Diran Balakian and Adom Yarjanian, the baptismal name of Siamanto, were friends and came from middle- to upper-middle class families from the famous Armenian inhabited town Agn (see the note). Both went to Europe to further their studies. Diran studied medicine in Leipzig (Germany). Adom studied literature in Paris.

Diran returned to Constantinople in 1905 and started practicing medicine. In 1909,  with a group of Armenian physicians, he went to Adana to help the survivors of one of the worst pre-genocide large-scale atrocities and killings perpetrated against the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The tragedy is known in Armenian history as the Adana Massacre. Although the atrocities started in the city of Adana in April, they were not confined to that city alone but were spread across the Armenian Cilicia, including Kessab. 

Peter Balakian's paternal grandfather Diran recorded in letters his eyewitness accounts of the atrocities perpetrated against the Armenians.  Unfortunately, the letters are lost. There seem to be two accounts as to how his friend Adom Yarjanian came to know about the atrocities firsthand. In one version, Diran Balakian wrote to his friend Adom. In another version, Diran wrote home to his parents and Adom, being a family friend, read the letters when he visited them. In any event, it is to the news from Peter Balakian’s paternal grandfather that Siamanto alluded to in the titling his book of poetry as "Bloody News From my Friend".

It is apparent that Siamanto wrote the poems of the book on the spur of the moment, moved by the atrocities described in the letters his friend Diran Balakian wrote. Simanto had the book published in the same year, 1909, in Constantinople. It appears that the book was also  reprinted in 1910 in Watertown, MA by the “Hairenik” press when he was the editor of the "Hairenik" Daily.

Adom Yarjanian, better known by his pen name Siamanto, was born on August 15, 1878 and lived with his parents in his birthplace Agn until the age 14. It is during these formative years that he showed an unusual talent in writing poetry and was endearingly nicknamed Siamanto. There does not seem to be an explanation as to how the moniker came about and was given to him at that young age and what it actually means. He ended up using it for the rest of his life. 

The family moved to Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1891 where Adom continued his studies at the famed Berberian School. He graduated in 1896, during the mass slaughter known in history as the Hamidian Massacres that claimed the lives of up to  250,000 to 300,000 Armenians.  Like many other Armenian intellectuals, Adom Yarjanian also fled the country to Europe fearing persecution.

Siamanto also seemed to have been driven by wanderlust. After finishing his studies at the Sorbonne University in Paris, he moved to Cairo, Zurich, and Geneva where he contributed to "Troshag", the organ of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation party. He then returned to Constantinople where he became privy to eyewitness accounts of the atrocities against the Armenians in the southeast of the country, wrote and had his famous book of poetry published in 1909. For the next two years he lived in Watertown, Massachusetts as the editor of the "Hairenik" daily. He then traveled to the Caucasus before returning to Constantinople where he was arrested on the eve of April 24, 1915, along with other prominent Armenian literary and community leaders and was martyred.

Siamanto did not appear to have been distracted by his wanderlust. It might even have helped boost his creative genius. Throughout his travels he always interacted with Armenian intellectuals and worked in Armenian institutions and left behind a rich literary legacy. Along with the other slain figures, Taniel Varoujan, Roupen Sevag, Krikor Zohrab and others, he helped raise Western Armenian literature to its apex following a long dormancy only to be cut short by the Genocide. He stands as one of the towering figures of that renaissance. 

“Bloody News From My Friend” comprises of 12 poems. For the very first time, Peter Balakian with Nevart Yaghlian translated the book for English language readers. The second listed poem in the book is titled “The Dance”. It is a description of a dance that will remain forever etched in the Armenian psyche.  “Human justice, I spit in your face”, as noted, is quoted from that poem.

The poem is often recited during commemorations of the Armenian Genocide, although, as noted, but it was written six years before 1915. Armenian painters have depicted "The Dance" on canvas. Naked Armenian women dancing is the most graphic scene in Atom Egoyan’s “Ararat” film. The most lasting is the life-long etching in the memory of Armenians that one sentence "Human justice, let me spit in your face", 

 The poem is attached.

The Dance

In a field of cinders where Armenian life 
was still dying,
a German woman, trying not to cry
told me the horror she witnessed:

"This thing I'm telling you about,
I saw with my own eyes,

Behind my window of hell

I clenched my teeth
 and watched the town of Bardez turn 
into a heap of ashes.

The corpses were piled high as trees,

and from the springs, from the streams and the road,

the blood was a stubborn murmur,

and still calls revenge in my ear.

Don't be afraid; I must tell you what I saw.

so people will understand

the crimes men do to men.

For two days, by the road to the graveyard …



Let the hearts of the world understand,

It was Sunday morning,

the first useless Sunday dawning on the corpses.

From dawn to dusk I had been in my room

with a stabbed woman —


my tears wetting her death —


when I heard from afar


a dark crowd standing in a vineyard


lashing twenty brides and singing filthy songs.



Leaving the half-dead girl on the straw mattress,

I went to the balcony of my window


and the crowd seemed to thicken like a clump of trees


An animal of a man shouted, "You must dance,


dance when our drum beats."



With fury whips cracked
on the flesh of these women.



Hand in hand the brides began their circle dance.



Now, I envied my wounded neighbor


because with a calm snore she cursed


the universe and gave up her soul to the stars …

"Dance," they raved,


"dance till you die, infidel beauties


With your flapping tits, dance!



Smile for us. You're abandoned now,


you're naked slaves,


so dance like a bunch of fuckin' sluts.



We're hot for your dead bodies.


Twenty graceful brides collapsed.



"Get up," the crowed screamed,


brandishing their swords.



Then someone brought a jug of kerosene.


Human justice, I spit in your face.



The brides were anointed.



"Dance," they thundered —


"here's a fragrance you can't get in Arabia."


With a torch, they set 
the naked brides on fire.



And the charred bodies rolled 
and tumbled to their deaths …


I slammed my shutters,


sat down next to my dead girl



and asked: "How can I dig out my eyes?"

Translated by Peter Balakian and Nevart Yaghlian



Note: "Agn and Agnetsis, Ottoman Bankers" August 8, 2018

The Twelve Slabs of the Genocide Memorial

Vahe H. Apelian

An aerial view of the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Armenia

Recently I came across the attached picture of the Armenian Genocide Memorial in Armenia on an elevation called Tsitsernakaberd. It was the very first time I saw the memorial pictured from above. It cast an impressive image. The flowers put in the memorial on an April 24 commemoration enhanced the symbolism of what the memorial stood for and brought it live.

According to the Wikipedia “ The construction of the monument began in 1966, during Soviet times, in response to the 1965 Yerevan demonstrations during which one hundred thousand people demonstrated in Yerevan for 24 hours to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Genocide. They demanded the Soviet authorities officially recognize it as a genocide. The memorial is designed by architects Arthur Tarkhanyan, Sashur Kalashyan and artist Hovhannes Khachatryan and was completed in November 1967.”

The memorial consists of 12 slabs  positioned in a circle that bow towards the center of the circle where there is an eternal flame dedicated to the 1.5 million killed during the Armenian genocide. 

There is a discrepancy regarding  the symbolism of  the number of slabs of the memorial represent. In the English version description of the memorial, Wikipedia claims that they represent “the twelve lost provinces in present-day Turkey.” But a cursory search in Wikipedia  indicates that present  “Turkey is divided into 81 provinces”.

One naturally assumes that the reference is made to the provinces that in diplomatic circles, at one time constituted  Western Armenia in the Ottoman Empire for they were the most Armenian inhabited.  That also is not the case for historically the major Armenian inhabited provinces were considered to be six. I quote: “The term Six Vilayets  was a term In the diplomatic language and meant the Vilayets with Armenian population. European diplomats often referred to the Six Armenian Vilayets during the Congress of Berlin in 1878.” The  congress whose Armenian delegation was headed by Khrimian Hayrig and who, upon return, gave his historical “iron (or paper) ladle” speech.

In  response to my posting the aerial picture of the Genocide Monument/Memorial in Armenia, Vartan Matiossian commented and noted the following: “the slabs have nothing to do with the "twelve lost provinces," a frequently repeated explanation that has become an urban myth. Out of the fifteen provinces of historical Armenia, Utik and Paytakaran are in Azerbaijan, Artsakh is independent, Ayrarat, Gugark, and Siunik are partly in the Republic of Armenia. So, we have no more than 9 provinces in Turkey. Regardless, the architect of the monument has said himself that the 12 slabs are unrelated to the "twelve provinces." 

The Armenian version of Wikipedia in fact  asserts the veracity  Vartan Matiossian’s claim. The twelve slaps  were chosen out of architectural consideration. The architects after having considered different number of slabs, had found out that 12 slabs were architecturally the most esthetic. 

Yet, one expects that every facet of the memorial, especially the more visible slabs, are symbolic to something. As far as I am concerned, while it is good to know as to how the number of slabs of the main Armenian Genocide Memorial came about, but alluding that the slabs represent the  provinces or the vilayets in the Ottoman Empire, from which the Armenians were driven for extermination is a fair assumption in spite of the fact that the number is not historically tenable and is mythic.