'KIM KARDASHIAN IS ADMIRED BY ARMENIANS'
Times of India
Dec 5 2012
By Prema NaraynenPrema Naraynen, TNN
... says author John Balian, who was in the city recently
The Kardashians are vocal about their Armenian heritage, and have
been outspoken about the Armenian Genocide," he says. "They are very
popular with the Armenians."
The wounds of that enormous tragedy that occurred during and after
the First World War - and killed up to 1.5 million people - have
definitely not healed, and its upheavals have impacted the region even
decades later. Despite repeated requests to the world to officially
acknowledge this crime, almost every country has turned a largely
blind eye. "The Jewish Holocaust was not as well documented as the
Armenian Genocide, but the Jewish community is a powerful one,"
says the author with a shrug.
Dr John Balian's life story is remarkable. He was born in a remote
village in Anatolia near Diyarbekir, a historic Armenian city,
to a very poor family, and grew up to a life of destitution and
wandering through several Middle Eastern and European countries. With
the kindness of strangers, he eventually reached America where he
attended Columbia University on a full scholarship.
When he decided to tell his story, he was unsure if people would read
a memoir, because, as he puts it 'he was not a well-known entity'.
Instead, he decided to rework his real story as a work of fiction,
although he says each and every incident he mentions is actual and
factual. "It's almost a Dickensian story, I've been told," he says.
"The Armenian community has a small presence in India, historically,"
he adds. "They're mostly in Kolkata and many students also visit
India to study."
"I would like my story to be told through cinema," he signs off. "I
was happy to hear that Shekhar Kapur had shown interest in filming a
story on the Armenian Genocide, although based on another book that
came out a few years ago."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/Kim-Kardashian-is-admired-by-Armenians/articleshow/17477720.cms
From: Baghdasarian
Times of India
Dec 5 2012
By Prema NaraynenPrema Naraynen, TNN
... says author John Balian, who was in the city recently
The Kardashians are vocal about their Armenian heritage, and have
been outspoken about the Armenian Genocide," he says. "They are very
popular with the Armenians."
The wounds of that enormous tragedy that occurred during and after
the First World War - and killed up to 1.5 million people - have
definitely not healed, and its upheavals have impacted the region even
decades later. Despite repeated requests to the world to officially
acknowledge this crime, almost every country has turned a largely
blind eye. "The Jewish Holocaust was not as well documented as the
Armenian Genocide, but the Jewish community is a powerful one,"
says the author with a shrug.
Dr John Balian's life story is remarkable. He was born in a remote
village in Anatolia near Diyarbekir, a historic Armenian city,
to a very poor family, and grew up to a life of destitution and
wandering through several Middle Eastern and European countries. With
the kindness of strangers, he eventually reached America where he
attended Columbia University on a full scholarship.
When he decided to tell his story, he was unsure if people would read
a memoir, because, as he puts it 'he was not a well-known entity'.
Instead, he decided to rework his real story as a work of fiction,
although he says each and every incident he mentions is actual and
factual. "It's almost a Dickensian story, I've been told," he says.
"The Armenian community has a small presence in India, historically,"
he adds. "They're mostly in Kolkata and many students also visit
India to study."
"I would like my story to be told through cinema," he signs off. "I
was happy to hear that Shekhar Kapur had shown interest in filming a
story on the Armenian Genocide, although based on another book that
came out a few years ago."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/books/Kim-Kardashian-is-admired-by-Armenians/articleshow/17477720.cms
From: Baghdasarian