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Armenian Reporter
Jan 5 2012
Artsakh folk fables of Pele Pughi published in English
by Artsvi Bakhchinyan
Published: Wednesday January 04, 2012
The book received this time from abroad was more than a surprise. In
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the stories about a jester from
Karabakh Pele Pughi (Pyl Pugi) in English translation has been
published, titled "The Court Jester and His Duke: Tales from the Black
Garden."
This mere information in itself had a satirical ring to it. The
phenomenon is unprecedented for the Armenian studies and Armenian
literature. What do the joyful stories of the beloved hero of the
Armenian folklore, who lived in the 18th century, have to do in that
south-eastern Asian country in the beginning of the 21st century?
The one, who is "guilty" in this, is the Austrian Armenian businessman
Haik-Georg Zarian, who has been established in Thailand in recent
years. He is the acclaimed Armenian writer Kostan Zarian's grandson,
on whose initiative and sponsorship this volume has been published. In
this work he had personal motivation, as from his mother's side he
comes from Melik-Shahnazarian's family and Pele Pughi was a jest-joker
in the court of Melik-Shahnazar, the melik (duke) of Varanda.
In the foreword of the book Haik-Georg Zarian has written:
"This little booklet I dedicate to my grandparents Kostan and Takuhi
Rachel Zarian Shahnazar. From my childhood I do remember my
grandfather being quite holier than thou, speaking German with Russian
accent and getting up in the middle of a meal when he did not like a
course. He could peel an orange with fork and knife, and was very
gallant to ladies, and lived all over the world. He spoke ten
languages.
My grandmother lived in Rome. She was a fragile darling. She played
piano, wrote letters of everyday life in French verse, and loved to
look into naked flames.
At her sea house near Anzio, barefoot women with fruits and other
things to sell often would stop by. ... Omama (the grandmother - A.
B.) took us daily to church. At bedtime she was telling us stories of
our family's court jester. At that time, I believed we are related to
Pele Pughi, the jester.
Our grand-sir Melik Shoknagar Shahnazar, Duke of Varanda, was lord of
the jester. Researching for this booklet I surprisingly found out that
the family stories passed through generations are essentially true."
Twenty-nine out of Pele Pughi's numerous fables written down by the
Armenian folklorists have been included in the book. They have been
prepared by a translator from Yerevan Susanna Lazarian, using the
book "Pele Pughi" by Makar Barkhudarian (Tiflis, 1883) and the volume
"Pele Pughi, a Jester from Karabakh" published in Yerevan in 1956,
collected by folklorist Sargis Israelian.
The introductory article "Fables of Karabakh" (anonymous) is also in
the book, which says that folk literature of Artsakh has been
translated into English for the first time ever, and that Pele Pughi's
anecdotes are kindred to folk tales like ancient Aesop's Fables, the
13th century stories of Nasreddin and folk tales by the Brothers
Grimm.
A chapter about Melik-Shahnazarian's family, traced to the year 821
from the house founded by Smbatian Prince, follows the stories. The
article presents the most famous representatives of this family:
Russian General Valerian Madatov, Mir-Davit Khan, the diplomat who
served for Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as Kostan Zarian, the grandson
of Madatov's brother.
In the end of this luxurious, velvet covered, indeed princely printed
album-like a number of illustrations have been included: maps of
Armenia and Artsakh, scenes of Shushi and Amaras, the photo of Pele
Pughi's grave, the announcement of the performance in the press "Pele
Pughi or Crazy Poghos/Paul" staged by Sedrak Surabian in the American
Armenian theatre in New York in 1925, the photo of Kim Yeritzian
(Armenian actor), who played Pele Pughi's role in the Armenian theatre
in Yerevan the 1950s, as well as photos from Haik-Georg Zarian's
family archive. A photo of Kostan Zarian from the National Gallery
building in the Republic Square of Yerevan - as seen by Haik Georg and
his only son Kostan Zarian-Junior in April 2010 - was also in the
book, as well as the pictures of the family coat of arms, Madatov,
Kostan Zarian's father, General Kachatur Yeghiazarians, Haik-Georg's
family members.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-01-04-artsakh-folk-fables-of-pele-pughi-published-in-english
From: A. Papazian
Jan 5 2012
Artsakh folk fables of Pele Pughi published in English
by Artsvi Bakhchinyan
Published: Wednesday January 04, 2012
The book received this time from abroad was more than a surprise. In
Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the stories about a jester from
Karabakh Pele Pughi (Pyl Pugi) in English translation has been
published, titled "The Court Jester and His Duke: Tales from the Black
Garden."
This mere information in itself had a satirical ring to it. The
phenomenon is unprecedented for the Armenian studies and Armenian
literature. What do the joyful stories of the beloved hero of the
Armenian folklore, who lived in the 18th century, have to do in that
south-eastern Asian country in the beginning of the 21st century?
The one, who is "guilty" in this, is the Austrian Armenian businessman
Haik-Georg Zarian, who has been established in Thailand in recent
years. He is the acclaimed Armenian writer Kostan Zarian's grandson,
on whose initiative and sponsorship this volume has been published. In
this work he had personal motivation, as from his mother's side he
comes from Melik-Shahnazarian's family and Pele Pughi was a jest-joker
in the court of Melik-Shahnazar, the melik (duke) of Varanda.
In the foreword of the book Haik-Georg Zarian has written:
"This little booklet I dedicate to my grandparents Kostan and Takuhi
Rachel Zarian Shahnazar. From my childhood I do remember my
grandfather being quite holier than thou, speaking German with Russian
accent and getting up in the middle of a meal when he did not like a
course. He could peel an orange with fork and knife, and was very
gallant to ladies, and lived all over the world. He spoke ten
languages.
My grandmother lived in Rome. She was a fragile darling. She played
piano, wrote letters of everyday life in French verse, and loved to
look into naked flames.
At her sea house near Anzio, barefoot women with fruits and other
things to sell often would stop by. ... Omama (the grandmother - A.
B.) took us daily to church. At bedtime she was telling us stories of
our family's court jester. At that time, I believed we are related to
Pele Pughi, the jester.
Our grand-sir Melik Shoknagar Shahnazar, Duke of Varanda, was lord of
the jester. Researching for this booklet I surprisingly found out that
the family stories passed through generations are essentially true."
Twenty-nine out of Pele Pughi's numerous fables written down by the
Armenian folklorists have been included in the book. They have been
prepared by a translator from Yerevan Susanna Lazarian, using the
book "Pele Pughi" by Makar Barkhudarian (Tiflis, 1883) and the volume
"Pele Pughi, a Jester from Karabakh" published in Yerevan in 1956,
collected by folklorist Sargis Israelian.
The introductory article "Fables of Karabakh" (anonymous) is also in
the book, which says that folk literature of Artsakh has been
translated into English for the first time ever, and that Pele Pughi's
anecdotes are kindred to folk tales like ancient Aesop's Fables, the
13th century stories of Nasreddin and folk tales by the Brothers
Grimm.
A chapter about Melik-Shahnazarian's family, traced to the year 821
from the house founded by Smbatian Prince, follows the stories. The
article presents the most famous representatives of this family:
Russian General Valerian Madatov, Mir-Davit Khan, the diplomat who
served for Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as Kostan Zarian, the grandson
of Madatov's brother.
In the end of this luxurious, velvet covered, indeed princely printed
album-like a number of illustrations have been included: maps of
Armenia and Artsakh, scenes of Shushi and Amaras, the photo of Pele
Pughi's grave, the announcement of the performance in the press "Pele
Pughi or Crazy Poghos/Paul" staged by Sedrak Surabian in the American
Armenian theatre in New York in 1925, the photo of Kim Yeritzian
(Armenian actor), who played Pele Pughi's role in the Armenian theatre
in Yerevan the 1950s, as well as photos from Haik-Georg Zarian's
family archive. A photo of Kostan Zarian from the National Gallery
building in the Republic Square of Yerevan - as seen by Haik Georg and
his only son Kostan Zarian-Junior in April 2010 - was also in the
book, as well as the pictures of the family coat of arms, Madatov,
Kostan Zarian's father, General Kachatur Yeghiazarians, Haik-Georg's
family members.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2012-01-04-artsakh-folk-fables-of-pele-pughi-published-in-english
From: A. Papazian