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Exalted Purpose
By Knarik Meneshian // December 10, 2013
GLENVIEW, Ill. (A.W.) - On the occasion of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation's (ARF) 123rd anniversary, the film `Garegin Njdeh' was
shown on Saturday evening, Nov. 23, in Glenview at the Armenian
Community Center's Shahnasarian Hall, followed by a reception. The
Chicago `Christapor' Chapter of the ARF and the Chicago chapter of the
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society sponsored the
event.
Photo: Courtesy of Alice Varjabedian (daughter of Hovagim Hovagimian)
The film, with English subtitles and an array of outstanding actors
and actresses, delved not only into the life of a great national hero
but also into a nation's struggle for self-determination. Filmed in
Armenia, Russia, Poland, and France, the poignant and beautifully
produced motion picture was written by Krist Manaryan and produced and
directed by Hrach Keshishyan. The cinematographer was Mkrtich
Malkhasyan.
The name Garegin Njdeh had been introduced to the Armenian community
of Chicago before, not in a film or in the song `Garegin Njdehi
Yerku,' but during a lecture he had given in the fall of 1933 at a
meeting of the Chicago chapter of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS).
The lecture was titled, `The Woman's Role and Obligation.' The
following are a few quotes from Njdeh's lecture:
`A people is nothing but the spiritual expression of woman... A people,
in whose life the woman has no role, has no future... It is
indispensable that the Armenian remain Armenian outside of Armenia.
Within and outside of Armenia, the woman's role must be to spread and
inspire the concept of Fatherland... The Armenian mother is the one who
must instill belief, strength, and pride in the soul of the race... The
nation that looks down is not a nation. The one that looks up sees
ahead... As long as the world pities us, we shall remain slaves...'
The late Hovagim Hovagimian (the son of Archpriest Karekin Hovagimian,
the Chicagoland and Wisconsin Armenian communities' first priest,
serving during the 1920's to 1930's), a long-time correspondent and
contributor to the Armenian-language newspaper Hairenik and an active
member of the ARF's Chicago chapter, wrote of the momentous event,
which was published in the Hairenik on Nov. 18, 1933.
Hovagimian's meeting with Njdeh in Chicago had not been his first.
They had initially met in Yerevan at the end of 1915, when Hovagimian
was serving in the Reserve Regiment in Nork and in the Fifth Brigade
led by Vartan, the hero of Khanasor. In his memoirs, Hovagimian had
written of Njdeh, `He wore a Bulgarian officer's uniform and conducted
the drills of the Armenian volunteers in Nork... He was accessible to
everyone, modest and sociable... He hated pretense... He had a cultured
and thoughtful mind, and he was a great and inspiring orator. He was
the model of an indefatigable, selfless, and patriotic soldier of the
Armenian World...'
During Njdeh's visit to Chicago, he stayed at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Hovagim and Vergine Hovagimian. Years later, upon hearing of Njdeh's
death, Hovagimian had written, ` Caught up with sad memories, we (he
and his family) often glance up at a pair of Italian flower pots,
which were given to us by Unger Njdeh, and see them as mementoes full
of Armenian spirit... Incense and Blessing be his immortal memory.'
General Garegin Njdeh Ter Harutyunyan, the great revolutionary and
national hero, political activist, military leader, and founder of the
Armenian youth group called the Tseghagron - renamed the Armenian Youth
Federation (AYF) in 1933 - offered the ultimate gift to his beloved
Armenian nation: his life. Often just called Njdeh, which means
`pilgrim' in Armenian, his life was a journey of exalted purpose.
The youngest of four children, he was born in the village of Kznut in
Nakhichevan, Armenia, in the winter of 1886. He was the son of a
priest, Ter (Father) Yeghishe, who it is believed was poisoned at a
wedding. His widowed mother, Yeretsgeen (wife of a priest) Dirouhi,
raised their four children.
Witnessing the oppression and aggression that befell his people again
and again, and their defense of life, home, and land, at the age of 17
Njdeh joined the Armenian liberation movement. He studied law in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and continued his education at the military
college in Bulgaria. In 1948, Njdeh was taken into custody as a
political prisoner by the Soviet government and sentenced to serve 25
years in prison. He died in Vladimir prison in Vladimir, Russia, in
the winter of 1955 and was buried in the prison yard.
In the summer of 1983, his family secretly arranged to have his
remains moved to Armenia, where he was laid to rest at Spitakavor
Church, near Yeghegnadzor, located near the foot of the Zangezur
mountain range - his beloved mountains - with some of his remains buried
on the slopes of Mt. Khustup near Kapan.
Garegin Njdeh - `Incense and Blessing be his immortal memory.'
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/12/10/exalted-purpose/
From: Baghdasarian
By Knarik Meneshian // December 10, 2013
GLENVIEW, Ill. (A.W.) - On the occasion of the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation's (ARF) 123rd anniversary, the film `Garegin Njdeh' was
shown on Saturday evening, Nov. 23, in Glenview at the Armenian
Community Center's Shahnasarian Hall, followed by a reception. The
Chicago `Christapor' Chapter of the ARF and the Chicago chapter of the
Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society sponsored the
event.
Photo: Courtesy of Alice Varjabedian (daughter of Hovagim Hovagimian)
The film, with English subtitles and an array of outstanding actors
and actresses, delved not only into the life of a great national hero
but also into a nation's struggle for self-determination. Filmed in
Armenia, Russia, Poland, and France, the poignant and beautifully
produced motion picture was written by Krist Manaryan and produced and
directed by Hrach Keshishyan. The cinematographer was Mkrtich
Malkhasyan.
The name Garegin Njdeh had been introduced to the Armenian community
of Chicago before, not in a film or in the song `Garegin Njdehi
Yerku,' but during a lecture he had given in the fall of 1933 at a
meeting of the Chicago chapter of the Armenian Relief Society (ARS).
The lecture was titled, `The Woman's Role and Obligation.' The
following are a few quotes from Njdeh's lecture:
`A people is nothing but the spiritual expression of woman... A people,
in whose life the woman has no role, has no future... It is
indispensable that the Armenian remain Armenian outside of Armenia.
Within and outside of Armenia, the woman's role must be to spread and
inspire the concept of Fatherland... The Armenian mother is the one who
must instill belief, strength, and pride in the soul of the race... The
nation that looks down is not a nation. The one that looks up sees
ahead... As long as the world pities us, we shall remain slaves...'
The late Hovagim Hovagimian (the son of Archpriest Karekin Hovagimian,
the Chicagoland and Wisconsin Armenian communities' first priest,
serving during the 1920's to 1930's), a long-time correspondent and
contributor to the Armenian-language newspaper Hairenik and an active
member of the ARF's Chicago chapter, wrote of the momentous event,
which was published in the Hairenik on Nov. 18, 1933.
Hovagimian's meeting with Njdeh in Chicago had not been his first.
They had initially met in Yerevan at the end of 1915, when Hovagimian
was serving in the Reserve Regiment in Nork and in the Fifth Brigade
led by Vartan, the hero of Khanasor. In his memoirs, Hovagimian had
written of Njdeh, `He wore a Bulgarian officer's uniform and conducted
the drills of the Armenian volunteers in Nork... He was accessible to
everyone, modest and sociable... He hated pretense... He had a cultured
and thoughtful mind, and he was a great and inspiring orator. He was
the model of an indefatigable, selfless, and patriotic soldier of the
Armenian World...'
During Njdeh's visit to Chicago, he stayed at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Hovagim and Vergine Hovagimian. Years later, upon hearing of Njdeh's
death, Hovagimian had written, ` Caught up with sad memories, we (he
and his family) often glance up at a pair of Italian flower pots,
which were given to us by Unger Njdeh, and see them as mementoes full
of Armenian spirit... Incense and Blessing be his immortal memory.'
General Garegin Njdeh Ter Harutyunyan, the great revolutionary and
national hero, political activist, military leader, and founder of the
Armenian youth group called the Tseghagron - renamed the Armenian Youth
Federation (AYF) in 1933 - offered the ultimate gift to his beloved
Armenian nation: his life. Often just called Njdeh, which means
`pilgrim' in Armenian, his life was a journey of exalted purpose.
The youngest of four children, he was born in the village of Kznut in
Nakhichevan, Armenia, in the winter of 1886. He was the son of a
priest, Ter (Father) Yeghishe, who it is believed was poisoned at a
wedding. His widowed mother, Yeretsgeen (wife of a priest) Dirouhi,
raised their four children.
Witnessing the oppression and aggression that befell his people again
and again, and their defense of life, home, and land, at the age of 17
Njdeh joined the Armenian liberation movement. He studied law in St.
Petersburg, Russia, and continued his education at the military
college in Bulgaria. In 1948, Njdeh was taken into custody as a
political prisoner by the Soviet government and sentenced to serve 25
years in prison. He died in Vladimir prison in Vladimir, Russia, in
the winter of 1955 and was buried in the prison yard.
In the summer of 1983, his family secretly arranged to have his
remains moved to Armenia, where he was laid to rest at Spitakavor
Church, near Yeghegnadzor, located near the foot of the Zangezur
mountain range - his beloved mountains - with some of his remains buried
on the slopes of Mt. Khustup near Kapan.
Garegin Njdeh - `Incense and Blessing be his immortal memory.'
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/12/10/exalted-purpose/
From: Baghdasarian