Lectures Devoted to Prominent Cultural Figures from the 1850-1950 Period Take Place at AGBU Aleppo Center

A series of lectures, organized by the AGBU AYA Cultural Committee, took place on October 21, 22 and 23, 2009 at the AGBU Calouste Gulbenkian Center in Aleppo, Syria.

Narine Tukhikian, director of the Hovhannes Toumanian House-Museum in Yerevan, was the guest lecturer for this series, during which the Aleppo Armenian community, over three successive days, became more closely acquainted with some of our great literary and cultural figures: Hovhannes Toumanian, Bedros Atamian, Nadezhda Babayan, Marie Nuard, Shahan Shahnour, Krikor Zohrab and Sempad Piurad. Avoiding literary and critical analyses, Tukhikian relied on the letters of these well-known figures to highlight the role of each in Armenian cultural and national life.

The first lecture was devoted to Toumanian, the great freedom-loving Armenian humanitarian, whose life coincided with the bloodiest period in Armenian history. Toumanian, who was the embodiment of devotion and patriotism, contributed to the preservation of the Armenian spirit in all possible ways, through his literature and journalism, as well as political and social activity.

The second lecture was devoted to the famous Armenian actors and actresses of the second half of the 19th century, who graced Armenian and European stages: "brilliant actor, great master of the stage" Bedros Atamian; "the first Armenian opera singer with human simplicity and magnificent artistry" Nadezhda Babayan; Marie Nuard, an actress who won much praise and proved that "the Armenian public in Constantinople has already overcome biases and feels the need to see women on stage."

On the last day of the lecture series, the topic included a discussion of the work of Shahan Shahnour, Krikor Zohrab and Sempad Piurad.

Tukhikian explained Shahnour's literary merits within the confines of world literature. She then presented Krikor Zohrab, the writer, lawyer, parliament deputy and public worker, who won the hearts and minds of numerous readers with his short stories. The excerpts quoted from Zohrab's letters, which revealed Zohrab as a loving husband, a joyful and witty individual, were moving and impressive.

Unfortunately, however, he suffered a cruel fate: "At the very beginning of his life, he didn't have a document confirming the day of his birth, and at the end of his life, he didn't have a tombstone attesting to that end."

The Turkish scimitar cut short the lives of many brilliant Armenian figures, who, if they had been lucky enough to live and work, would undoubtedly have produced works to portray the evolving Armenian reality. Such a figure was the writer, educator and public worker Sempad Piurad, who, before suffering a martyr's death in Ayash, wrote the following sentence on the wall of his prison cell: "I'm certain that we are going to die but the Armenian nation will not die and it's obvious that Turkey shall lose much after this war." The three-day lecture series ended with this citation.

Credit for the success of the lecture series goes to Arevig Atashian, Mano Meyneshlian, Nayiri Ohanian and the AYA Gomidas chamber music ensemble directed by Hovhannes Moubayed.

At the conclusion of the third lecture, Silva Darakdjian, chairman of the Cultural Committee, invited Executive Committee Chairman Vicken Attarian and Local Chairman Raffi Tchaghlasian to come up on stage; they, in turn, presented Tukhikian with a silver plate and the series of reprinted volumes of Teotig's Amenun Daretsuits [Everybody's Almanac].

Note: This is an abridged translation of a report filed by Zepure Tamerian.