Zahrat (Zareh Yaldizian)

The collections entitled “Big City” (1943), “Colorful Borders” (1968), “Sky of Kindness (1971) and “Poems” (1971) by journalist, editor, poet, prose writer and public figure Zahrat were perhaps more well-known among the Armenians in the Diaspora, but the Armenians in Armenia would also watch and listen to many unique works of the talented writer on stage, radio and television in the 1980s. With his works, Zahrat became one of the people who were devoted to the development of Diaspora Armenian literature following the Second World War. Those years saw the emergence of a new generation and a new ��?constellation’ of writers who conveyed new quality to post-war literature, enriching it with variety and freshness.

…Vahram Mavyan, Garnik Addaryan, Zareh Khrakhuni, Zahrat and others wrote valuable books with the air and spirit of the times. In the midst of that ��?constellation’, Zahrat was totally different with his unique style. His world was full of jokes, sadness, pity, chaos, light and hope and the ups-and-downs in love. At first it seems to be a daily routine, but when you go deep into that world, you see the in-depth philosophy that gets the reader to thinking. We can see his main character, Kiko everywhere with his unique type that editor Yervand Azatyan described as “the type that is like Chaplin, a philosopher with his mindset and a naïve person with his philosophy,” meaning initially pure and clean.

The mind of Kiko wanders from city to city

-Kiko is thinking about the world-

The mind of Kiko soars from planet to planet

-Kiko thinks about the situation of the sun-

The mind of Kiko soars from star to star

-Kiko imagines a universe…

The depth and charm of Zahrat’s poetry lies in this simplicity of Kiko. All is said, and it doesn’t matter if it is three lines or one word.

Don’t cry, light, don’t cry,

A person falling from the sky doesn’t cry.

Don’t cry if you fall into the home of a poor man,

Your place is on the head.

Don’t cry, light, don’t cry,

Let the lights not falling on the ground floor cry.

The following is what Robert Haddejian has written about Zahrat: “Zahrat is a real poet, if not in life, then definitely in his poetry. He goes from heart to heart, from love to love, from song to song, from string to string and touches all those who know how to look at the realities in life in a dream…Zahrat is a master of creating words. He truly “calls” the words of the Armenian language to him with great mastery.”

Zahrat is the poet of his city, the poet of the neighborhood in which he lived, the poet of the century in which he lived and the poet of life.

It is so hard when a person has a request

And doesn’t know whom to give it to.

He walks on the streets and goes from door to door,

On the streets, the doors slam in his face,

He wanders, dreaming or loving,

The dream is dark-the hearts are closed for his heart.

The following lines devoted to the death of Paruyr Sevak are like a conversation with himself:

 “Paruyr, my child, since we

Were of the same age-

We were both children-

You didn’t finish the game-

This is not right!”

“If life is a sea, then a boat by the name of “Zahrat” passed, leaving a trace and a memory…” editor Sevan Deirimenjian wrote. Inga Sariaslan described Zahrat with the following words: “The works of Zahrat are pure as an eye, but also have a deep meaning like the eye.”

The last words in the book that the poet released before his death in 2007 were an integrated version of his formula for living, that is, “I came and will go like this, for what?”

The writer had received several orders, medals and awards (Cardinal Aghajanyan Order, Vahagn Award, the AGBU Alex Manoogian Cultural Foundation Award, the St. Sahak and St. Mesrop Orders, the Movses Khorenatsi State Order of the Republic of Armenia, the Laureate Poet title of the World Congress of Poetry, etc.), but perhaps the award that the award was most proud to receive was the Movses Khorenatsi Medal of the Republic of Armenia. The book entitled “Words Next To Each Other”, which was released in the wake of his death, includes the best works from Zahrat’s collections that Nayiri Publishing House released in 2007. His eight collections were published by the writer’s devoted and generous wife, Mrs. Anais and were a joy for the fans of Zahrat’s poems and prose. His poems have been translated into 27 languages. Zahrat has received the sacred condac of Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I…Recently the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the Union of Writers of Armenia properly appreciated the worthy Armenian writer, who created valuable works. During a ceremony dedicated to the 90^th anniversary of the writer at the Union of Writers of Armenia, Istanbul-Armenian reciter Silva Komikian recited the poems of Zahrat, performed the songs with lyrics based on those poems, and well-known writers and intellectuals cordially their speeches. This proved once again the truth that the writer lives as long as his works do.

Karine Avagyan