Your Friends Remember You Armenak

4 comments

1. Armenak Derderian

   Armenak Derderian was a remarkable person, an extraordinary intellectual with many skills and talents. He was a thinker, musician, scientist, engineer, you name it. I’ll reflect on him in an article. I encourage those who knew him to express their thoughts on this phenomenal Armenian.

   Minas Kojayan

2. The Forgotten Genius

   In memory of Armenak, ignored by his comrades and students…

   Perhaps very few people who knew this star and gem of the 60s & 70s in Beirut, the then "capital" of the Armenian Diaspora, are still alive.  The Avant Garde generation of the period was shocked by the sudden death of Armenak Derderian.

   He was a walking encyclopedia whatever concerned "secret" pages of the unwritten Armenian history, and an expert of Zionist and Masonic affairs. He fluently spoke many languages, travelled all over the "ancient" world, was an accomplished Yogi of Zen Buddhism, of which he was proud of, a philosopher, teacher, patriot, an excellent orator who had answers for every political question!

   Unfortunately, Armenak had a turbulent life in Beirut, Armenia, Moscow, Britain and India, but at last he had a happy family in Armenia with his marvellous and devoted wife Karine from Tbilisi. She bore him a very talented daughter, Ani. It seemed that the "bad" days were over for Armenak who settled in his own apartment in Yerevan.

   Unfortunately…the years of hard struggle, the dark days of Armenia, economic hardship left their impact on the fate of this happy family. Our beloved genius, whom we visited for years and discussed with him national and international affairs till the wee hours of the mornings, tasting delicious Georgian & Armenian dishes, lost Karine who died of acute heart attack while protesting against corruption and defending her daughter in a Yerevan school…

   Everything crumbled after this tragedy. Armenak "lost his head". In vain he tried to come out of this horrible situation. In the end he was in extreme poverty and was obliged to sell his own apartment. A few weeks later, his sensitive heart and brain could no longer resist the strain and humiliation any more! Silently, he passed away leaving behind his beloved daughter, a very caring mother-in-law, unaccomplished dreams and projects. He found his eternal rest in the holy soil of Armenia, near his brother, as a long forgotten Genius, who did not have a chance to say his last word.

   Hamo Moskofian
   Yerevan-Beirut

3. Remembering Armenak

   During the 1950s we were classmates at AGBU Hovaguimian-Manoukian Secondary School in Beirut, Lebanon. After our graduation in 1957, Armenak left for Armenia for his University studies. For few years we had hard time to correspond with each other through long letters. Then, we lost all contact, until few days ago, when I read the sad news of his passing away, through a notice in a local newspaper.

   Armenak was an idealist in 1957. After reading Hamo Moskofian’s testimony, I was not surprised to be informed that he had remained the same pure being with wide range of knowledge in different disciplines and immense capacity for intellectual dialogue and probably one of the rare Communists anywhere on Earth.

   With Apraham Aslanian we were a trio, discussing the for and con of the dialectical materialism, at the age of 17-18. From a distance of more than half a century, with his stubborn conviction in the ideology that would satisfy the needs of each and everyone, I assume Armenak achieved his dream to end his life in Armenia, even though tragically.

   Dear Armenak, you were an idealist at 17 and you left us as a rare model of the same idealist at 71, to become a part of the sacred soil of eternal Armenia.

   Architect Meguerditch L. Bouldoukian November 25, 2010

4. My classmate Armenag

   Dear Armenag, When I arrived Yerevan on October 17, to participate in the first conference of Armenian worldwide bankers, organised by the Ministry of Diaspora, I wondered where I could meet you, as I was told that you left Lebanon for Armenia some 40 or more years ago. I left Yerevan on the 18th via Aleppo to Beirut. Nobody could assist me in finding you… Although you used to discuss dialectical materialism with my cousin Meguerditch, I had never understood what it was DM and until now, I do not know why the synthesis fell apart in 1990. Perhaps, it might come back one day. May God keep your soul at peace in the sacred soil of our fatherland.

    

   Meguerditch Agop Bouldoukian November 29, 2010

Comments are closed.