What’s love got to do with it?

Love has nothing to do with religion is the motto the Armenians, small in numbers as they may be, live by. And live, they do. Mathures Paul reports

An Armenian rugby team no longer exists and the few enthusiasts today play for other teams. Of the many thousand Armenian merchants who began arriving in India 16th century onward, only a handful remain. When the English arrived, these people lent East India Company money to purchase zamindari rights in Bengal and together pioneered the jute trade.
Kolkata’s Armenian community consists of about 200 members and is best symbolised by their church and college. The latter – the Armenian Philanthropic Academy – was founded in 1821 and later moved to Free School Street. Few know that William Makepeace Thackeray was born here. “The very existence of these two institutions says we are here to stay. There was an inflow after the 1914-15 genocide that saw two million people dead. My grandfather settled here because Kolkata was considered the land of opportunities; Bengal was a thriving trading centre. But for a community to survive, a friendly environment is a must and Kolkata gave us that,” says Zaven Stephen, a young filmmaker.
Though staunch followers of the church, the Armenians are not conservative, at least when it comes to inter-community marriage. Victoria Stephen, employed with a private firm says: “How can I plan beforehand who I should fall in love with? My mother is a Hindu and she follows her customs. The community does not look down upon her; love has nothing to do with religion. Yes, the question of retaining one’s lineage is important, but is it more important than being able to freely choose one’s partner?”
The understanding is echoed by rugby player Henrik Terchoonian: “I married a Punjabi girl but will that make my children less Armenian?” His love for the city is undying: “I came here at the age of nine. Students from Iran often come here for school education. Hopefully some would make the city their home.”
Living in Bengal for more than 400 years has wrought some changes. “I love Indian food; my favourite is biryani. In fact, only on special occasions do we prepare strictly Armenian fare. Moreover, since some of the spices are not available here we have to settle for variations,” says Victoria.
But how does an old-timer feel? “I arrived here in December 1934. Then there were at least 3,600 Armenians. Most of them were into coal mining, jute trade and construction. After 1947, they left for the USA, the UK and Australia as they thought things would change for the worse. They were wrong; India as a business destination is looking up.
But those who left are dead. In fact, there are no marriages or engagements now, only funerals to attend,” rues Mr Charles Sarkies, superintendent of Sir Catchick Paul Chater Home. The Armenians have been great architects. Some of the city’s prided buildings are ample proof of this. TM Thaddeus built Park Mansions, JC Galstaun will be remembered for Queen’s (earlier Galstaun) Mansions, Galstaun Park, Harington Mansions and his own palatial residence, the palace of Nizam of Hyderabad. Another famous landmark is Stephen Court, built by Arratoon Stephen. He is also credited for Stephen House in BBD Bag and the main edifice of Grand Hotel. It is said that at his residence hung a watercolour of Akbar and his Armenian wife, Mariam Zamani.
“The community was undoubtedly very well off. Now women have to work. This may sound old fashioned but women were then not allowed to work,” says Mr Sarkies, the pukka gentleman. But would women – good-looking as they are – take up professions such as modelling? Victoria disapproves of the idea: “Armenian women generally are good-looking but they prefer to use their brains. We are a bit conservative and pick professions that are ‘noble’.”
The Armenians are born champs when it comes to rugby and boxing. None can forget names like Emil Vartazarian, Daniel Janoyan, Hovsep Hovsepian and Haik Sookias in rugby and Baby Arathoon in boxing (he was a rugby hero too). However, the enthusiasts’ only consolation now is that Emil coaches the Tamil Nadu Police. The Armenian Club, earlier a major hot spot, now bustles once in a blue moon. There are only 22 members and they play bingo instead of bridge, which used to be a passion earlier.
“There are more Armenians in Kolkata than in Mumbai or Delhi,” smiles Peter Hyrapiet. “Chennai, where we had a big settlement, does not have a single Armenian today. Yet, the Armenian Association is the trustee of St Mary’s Church in Chennai.” In West Bengal, the situation is much better than it was a decade back – the church has helped in establishing an Armenian trauma care centre and the Rabindranath Tagore International Institute for Cardiac Sciences in Mukundapur.
One should also mention the name of Sir Catchick Paul Chater, the benevolent man of means who bequeathed much of his fortune to the church and the people at Paul Chater Home.
For most, memories are all they have. Mr Sarkies’ eyes glow when he recalls how JC Galstaun’s racehorses ran amuck inside the office of Little Sisters of the Poor. “And when he apologised, they said we’ve been praying for a horse driven carriage! On another occasion, he went to London and placed ‘10,000’ on a horse. When the bookie reminded him that England’s currency was the pound, he doubled the bet and won.”
Reality, however, is different. The church lacks a priest and the community a rugby team. But the Armenians are optimistic. As Zaven says: “Much of my life has been spent with the church choir – it has become an important part of my being. So has India which is my motherland while Armenia is my fatherland. I’ve never been to Armenia, but the church and the school have made up for that. If ever I get an opportunity to go abroad I will, but only to return and serve my community. After all, India is one of the fastest growing economies.”
(The article appeared as part of the Diversity Matters series published in The Statesman)