Rashid Adamov, the Yazidi Kurd of Tbilisi

(This article is dedicated to my brother Asım Keser, a wise man who carries a fiery heart like Mount Ararat, lives a modest life with branching, crimson veins like the Aras River flowing with the exuberant waters of spring, and carefully preserves our thousand-year-old folklore in the folds of his mind, which resembles mountain paths.)

INTRODUCTION

I was recently in Iğdır to attend the Iğdır University Development Foundation meeting and to give a conference to university students on overseas education.

My dear cousin Ahmet Ertuğrul (Paraşüt Ahmet), nephew of Numan Efendi of the Geloylu Tribe (Iğdır's first district governor, first land registry director, first attorney), who was one of the important figures in Iğdır's history, invited me, Mr. Asım Keser, and our esteemed Rector Mehmet Hakkı Alma to an international symposium in Tbilisi concerning Mount Ararat and Noah's Ark. As I was suffering from a cold, I could not make this trip.

By Lake Balık on a windy and cold day: (From left to right) Şeval Hun, Mücahit Özden Hun, Asım Keser and Ahmet Ertuğrul (Paraşüt Ahmet)

Mr. Asım Keser sent the picture below, which he took in Tbilisi, and did not forget to add:

"This man (Kurdish Reşo Ağa), whose statue was erected in the city center with a staff, not a broom, has long deserved to be an article of yours with his life that crowned the honor of a people."

Asım Keser caressing the beard of Kurdish Rashid on a Tbilisi evening

So, to fulfill this sacred duty entrusted to me by my dear friend, I have penned the following article for you.

AND NIKO PIROSMANI IS BORN...

Niko Pirosmani

Niko Pirosmani's birthplace

Once upon a time... In the village of Mirzani in the Kakheti region of Georgia, a boy was born to a poor farming family (1862). They named him Niko. The family surname was "Pirosmanashvili," but he would later be known as "Pirosmani." Thus, Niko Pirosmani, by name and reputation, came into the world.

Tbilisi in Niko Pirosmani's time

Niko grew up. He settled in Tbilisi. He had no chance to get an education. Life's difficulties awaited him. He had already accepted this. He worked sometimes in Georgian taverns, known as "Duhan" among the people, and sometimes at the train station. He developed an interest in art, specifically oil painting. He found solace in painting. He tried his hand at trade but failed. His only desires were a piece of bread, wine, and oil paint. When he had enough money, he would rent a small room in a basement or under a staircase; otherwise, he would spend the night at his workplace.

Niko loved solitude. Whenever he had the opportunity and could afford it, he tried to make a living by selling his oil paintings to taverns, inns, and workshop owners.

OH MARGARITA!

While Niko's days continued in this sorrowful and lonely manner, a French singer named Margarita found her way to Tbilisi.

The French traveling theater The Belle Vue embarked on a tour of the Caucasus. In those years, Tbilisi was the largest and most vibrant city in the South Caucasus. The singer Margarita settled in a hotel in Tbilisi. Margarita sang songs that stirred the human soul. She also captivated her audience with an exotic dance known as Keycock.

Margarita began to sing in the tavern where Niko worked. Niko fell in love with Margarita at first sight. For Niko, the meaning of life had suddenly changed. Margarita was now everything to him. With the money he had saved with great difficulty, he showered Margarita with red roses. All he received in return was an innocent kiss. According to legend, he once sent a cartload of roses, acacia flowers, Persian lilacs, anemones, peonies, lilies, and poppies to the hotel for his love.

Niko painted Margarita's oil portrait on a black canvas. And one day, Margarita disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived. Without even saying goodbye. Margarita had returned to France. It was as if she had taken Niko's heart with her. Niko was now a man whose soul had died.

Niko burned for days in the fiery hell of a great heartbreak. When he recovered, the first thing he did was to seek solace in Margarita's oil painting. In the painting, he relived his love. This painting was now everything to him.

The painting "Actress Margarita"

And one day, the Margarita painting disappeared. Niko went mad. Both Margaritas had silently abandoned him. He was plunged into sadness. He grieved. He did not leave his house for days. He became disillusioned with life. He withdrew into himself.

KURDISH RASHID

A Yazidi Kurd named Rashid was the doorman of the building where Niko lived. Every morning, he swept the front of the door and the street with his broom. After completing his duty, he stood in front of the door with his staff.

Rashid became worried when he didn't see Niko for days. He knocked on his door. Niko was broken, destroyed. Niko reluctantly closed the door in Rashid's face. However, Rashid did not neglect to visit him every day.

Time passed. Niko returned to the tavern business to earn money. One day, he was touched by Rashid's friendly greetings every morning and his concern for him. Rashid, with his jokes and warm, devoted friendship, brought Niko back to life. Niko painted Rashid's oil portrait, looking out from his room's window.

One day, Niko invited Rashid to his room. He showed him the oil painting. Rashid looked at the painting, stroked his beard, stroked it again, then spoke as if shouting: "Amazing! This painting looks exactly like me!" Niko replied with a joyful laugh: "Yes, it's your painting!"

The painting "Kurdish Rashid the Doorman" by Niko Pirosmani

Thanks to his friendship with Rashid, Niko started painting with oil again. He didn't go out, dedicating himself to his art. During these days, Rashid would buy the food and oil paints the artist needed with his own means. He saw Niko as his grandson. Thanks to Rashid's material and moral support, Niko recovered and brought 180 oil paintings to life.

THE DEATH OF NIKO PIROSMANI

For many years, no one even noticed this great artist... In 1916, he was invited to a meeting of the "Georgian Artists' Association." Niko Pirosmani's photograph and a painting were published in a newspaper called "Tsnobis Purtseli." Niko Pirosmani gradually gained acceptance among Georgian artists and the public. Meanwhile, his admirers, who enjoyed his works, would visit the artist from time to time.

However, soon after, a strange caricature of the artist was published in the same newspaper. This had a fatal effect on him; his mental and physical health deteriorated. At such a time, he contracted the Spanish Flu, which was a global pandemic.

Niko Pirosmani, like every great artist, died alone and forgotten in 1918. Today, the location of his grave is unknown.

As with Van Gogh and other painters, after his death, the artist's works were collected, sold at auctions, and research was conducted into his life. Articles about the artist filled newspaper pages. Niko Pirosmani's name and works became globally recognized and accepted.

PICASSO

One of those who heard the name Niko Pirosmani was the famous painter Picasso. Admiring Niko Pirosmani's unique and passionate paintings, Picasso painted the artist's portrait.

Niko Pirosmani by Picasso

LOUVRE MUSEUM

For many years, the identity of the French singer Margarita remained unknown. In 1969, the artist's painting "Actress Margarita" was exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris. An elderly woman came and stood in front of the painting for a long time. She recognized the portrait. This was Margarita de Sevres, the French singer who sang in Tbilisi. Research eventually led to a photograph of Margarita de Sevres in her youth.

The elderly woman (left) recognizing Margaret de Sevres, Louvre Museum, Paris (1969)

And here are young Niko Pirosmani and his love Margarita

THE BRONZE STATUE OF KURDISH RASHID

Tbilisi officials, to honor Kurdish Rashid, who gave Niko Pirosmani, Georgia's most famous painter, new hope for life, connected him to life, supported him in his most difficult days, and bought him food and oil paints with his own money, erected a bronze statue of Kurdish Rashid in front of a wall in Tbilisi (2019), faithfully adhering to the oil painting made by Niko Pirosmani.

If your path takes you to Tbilisi, do not forget to embrace the loyal and big-hearted Kurdish Rashid and take a souvenir photo!

Statue of Kurdish Rashid in Tbilisi

NIKO PIROSMANI'S PAINTINGS

Father and Son

Woman with a Beer Mug

Lion and Sun

Bears

Man Riding a Donkey

Family Table

Vineyard

Woman and Children Going to the Spring

(The following article was written by Mr. Ali Karadeniz, who works as a Broadcast Supervisor at TRT Kurdî channel. I thank him. Sincerely, Mücahit Özden Hun)

THE REFLECTION OF THE ARTICLE "RESHO AND NIKO"
On this morning, painted grey by the clouds, knowing that the sky is blue, and with the joy that this truth brings to my heart, I greet you, my dear.

I wish you happiness for guiding the creation of this article, laden with drama, action, art, history, loyalty, and tragedy, thanks to the spark you provided. I am also grateful that you did not deprive me of the pleasure of reading this story.

For the sake of Resho(s) who remind consciences of the blueness of the sky, the river of life under this azure dome turns into a roaring waterfall. Resho, with the role he played in this story, proved once again that an action exists on four things. The four elements of this story are Niko, Margarita, love, and Resho. Niko represents the brain. Margarita is the coral beneath the sea. The role of love is the passion to reach the coral. Resho, on the other hand, is the diver who brings this coral, with which Niko is enchanted by love, from the depths of the sea.

Resho, like a diver, pulls Niko out of the whirlpool of Margarita's love, where he had fallen and gotten lost. Otherwise, the room under the stairs would have become Niko's grave. Resho's life-giving greeting became the canvas for Margarita's love, which was the main theme of Niko's art. Resho, the owner of this greeting, which was like a kiss of life, is certainly a man whose statue should be erected. Resho, with his bronze statue, has bestowed upon Tbilisi a square to be visited.

With respect to the one who had it written and the one who wrote it... Ali Karadeniz

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