The city with its narrow streets and low roofs has its own unique melody. The song of Akhalkalaki is heard from the mixture of hammer, scissors, saw and other sounds from the workshops. That song is a story and a feature created by craftsmen, and our story is a portrait that presents the creators of color, the craftsmen.
He is a, shoemaker, Hasmik Gharagulyan
At first it was strange to see a female shoemaker to the dwellers of Akhalkalaki. Many people were looking at the window of Hasmik's workshop. They could not believe their eyes. It was also difficult for a woman to work with heavy tools, but there was no choice, she should sew shoes or stay hungry.
"We are women, we can not do all the hard work, the lack of physical power hinders us," says the craftswoman.
Hasmik inherited the craft from her father. Trdat was a respected master of his time, whom the inhabitants of the city used to call Grandpa. The master wanted to have many sons, but he had 6 daughters, 5 of them got married and left. Hasmik did not get married. As she says, if she also married, there would be no one to look after her parents. After the death of her father, the young woman took the nail of the shoe and the hammer in her hand and continued the craft. It was difficult for women's fingers to get adapted to sewing thick leather shoes with a needle, but Hasmik does not complain today. She is even proud that she was able to study her father's work well so that, as customers say, she is even better than her father.
The woman can do anything, she will break wood, she will build a wall, she will drive a tank. "What is there that she cannot do? It is difficult, but she can do everything," says the shoemaker.
The shoemaker's workshop is small and warm. Here, in addition to sewing shoes, Hasmik often has coffee with her friends. Every corner inside these walls is dear to her. Here the shoes of the mountain people are repaired and the shoes of the people of Javakheti are often worn, because they are inhabitants of the mountains, they walk on the soil and stones.
Ms. Hasmik is sure that her craft will live for a long time. "As long as a person walks, shoemakers must work," she says. And there is a special formula for doing the job well. “You should love your work, love ... love”.
vidio about Hasmik
He started his profession when he was young. He has a lovely family - a wife and two daughters, he has good neighbors and friends, a favorite job, he is respected and trusted by his fellow citizens. He communicates with his close ones in sign language. His wife, Mrs. Azniv, helps him to communicate with customers.
There is a “loud silence” in Mukuch Ghazaryan's workshop. Here the sewing machine, scissors, needles and threads are talking. Carefully arranged shelves testify to the craftsman's diligence and neatness. Although his workshop is located on the outskirts of the city, this does not prevent customers from visiting a trusted master.
The master's daughters also inherited his work. The eldest daughter already has her own sewing salon. The master is proud of his children who continue his work.
video about mukuch
- Well, I wanted to become a hairdresser, and I became one. "Mastering something is very important. Before, if you didn't have a job, they wouldn't give you a girl," says the hairdresser.
He finished studying and then took the job in the same salon he was studying.For these years he has had many of his own students. There are very few customers today, because of the lack of modern salons and tools.
"People do not come, there are a few people who have been coming here from old times. They grew old with me, they do not betray me" says the hairdresser, laughing.
In addition to the lack of customers, the conditions of the workshop are also bad. The floorboards are broken, the walls are not in a reliable condition, but the craftsman keeps on working.
Gurgen, sitting in a red "Opel" in the yard of a luxuriously furnished casino on the central street of Akhalkalaki, is waiting for his loyal customers. As soon as he meets an acquaintance, he gets out of the car and takes them to the hairdresser. If he does not cut their hair, he will enjoy tea or coffee and talk about politics. After 90, the old man is still energetic and cannot imagine himself anywhere else. It is likewise impossible to imagine Akhalkalaki without its symbol, hairdresser Gurgen.
He took the path of a craftsman on the advice of his mother. "I always thank my mother for having bread of my own," says the craftsman. In his opinion, a craftsman who is hungry in one half of the day will be full in the other half. He is convinced that there is always work to be done, you just need to be hardworking. His sons also know how to make tin. He says that his grandchildren are also interested and will learn it someday.
The dying crafts
Akhalkalaki used to be the city of craftsmen. In the 1820s, the ancestors of most of the current inhabitants who migrated here from Kars and Erzurum were craftsmen. Many crafts from that time are not preserved today. In the past, there were foramen, carpenters, watchmakers, jewelers, etc. Today, those crafts have disappeared, partly because of the lack of demand, and partly because of the lack of craftsmen.
It is also interesting to know about the gypsies living in Akhalkalaki, about whom not much is known. They are the tribe of Indian origin that migrated from Anatolia, living together for a long time who have assimilated with the locals, the Armenians. Crafts, such as weaving, were also developed among the gypsies. They made flour mills (special nets made of flour used to refine flour and wheat) and sold their produce in the villages of the region. Today, the craft bought by artisan gypsies has disappeared, but we can still find those in almost every house in Akhalkalaki.
Introducing the film about our heroes