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Armenian

(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.)

Synonyms: Hay [West Bengal]

Surnames: Arathun, Basil, Grigory, Poladian, Sukias [West Bengal]

A SLICE OF ARMENIA

The Times of India

Armenian Church, Chennai

Dr S Suresh walks down the hallowed corridors of the Armenian Church and gives us a glimpse of its history and architecture…

Chennai has the rare distinction of being one of the few Asian cities that had a sizeable population of Jews and Armenians a few centuries ago. Indeed, the Armenians and the Jews were among the earliest foreign traders to settle in this city. They mostly lived in and around George Town. The Armenians were known for their wisdom and sincerity. Many of them worked, along with the British, in the various government offices in the city. The British were so impressed by the efficiency of the Armenians that they gifted large tracts of land to the community and even built a timber church for them near Fort St George.

The Armenians designed and built a few buildings for use by the British population of this city. One of the largest and most important amongst these buildings is the Clive House, also known as Admiralty House, built within Fort St George in the early eighteenth century by an affluent Armenian merchant named Nazar Jacob Jan. Presently, the Armenian church in George Town is, however, the sole visible testimony of the presence of the Armenians in this city.

The Armenian church, also known as the Armenian Church of Virgin Mary, is located on Armenian Street, not too far from the NSC Bose Road and the Law College and the High Court. The church was built in 1772 but according to some locals, it was originally built in 1712 and expanded and rebuilt in 1772 on the site of the old Armenian cemetery. The church was the result of the efforts of Aga Shawmier Sultan, a prominent Armenian trader. He gifted his ancestral land for the erection of this church.

Unlike many other churches and other religious buildings in George Town and other parts of Chennai, the Armenian Church is built within a spacious courtyard enclosed by high walls. From the street, the courtyard is accessed through tall black wooden doors set within a large entrance on a platform. The secluded courtyard has several gravestones and a lovely garden and thus provides a striking contrast to the din and noise of the crowded streets in the neighbourhood. The church is mainly built of bricks and is plastered with lime. The exterior walls are profusely ornamented. The imposing bell tower is located to the south of the main church building. The bell tower houses some of the largest bells of the city. Art historians have described the church as a specimen of the famous Baroque style of architecture that was very popular in Europe, mainly Italy, in the seventeenth century.

In recent decades, there has been a marked decrease in the population of the Armenians in Chennai. Presently, only a few families belonging to this community reside in the city. Hence, the church is not extensively used. Sometimes, it is used by members of other Christian sects. Thus, the church is now more a heritage building than a religious monument. Although closely linked to the early history of the British rule in India and presently well-preserved by the owners, the church, unfortunately, does not attract many tourists.

The writer is the Tamil Nadu State Convener INTACH

Armenians in India, city-wise

Kolkata

The Times of India, Apr 24 2016

Ajanta Chakraborty

 Armenia still lives in the heart of Kolkata

City's 195-year-old Armenian school had a near-death experience when its student body shrank to one. But it has now returned to life, thanks to immigrant students

What Parsis were to Mumbai, Armenians were to Kolkata -a refugee race that washed up on Indian shores before the British, and proceeded to establish iconic businesses and institutions that live to this day.One such in Kolkata is the Armenian College and Philanthropic Academy (ACPA), nearly two centuries old. Built in 1821 as a residential school for children of Armenian descent, ACPA was founded by two Armenian merchants, Astvatsatur Muradkhanian and Manatsakan Vardanian who hailed from Julfa (now in Iran). The school was founded to impart an `Armenian' education to its students, in their language, and about their culture.

In the early 19th century, the Armenians were a prominent business community in Kolkata that ran coal mines, indigo and shellac businesses, and built some of the city's famous landmarks, including Stephen Court on Park Street and Grand Hotel (today Oberoi Grand).

But after the British quit India, so did most of the Armenians, who migrated abroad. Half a century ago, Kolkata's Armenian population dwindled to just 2,000, vanishing still further to leave behind only around 150. Two of these Indo-Armenians are counted among the 68 students currently studying at the school; the rest are immigrant Armenians from Iraq, Iran, Russia and Armenia.

The school -in whose original building novelist William Makepeace Thackeray was born -has had its ups and downs. Its student body shrank and expanded -going from 138 in 1932, to 149 in 2003, and even plummeting to a solitary student in 1990, perhaps marking the most trying year in the school's long history.

In February 1999, a Calcutta high court ruling transferred the school's administra tion to Armenia's Mother See of Holy Etch miadzin, the administrative headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is now the Pope of Armenia who appoints the school manager.

“Since the institution's guardianship was vested with the church, the school has maintained its standards and a minimum number of students,“ said Rev. Zaven Ya zichyan, manager of Armenian College and pastor of the Indian-Armenian Spir itual Pastorate.

Following the transfer of power, the first batch of 34 immigrant students reached Kolkata from Iraq, Iran, Russia and Arme nia -sent here for the free education and boarding provided by the school. Often, Armenian families in places like Iraq and Iran send their children here even as they plan to migrate to the West, the school be coming an interim harbour for their chil dren. ACPA now routinely invites the dias pora abroad to enroll their children here.

In the run-up to their 200th year celebra tions in 2021, Rev. Yazichyan has been at tempting to revive the institution. Among the ambitious projects is the preservation and digitization of the Araratian library, set up in 1828 and named after Mount Ara rat, the place where Noah's Ark landed after the Flood. Other efforts include the creation of a databank of all Armenians from Kol kata (the last was created in 1956) and for mal associations with other international educational organizations.

To retain a cultural identity , ACPA teach es Armenian history , language and religion.

On visiting the campus on Free School Street (some say it got its name from the free Armenian school), the students seem content. Hovhannes Saringulyar, who teach es Armenian history, says, “If they miss their parents, they talk to them on Skype.“