Happy Holidays and a Wonderful 2023!
To all our readers!
A flock of sparrows alighted on a moss-covered cupola nestled amidst swaying palms and sturdy old mango trees. They were hungry and the lush greenery promised a feast. A rapid drumming from a mango tree a few feet away caught their attention.
“Look, that woodpecker seems to be getting a good meal,” remarked an old sparrow. She was comfortably rotund and experienced in chasing up good meals. “Let’s go there.”
The sparrows fluttered up into the branches of the woodpecker’s tree and looked around. One of the more adventurous ones, curious about this green space in the middle of a crowded city, hopped up higher into the branches. “We are surrounded by tombs!” she gasped in horror. “What if ghosts get us?”
“Oh don’t worry, they won’t hurt you,” called the woodpecker, pausing in his drumming. “I’ve been living here for years. All kinds of people are buried here, each with their own story.”
Just then, a man and a woman came into view. The man was talking animatedly. “My family has long associations with this city. My ancestors came to Kolkata at least three hundred years ago and settled here as traders and businessmen. I was born and baptised here, and my grandparents are buried in this cemetery,” he said.
“It’s wonderful that we’ve been able to come back to your childhood home in time for Christmas,” smiled the woman.
“Yes,” laughed the man. ”I remember it was so much fun. We celebrated everybody else’s Christmas on December 25th, and then twelve days later, we had our own Armenian Christmas on January 6th.”
“Really?” exclaimed the woman. “On Epiphany?
“Yes, we celebrate it on the day the magi arrived,” nodded the man. “There’s a wonderful Armenian custom,” he continued, “of carrying home the candles from the church after the Christmas service on our Christmas eve, January 5. We kept the candles burning through the night and on Christmas day, to bless our homes. We also celebrated with dancing and games and gifts for each other.”
“How lovely!” sighed the woman.
“It wasn’t all lovely. We also had to fast for a week. No pain, no gain!” grinned the man.
“No food for a WEEEEEK! I am feeling faint at the thought!” twittered the comfortably rotund sparrow in panic.
“But,” added the man, “the feast at the end of it made up for all the hardship.”
“Feast? Did he say feast?” twittered the sparrows, fluttering about in excitement.
“I remember my mother cooking up the most delicious dishes. The house would be filled with the smell of ghapama roasting in the oven. She would use a whole pumpkin and stuff it with a pilaf made of rice and dry fruits.”
“What about that dessert you had once made, the pastries with sweet filling? With a lucky coin hidden in one of them?”
“Ah, you mean gata!” said the man.
“Oooh! We want all of that! Let’s follow them home!” squeaked the younger sparrows. “Coming?” they asked the woodpecker.
The woodpecker shook his head, amused. “No thanks. You all go ahead. I have too much work to do,” and he returned to his drumming.
The Armenians have had trade relations with India for at least two thousand years. They settled in India during medieval times, and soon became important contributors to trade and commerce, even through British times and beyond. They are an integral part of Kolkata, where the community’s presence remains especially visible despite its dwindling numbers.
Our story is set amidst the quiet greenery of Kolkata’s South Park Street cemetery. Opened in 1767, it was once the largest non-Church Christian cemetery outside Europe and America. At the time of its closure, in 1830, it had more than sixteen hundred graves and tombs, representative of the various Christian communities of Kolkata, including the Armenians.
Notable graves from different Christian communities include those of the poet Henry Vivian Louis Derozio, a prominent figure in the Bengal Renaissance, William Jones, the founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and Rose Aylmer, lover and muse of the poet Walter Savage Landor. Today the cemetery is a protected site under the Archaeological Survey of India.
The Story Birds are taking a break over the holidays, to fill up on nuts and Christmas pudding. Wishing all our readers a wonderful holiday season and a safe, serene, and happy 2023.
We will be back in the new year with more stories!
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Ah, I love this short little story! I am a huge fan of cemeteries and would love to see this one, especially as it is historic. And I had not known of the Armenian connection to India.
Thank you, as always, for an entertaining and educating read! I wish you both a lovely season of winter holy days. Blessings to you!
I love Story Birds - the stories and the illustrations - and look forward to each new one.
Have a wonderful Christmas season and all the very best to the Story Birds in the new year!