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Monday 5 May 2008

Tigran Khzmalyan: "The Meeting of the Mice / Mkneri Zhoghove"

Ելույթ ունեցավ նաեւ ռեժիսոր Տիգրան Խզմալյանը, որը հայտնեց, թե չի քվեարկել Լեւոն Տեր-Պետրոսյանի օգտին, բայց դատապարտեց այն բռնատիրությունը, որում այսօր ապրում է Հայաստանը. «Մարտի 1-ին ծնվեց այն երիտասարդ Հայաստանը, որը չի վախենում ու չի հանդուրժելու բռնապետությունը»: Տիգրան Խզմալյանը որպես ճգնաժամի լուծում առաջարկեց անհապաղ ցրել «մկների ազգային ժողովը», ընտրել նոր խորհրդարան:

Film director Tigran Khzmalyan (who did not vote for Levon Ter-Petrosyan during February presidential election) on urgent necessity to dissolve the "National Meeting of the Mice"* (aka Armenian parliament) and call for a new parliamentary election as a way out of current pollitical crisis in Armenia, extract of his speech at the Opposition congress in Yerevan. (quote and photo - via Aravot daily)


*The Meeting of the Mice / Mkneri Zhoghove
(famous Armenian animation based on Khnko Aper’s fable of the same name)

A group of mice meet and decide to hang a bell around the neck of the cat, which would alert them to its arrivals and departures. But it is one thing to make a decision, and quite another to implement it. None of the mice are able to do the deed. (source)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Artmika, the Mkneri Zoxov might not actually be pure Armenian as many of us thought. There is a very similar Greek fable and if I remember it correctly, it is actually based on mice as well. I don't know which one is earlier, but one has to check to see what the origins of the fable are. Unfortunately, I don't have a reference to the Greek one, I read it once when I was in college but lost the story.

artmika said...

Really? Never heard about it, but then again, our history and cultures are so inter-connected that it is not surprising. I will ask my Greek friends when meet them. Hey, at least that animation is Armenian - Hayfilm, love it :)

Haik said...

Khzmalyan also said that the real intelligentsia (Mtavorakan) is the one which is spelled with soft 'R'. In Armenian if you spell Mtavorakan with hard 'R' themeaning totally changes. It means an person who enters into other peoples arses that is, a brown nose or arse kisser. Almost the whole National Academia of Armenia walks with brown noses.

I bring a quote from Haykakan Zahamanak (hzh.am)
Նա նշեց, որ վերջին տասնամյակի ընթացքում սպանվում է երկրի իրական վերնախավը` իրական մտավորականությունը: ,Մտավորականը` փափուկ ր-ով, այն մարդն է եւ այն խավն է, որը միշտ իր ժողովրդի հետ է: Եթե ժողովուրդը զոհ է, եթե ժողովրդին սպանում են, ապա մենք պետք է լինենք զոհերի հետ, այլ ոչ թե դահիճներիե,- ասաց Խզմալյանը:

Ani said...

Ain't Google something--then again, Aesop, a slave, might just have been Armenian, who knows?:

Æsop. (Sixth century B.C.) Fables.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14.

Belling the Cat

LONG ago, the mice had a general council to consider what measures they could take to outwit their common enemy, the Cat. Some said this, and some said that; but at last a young mouse got up and said he had a proposal to make, which he thought would meet the case. “You will all agree,” said he, “that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. Now, if we could receive some signal of her approach, we could easily escape from her. I venture, therefore, to propose that a small bell be procured, and attached by a ribbon round the neck of the Cat. By this means we should always know when she was about, and could easily retire while she was in the neighbourhood.” 1
This proposal met with general applause, until an old mouse got up and said: “That is all very well, but who is to bell the Cat?” The mice looked at one another and nobody spoke. Then the old mouse said:
“IT IS EASY TO PROPOSE IMPOSSIBLE REMEDIES.”

Anonymous said...

Quite an apt description for our parliament today.

artmika said...

Thanks, Ani!

Sixth century B.C., and so current. Amazing, isn't it?!

Anonymous said...

The line - "tareq sran to kostany lapi" is an eternal line. Tarenq sranc, Robin, Serjin, Levonin, ev bolrin u bolrin, to kostany mi lav lapi.

Anonymous said...

Isk Kostan@ ink@ iran vonts a lapelu? Kostan@ RobikiuSerjiki hamadzulvatskn a.

Hishum ek mer arachin u 2rd azgayin joghovner. ay da azgayin joghov er- kazmvats mtavorakannerits amboghch azgov gamvats lsum kam ditum eink.
mek el amenshabatya mamlo asulisner@. Iskakan joghovrdavarutyun er, giteink te inch a katarvum yerkrum kani vor yerkir@ menk eink.

Anonymous said...

.......amboghch azgov gamvats lsum kam ditum eink.......

Isk indz chgites inchu tvum er te azgy santa barbarasyits batsi urish ban cher ditum ...

Yev inchu azgy chytrets Mtavorakan Sos Sargsyanin?

el chem asum vor civilized erknerum khusapum en mtavorakan barits, qanzi anughaki nshvum e vor myusnery anmtavor en. Zhamanakn e azatvel sovetakan clichenerits.

Kan qaghaqakan gortsichner yev kan voch qaxaqakan gortsichner. ka qaghaqakan gragitutyun yev ka qaghaqakan angragitutyun. verjiverjo ka machiaveli (RK) yev ka mek ayl machiaveli (LTP) u ays erkusi aqlorakrvi ardyunqum tuzhets metsamasnutyuny.

Evropayin nistery aveli shut en nman mkneri zhoghovn, bayts ayntegh giten aybn sahmannery vory chi kareli antsnel. mer mot nman sahmannery nshagtsvats chein u chen. Ayd sahmannery hnaravor e gtsel miayn banaktsutyan ardyunqum. Isk yete nakhapayman es dnum banaktsutyan, uremn ays sahmannery qez chi hetaqrqrum. Tsitsagheli e vor LTP-n mi koghmits huysy dnum e evropayi vra /azatel qaghbantyarkalnerin hamdzayn evropakan flan-fstani/ myus koghmits qnnadatum e yevropayin. ays kamukatsy vtangavor e bolori hamar, huys unem shotiv amen inch parzvi.