Caucasus is Euro?
Yerevan’s taxi drivers know everything more and better. They know all: started from the half tone gossip in the last table in the teahouse ended from the first ladies’ underclothes. They know government functionary’s secret concord with the opposition representative and policeman’s latent jobs. And of course they know all the good and bad places in Yerevan. Maybe they know me and probably they know you too.
So, what I was talking about… Yesterday I was harrying to an important meeting and dropped myself to the first come taxi. After the several times looking outside of the window, than to clock, to my papers, once more to clock… looked at a taxi driver: handsome man with the grey hair and white moustache. He looked as if he is cut from the national uniforms catalogue. He looked at me through the mirror and asked if I knew who was singing.
What a surprise. There is also a music playing”. I was concentrating for a while then I answered. “Gohar Gasparyan?” “No, Zeynab Xanlarova”-he said and smiled.
Generally I like experiments on unknown people but this time I understood his smile was showing quite the opposite. Anyway I “went on the play” asking him what was the song about. “Who knows, I don’t understand her but it’s not important. Melody is ours. Are you against of this melody and Azerbaijan?” (Here I want to stop and describe what I was feeling. “Am I looking like an intolerant person?)
Then he explained saying that he has been driving this taxi for 25 years, almost all that time listening to Zeynab Xanlarova’s songs. The type recorder was broken and the cassette stayed inside. “May be your generation will not understand but for us this melody has another mention and it is Caucasus oneness feeling inherited from the Soviet Union”-he says. “I don’t know what this song is about but I’m sure it is something close to my heart”. Today’s Caucasus - I can’t rely on such ours. Your Caucasus is Euro, isn’t it? He said and smiled.
I got off without saying anything. But I know, that several days ago when I decided to write something for “CaucasusNow” I didn’t imagine that somewhere is a taxi driver in Yerevan who thinks that mine and his Caucasus are different. Now I know for sure that I want to recognize “every Caucasus” and I am going to start it from here.
So welcome to my Caucasus city-Yerevan and as every of my foreign friends I also advise you: as soon as you are in Yerevan take a taxi and ask the diver everything you are interested in. As I said they are the most informed people in Yerevan.
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