Golf with Karen Hovhannisyan

When we met for the first time on internet he didn't know anything about Armenia. Later he was telling me such things about our history or current issues that even I was not aware of. When we started the group he didn't know many Armenians. After two and half years he came to Armenia, spent 21 hectic days trying to manage meetings with each and every friend day by day, yet there were so many meetings left for the next time.

Among all Armenian friends there is a special one, Karen Hovhannisyan, who later became our QAVOR. Qavor is a very special and important person to Armenian families. This relationship begins when he is chosen to be the patron and  supporter of a couple preparing to get engaged and later married.

Karen is a golfer, the best golfer in Armenia. He is an amazing person, very humble and modest with very kind heart. Their friendship began in India where Karen went to participate in a Golf tournament . After spending two days with Ranu he came back very much delighted and touched by the gesture and warmth he had got, as if he found a family member in India.

As expected, starting from the very first day of Ranu's trip to Armenia Karen was with us trying to make our time unforgettable and full of events to different destinations. With him we attended open air dance classes organized by "Karin" folk dance troupe. Later we visited some travel destinations like Garni, Geghard and Khor Virap with his family -  his beautiful wife Stella and two wonderful kids Hranto & Sona. It was after all a family trip.

But the best sight we ever visited with Karen was "Ararat" golf club where he works and practices Golf. Honestly said,  before that I hadn't have much knowledge and image about this sport. But I definitely enjoyed it especially after seeing how my sweetheart was easily catching each instruction by Karen. After the first slipped stroke, he started playing as if he had taken at least several classes for some time and everybody were encouraging him not to tell anyone that it was his first ever visit to a Golf club :)

The club itself is a part of  a Yerevan district called "Vahagni community" the club itself is projected so that the players wherever they play could see Mount Ararat in front of them. We had a great time and lots of nice pics with Ararat in the background. The excitement was so much that Karen decided to take us there one more time and we had a session of a mini-golf. To our surprise the game ended with Ranu's victory. Well well, I would think it was Karen's sign of gesture but Ranu managed to hit the ball so that it appeared right in the hole with ONE SHOT only and that happened twice.... What to say ! Either he is very much talented or he had an  excellent teacher, or  both :)))

From the core of my heart I want to thank Karen for such a wonderful and unforgettable time spent at the Golf club. Special Note here to be mentioned: Most of the pics and videos we have is shot by Karen.

As for our other journeys, I'll try to write new posts.

My first MEHNDI

It's already 4th year once or twice a year Yerevan is hosting Indian Exhibition.  This is a trade fair of Indian goods, spices, clothes, jewelry,  and even wooden furniture and carpets. Each time it lasts for 10 days and people just flow there every day all the time. The most exciting thing about this fairs is Armenian young girls working at the stalls bridging Armenian customers with Indian traders. This becomes to be a real fun especially when people start bargaining. I would admit here that Indians and Armenians are the most active bargainers in the world. So imagine the scenario ....

The most famous purchase is scarfs. If you look  carefully at the young ladies passing in the streets almost every second one is having an Indian scarf over her neck.

Starting from the next day my sweetheart came to Armenia another Indian Exhibition started in Yerevan. Apparently it was our first site to visit after he got his rest from 24-hour-long trip in 2 airplanes.

We went there to participate in the opening ceremony and to meet lots of friends from the group. This time it was not as big as earlier times but what I managed to mention that the products were of high quality and as always colorful and smell-full.

The very first stall we came up was offering different types of  Mehndi applications for women. Mehndi is an inseparable part of Indian culture. Generally women apply this on their hands and feet but it has some fantastic and auspicious meaning especially before marriage.  There is a special day before the wedding called Mehndi day when all the women and young girls from both of the bride's side and groom's side gather at the bride's place, invite a special Mehndi master and start partying while the master applies heena on their hands and feet.

At previous Indian Exhibitions I had the chance to watch how Mehndi is applied but never had it applied on my own hand. This time my sweetheart suggested me to experience it myself.

My first Mehndi

 
As you can see in the photo it was not applied totally on my whole hand but on a small spot. However I was very much excited and delighted.

The curiosity of the situation was the payment. As my sweetheart was carrying Rupees too he suggested the lady to accept Rupees as anyway she was going to India soon and there was no need to pay in Armenian Drams. Apparently she was confused and didn't know what to say.  "You could never imagine to earn Indian Rupees in Armenia. Isn't it ", I said. Well it was a real strange situation for her in fact whatever she got in Rupees was double of what she asked to pay in Dram :)

I enjoyed my first Mehndi for almost 10 days. Coincidentally and unfortunately it disappeared in the morning on my Engagement day.

Presents from India

What I like most in this world is receiving and giving presents. Moreover in presents I appreciate not its cost but its spiritual value and the reason.
Among all the presents that I got from India I would like to emphasize two of them that really touched my heart.
First one is a souvenir of Lord Ganesha sent by one of my fiance's best friends with a greeting card where he calls me "Bhabi" sister-in-law.
I was so much excited to see this and I really felt the love and care it was prepared with.

My souvenir from Manu

Lord Ganesha

And the second one is a wooden  key chain made especially for us. Before traveling to Armenia my sweetheart visited Varanasi (Benaras) with his brother, an Indian friend and an Armenian friend - Karen who is living in India since last 10 years. Karen is not a friend actually but through Ranu he became my brother. In India he is recognized as my brother by everyone and Ranu is calling him "my Sala" which means brother-in-law. I really love him so much, he is such a darling. Fortunately I can be sure that at least one family member I'll have in India when I move there forever.  Karen ordered this heart shape key chain with our names at the bank of Ganga "to gift it to his sister and would be brother-in-law".

From the core of my heart I want to thank both my Indian and Armenian friends from India for such a nice surprise. They are really special to me and I will carry the warmth coming from them in my heart forever .

Photography

I really like photography and I dream of having a professional camera and traveling all over the world. Well this is my dream but in reality I don't have even a simple camera right now and I always used to delay taking photography courses due to lack of time and resources. Despite of this I always used to believe that I have the sense of photography which gives me that passion....
Well , well, it was like that until I discovered what kind of great photos can my sweetheart get with one shoot and how many shoots it takes me to get a photo a bit reminding the one he got. Oh My GOD, it is really difficult to arrange the angle, compare the background with face and get perfect match of the farther and and closer objects, etc., etc... Another dream of mine was to have a good photo-session: in nature, at different backgrounds and with different poses. And now wherever we went if we happened to be alone I was the lucky one to have lots of great looking pics and he was the one who was destined to be shot by me.... Imagine his disappointment :(  "And you say you wanna become a photographer ?" .
He could manage all these things so easily. I discovered a great photographer, I'd rather say a master in my sweetheart. Thank you jaan :)

....But no, wait. I found the way out when I noticed one more thing. Whenever we visited any sight be it in Yerevan or out of Yerevan: historical sights, mountains, churches, monasteries,  he preferred taking pictures of people in the combination with a good background. I am a total contradiction. When I see landscape I forget about people, portraits, combination.... I like landscape, I get good pictures and let me say that obviously I am able to develop this skill.
So, honey again we end up being a perfect match. You gonna admire me and take my pics and I am gonna travel all over India and one day, believe me, I'll have my own exhibition of  "Incredible India through my camera"

I am back

After such a long time I am back again with lots of experience, sweet memories and thoughts to share.
My sweetheart and I spent 21 wonderful days together with lots of fun, extreme, adventures and hectic days. I simply didn't have a single minute to sit and share it in my blog. While leaving he told me: "Now you have lots of things to write in your blog". How come I could know then that I would catch a cold and would be lying in bed with 40 C high temperature after his departure. Everybody was teasing me like I couldn't bear the separation with my fiancé ... :)

Yes, we managed to get engaged too. But let's not mix everything. I'll try to enlighten every event and every cause in a separate post.

So, let's take a tour ....