Torontohye—The Book-Lovers Group of the Hamazkayin Toronto “Klatsor” Chapter presented an artistic evening titled, “The Light,” on November 30, 2025, at the “Hamazkayin” Theatre. The program included a selection of poems, songs, dances, and instrumental pieces. Participants included members of the “Erebuni” Dance Ensemble. “The Light” was dedicated to the lives and creative legacies of Taniel Varoujan (1884–1915) and Rupen Sevag (1885–1915), titans of Armenian poetry who fell victim to the Armenian Genocide. The event was conceived, coordinated, and directed by Tamar Donabedian Kuzuian. Throughout the evening, the youthful voices of the Book-Lovers Group showed that Armenian poetry has a future because it has a heart. Rupen Sevag and Taniel Varoujan breathed again before the audience, reborn on young lips, because the words lived and the sounds became emotions.
At the start of the program, even before the curtain rose, photographs of the two poets were displayed on stage, along with images of their spouses and children and several of their famous lines, which awakened heartfelt emotions in the audience. At that moment, the stage was silent; gentle waves of feeling played within the souls of the listeners.
The curtain opened to reveal a stage design bearing the hallmark of artist Ara Ter Haroutunian. Portraits of Taniel Varoujan and Rupen Sevag appeared, surrounded by a golden sea of wheat swaying under a soft breeze, where the delicate stalks seemed to sing their poems. The poppies, painted with the crimson of vibrant life and drops of blood, were symbolic, and the handwritten samples of the poets' famous words were impressive—telling of the past and appearing to wait peacefully for the participants who would voice the hundreds of lines that followed.
Accompanied by the music of Alan Hovhaness, a pair of graceful young women from the Hamazkayin “Artsakh” School of Dance, dressed in sky-blue outfits, approached the portraits of Varoujan and Sevag with fluid steps and placed a pair of candles beneath the photographs as symbols of an inextinguishable lamp and bright souls. The stage began to be illuminated not only by candles and lights, but by words born from the heart and echoing in the soul.
“First the light and the shadow” emphasized the power of the portraits and the beauty of nature, while each word and element of Varoujan’s poem “The Light” told its story, creating a moving and lyrical impression in the stage composition that will remain long in the hearts of the listeners.
Guided by intense emotions, young voices rose in the silence, and throughout the entire event, awakened Taniel Varoujan’s fiery calls and Rupen Sevag’s pensive melodies with their fresh breath.
On that blessed evening, the stage became a sanctuary echoing in the depths of the soul, where young hearts borrowed their voices from the immortal words of the greats. The poetic world of Taniel Varoujan and Rupen Sevag lived again through the youthful breath, dedication, pure pronunciation, stage presence, and deep feeling of the Book-Lovers Group members: Gabriella Batikian, Lori Berberian, Lara Der Minassian, Elena Faradjian, Alik Baboghlian, Nareg Karamardian, Jebid Keshishian, Mosig Danadian, Rita Khachoyan, and Shant Deukmedjian.
A staged presentation of the poem “The Light” opened the event. Then, Gabriella Batikian presented the day's purpose to the audience: “Today we will make an attempt to bring together two uniquely radiant poets whose life threads sometimes met and sometimes ran parallel, only to be cruelly cut short when they had barely completed thirty years of age: Taniel Varoujan and Rupen Sevag. Let today’s presentation be considered a modest step in bowing before the significant legacy of this pair of poets.”
The members of the Book-Lovers Group presented the biographies and episodes from the lives of Taniel Varoujan and Rupen Sevag. They also recited, masterfully, a selection of poems.
The intertwined lyricism of poetry and nature was depicted between the recitations. Duduk performer Seyran Ghazarian played “Horovel” and Lilit Najarian sang “Seas of Wheat.”
Turning to Rupen Sevag, book lovers did not just recite; through poems and prose, they opened their souls so that the great poet’s feelings would pass from heart to heart. Rita Khachoyan made the transition to Sevag, and between the subsequent recitations, episodes from Rupen Sevag’s life were presented from time to time. Thus, the stage became a meeting place where, under the influence of poems and prose such as “To a Star,” “Old Melody,” “Edelweiss,” “For Freedom,” “Student Letters,” “New Year’s Gift,” and “If Only You Knew . . . ,” the past leaned toward the present and whispered: “I am still alive.”
With the reading of the moving “Crane” section from Pages Torn from a Doctor’s Book and the exceptional performance by pianist Mineli Shahnazarian of Gomidas’ “Crane” (arranged by H. Kevorkian), the suffering, dreams, and faith of Armenians in exile were revitalized in the soul of every audience member.
The captivating “Reed” dance by talented members of the Hamazkayin “Erebuni” Dance Ensemble, choreographed for this occasion by dance instructor Nelly Karapetian to the sweet-sounding music of Khachatur Avetisyan, captured hearts.
Interpretations of the poems “Come” and “To Go” again set fire to the feelings of Sevag’s heart, and the stage once more became a place of old memories and new admiration, where Sevag again blessed us and lit our souls.
At the conclusion of the event, closing remarks titled “With Light, to the Light,” included the following: “Borrowing from the words of Taniel Varoujan—if we have succeeded in passing even a spark from the fiery hearts of Varoujan and Rupen Sevag to you, we, the youth of the Hamazkayin Book-Lovers Group, depart from this hall satisfied.” These words contain the conscious commitment and zeal of the group.
The closing itself drew an impactful image. The participating book lovers came to the stage one by one, successively reciting lines from Varoujan’s “Andastan” as a wish for the humanity of the world. The final couplet of “Andastan” was voiced by Ms. Donabedian Kuzuian, the coordinator and director of this exceptional evening. In the staging, the lyrical breath of the poem and the images of the blessing of soil and bread became renewed and alive in the young voices, while the words of the poem spread like light through the hall—gentle, warm, and crystal clear.
All the participants who made this spiritual feast a reality bowed before the audience, who were standing and warmly applauding. The evening became a visible and tangible presence that was not only a poetic image but also represented faith in the future: a light that springs from the soil, the word, and young souls. At that moment, the lyrical world of Varoujan and Sevag illuminated the present, suggesting that no matter how close the darkness approaches, there is always a hopeful and bright light in the Armenian spirit.
Before offering a prayer, Very Rev. Garegin Shkhrtmian congratulated the participants from the heart and stated that the community looks forward to such evenings again. The emotion and inspiration left by this artistic evening continue to live in our souls, while the delicate feelings of Rupen Sevag and the powerful words of Taniel Varoujan remain forever as luminous guides in the hearts of living, blooming, and fruit-bearing new generations.
Diroug Margarian Garabedian
