1980_04 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper April 1980

              Page 4
Hye Sharzhoom
April, 1980
Tavloo, pinochle and khema on peda
Asbarez hall: 'Exactly as I imagined it'
By Bryan Bedrosian
The        Asbarez        hall.
All my life I had heard of the Asbarez
hall - that mythical place where old
Armenian men go to play cards and
tavloo, smoke, drink Armenian coffee,
and read Armenian newspapers.
This past month I went to visit the
Asbarez hall on several occasions to
see if my imagination was correct.
My first impressions of the hall were
somewhat of a letdown. What I saw
was simply a plain brick building located
behind an alley with the faded words,
"Asbarez hall," written in Armenian and
English.
As I opened the door, however, my
disappointment was instantly replaced
by the smell of cigars, the slap of cards
on the tables, the clatter of dice hitting
the tavloo boards and the voices of old
men arguing with one another in
Armenian.
Entering the hall, I realized that this
place  was  exactly  as  I  imagined  it;
old men dressed in suits and ties,
smoking cigars and playing tavloo or
cards on old kitchen tables and sitting
on old chairs.
On the walls hung pictures of Armenian heroes, such as General Antranig;
off in the corner sat a piano; off in
another corner, the kitchen; and in front
- a small stage.
The first people to greet me were
Dickran, the manager, and Apo. Apo
is a frequent visitor of the hall. He
treated me to lunch. During and after
lunch    we    did    a    lot    of    talking
about Armenian problems in general
and the hall in particular.
I remarked that I noticed a lot of
younger men like him were present
that day.     He said that the younger
men  enjoy coming on  Saturdays   for
lunch, a little tavloo, card playing, and
visiting with their friends.     He commented that this was  how a lot of
the older people started.     In  their
younger days they would stop by on
Saturdays   for   lunch   and   eventually
they became Asbarez hall regulars.
I also asked him if the numbers of
people   had   increased   or   decreased
over the years.    He said that during
the  1960's only the old people were
Convention:
continued from page 1
ian Question.    Participation in the
American system was not considered
a snub of Armenian identity but
rather  an  effort  to   "make  your
ethnicity and national identity work
together," as Mayor Koch noted.
The core of the conference revolved around 10 thought-provoking
seminars organized by the Columbia
Armenian   Club.       Dr.   Kouymjian
and Dr. Harry Keyishian moderated
a discussion on "Armenian Academics in the United States," surveying
the level of Armenian studies through
out the nation.
In a report to the ASO membership,
Dr. Kouymjian noted the intense
interest in the Armenian Question
among   students.
"You are articulate, well informed
and violently concerned," Dr. Kouymjian told convention delegates.
These same students, however,
often lacked the basic background in
Armenian history, culture and politics necessary to debate the Armenian
Question, he said.
CSUF's three other delegates
concurred with Dr. Kouymjian's
perception and agreed that Armenian
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student groups in the United States
should emphasize education in Armenian subjects.
Avakian also moderated a seminar
in which she and Richard Balekd-
jian of Columbia led discussion on
"College Student Clubs: Organization and Function."
Three problems common to all
college clubs dominated the seminar:
1. Participation, 2.Activities; and 3.
Funding. The students also emphasized the importance of new ideas
and challenging projects besides
reviewing the nuts and bolts of club
organizations.
Other seminar topics were: Church
unity, Armenian involvement in the
American political process, Armenian
identity in the United States, secular
and sacred activities, the American
media, Armenian institutions, the
Armenian Question and the Armenian
tradition.
Upon its return, the CSUF delegation sent a letter to participating
Armenian student clubs throughout
the U.S. reporting on the ASO's
plans for the 1981 convention. The
ASO also presented a convention
report to the Associated Student
Senate and the CSUF administration.
Recognizing the importance of the
convention, the AS Senate provided
nearly $1,400 in expense money to
the ASO delegates. The ASO thanked
the student governing board for its
unprecedented gesture of support
but pledged to return the money in
full.
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coming.   With the start of the 1970's
however, and the influx of Armenians
from overseas, business picked up.
The hall was one of the few places
in town where Armenian was the
prevalent language, a more familiar
atmosphere for newcomers.     In fact,
the hall  is  now  open  Wednesday
nights for the young people, he said.
Most of these young people are Armenians from overseas and thev consider
the hall a social center. These young
people, he said, have rejuvenated
the life of the hall.
After a few more cups of Armenian
coffee and some more talk I left Apo
to talk with Dickran. While I was talking
with Apo I kept hearing the old men
shout,    "Dickran   sourj    indzee    per!"
"Dickran beera indzee per!"    Dickran
would then go to the kitchen and return
with their requests.    But Dickran was
more than a waiter.    He was also a
combination   fix-it   man,   host,   and
bookkeeper.  With the help of his wife
Ani, the cook,  Dickran has managed
the hall for about two years.
I asked him to talk a little bit about
the older people who visit. He told
me that the average age was about
75 and many were in their 90 's. He
also told me that many of the old men
come everyday, seven days a week,
staying from opening at 8:30 a.m.
to closing at 5 p.m. You could even find
them in here on Sunday mornings,
playing cards of tavloo, he said.
I noticed behind him a paper which
read: "tavloo - 30«, fonti - 40c, rummy -
35c,   and  pinochle   -   35$."      Dickran
explained that this was the cost the
hall charged to play.    Whoever lost
would normally end  up paying for the
game.
Saturdays are always the busiest day,
he said, since it is the only day lunch
is served. The lunch? Why khema
on peda bread, of course.
After talking with Dickran I wandered
around the hall, sitting at one card
game, then the next, watching and
listening to the men as they played.
At one card game I sat at, the men were
all dressed in suits and ties, smoking
cigars, bantering back and forth in
Armenian, "I passed my turn to you,"
"Wait your turn," "I'm going to butcher
you next game!"
They would play tavloo, yelling out
the numbers in Turkish, "eki, bear,"
they believed the harder they slapped
the cards, the better chance they would
have of winning.
I returned to the Asbarez hall on
several other occasions and I thoroughly
enjoyed my visits. Just watching the
old men yell and laugh in Armenian
made me feel as if I were in a different
place and time. Perhaps a coffee house,
or "sourjarran," in Armenia at the turn
of the century.	
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