Coloniale – Craiova – Colonial goods Craiova

…ehhh…am trecut mult timp dar, parca a fost ieri…familia mea avea doua magazine in Craiova, cel principal si, Centrala cum era atunci, plus un depozit unde se tinea marfa. Tatal meu, Setrac Melikian era angrosist cum se spune acum…

ENGLISH VERSION BELOW

Craiova era un oras mare atunci, foarte animat. Tata avea tot feluri de marfuri, in general coloniale, cafea, rahat lokum si rahat din cel care era intins pe sfoara si se taia cu foarfeca…imi amintesc ca in depozit era o stiva de saci de cafea pana la tavan… mergeau bine pravaliile, a reusit sa stranga ceva bani…

In `33 cand banca Marmorosh a dat faliment avea depus acolo un million de lei pentru mine si sora mea, sa avem zestre… era o suma foarte mare, nu a mai recuperat nimic. Apoi a depus cinci sute de mii la banca Eschinazy, a dat si asta faliment, a pierdut si acesti bani dar, nu l-a afectat, el nu a tinut la bani niciodata…avea o vorba “Daca e haram, haram sa fie…!”.

In timpul razboiului a donat multe alimente, zeci de saci cu faina pentru vaduve si orfani..il stia toata lumea pentru generozitatea lui. Asa se face ca eu, la momentul cand am mers la facultate, am avut niste referinte asa bune incat nu m-au dat afara, ca atunci era problema cu copii de patroni, boieri…se stia ca tata era negustor cinstit si a facut avere folosindu-se de flerul sau de comerciant si nu cu speculatii si, oamenii recunosteau asta…Principiul sau era sa ruleze multa marfa cu adaos mic nu, sa puna adaos mare la marfa…

Ararat_197_Septembrie_1941

Tata avea clienti multi din aristrocratia vremii, erau marii boieri de atunci, familia Argetoianu, Ploiesteanu… se bea cafea, era o moda ramasa probabil de la turci si, circula si o anecdota cu logofatul Tautu care a fost trimis cu solie la sultan si care se spune ca ar fi fost servit cu o cafea si, nestiind ce este si cum se bea a dat-o pe gat ca pe tuica si s-a ars…

O parte a familiei noastre … a venit din Persia, stra-stra bunicul avea feuda, mosie mare, stapanul aceste feude se numea Melic, in limba persana inseamna rege. A trebuit sa fuga de acolo din cauza ca turcii selducizi incepusera sa ajunga din Asia in Europa…si s-au refugiat de frica lor in Armenia mare pe vremea lui Tigran cel Mare si, asa au cumparat pamant in Erzerum.

Tatal meu a scapat cu viata de la Genocid si a fost ascuns de un pasa care venea la ei acasa in Erzerum si il cunostea pe bunicul… s-a scris despre asta si in Cartea Soaptelor… povestea ca erau in curte in jur de cincizeci de persoane …cu argati cu toti, ingrijitori de camile…bunicul tatalui meu, pe care il chema Melcon, ei ii spuneau Melcon Dede, adica un fel de “bunicul Melcon”, avea mai multi copii iar, unul dintre ei s-a casatorit si pentru nunta a avut nevoie de vesela, farfurii, tacamuri…si a plecat spre Istambul impreuna cu cativa argati sa cumpere cele necesare. A ajuns in centrul Istambulului la un mare magazin, unde toate marfurile erau din argint. Au oprit caii in fata magazinului si, povestea tata ca proprietarul a venit la fereastra sa se uite cine a oprit in fata magazinului ca marfa fiind scumpa nu prea avea clienti. A intrat Melcon Dede in magazin insotit de un argat care ducea pungile cu bani, in vremea aceea banii erau de aur si erau grei, se tineau in niste pungi de piele, si patronul il intreaba “Efendi, ce doriti? Si el raspunde “…vreau garnitura de vesela pentru 48 de persoane…adu-mi o mostra sa vad cu arata !” era argintarie foarte fina, filigranata…Melcon Dede le-a cantarit din priviri si a zis ”Da, vreau 48 de farfuri, 48 de pahare…si asa mai departe ”, patronul magazinului a ramas …si a i-a spus “dar Efendi…acestea costa atat aur…” si atunci Melcon Dede a chemat argatul si l-a pus sa rastoarne pungile cu bani pe masa si i-a spus patronului “I-a de aici cat aur crezi ca face marfa ta !”

Tata a traversat toata Rusia dupa ce a scapat de la Genocid si a povestea ca a ajuns la Rostov pe Don si povestea ca avut ocazia sa-l vada pe Lenin…era un om mic de statura care tinea o cuvantare intr-o piata cocotat pe un butoi si nimeni nu-l asculta… Tata a facut multe munci pana a ajuns in Romania…a fost ajutor de ospatar pentru ca stia sa gateasca, a muncit in Crimeea pe un vas care facea transport de marfuri si asa a ajuns la Odessa unde stia ca are ceva rude… si de acolo a ajuns in Romania…a ajuns aici sarac lipit pamantului. A facut avere folosindu-se de spiritul sau mercantil si de faptul ca era un om de mare onoare, s-a bucurat de un renume fantastic in Craiova, clientii lui au apreciat asta. Avea multi clienti…toti spuneau „mergem la Melichian ca e si marfa de calitate si nu ne inseala nici la cantar…” ca mai erau negustori care inselau la cantar…lipeau diferite piese mici de metal de cantar sa atarne marfa mai greu…

English version

…ehhh…it’s been a long time but it seems like it was yesterday…my family had two stores in Craiova, the main one and Centrala as it was then, plus a warehouse where the goods were kept. My father, Setrac Melikian, was a wholesaler as they say now… Craiova was a big city then, very animated. Dad had all kinds of goods, generally colonial, coffee, lokum shit and shit from the one that was stretched on a string and cut with scissors… I remember that in the warehouse there was a stack of coffee bags up to the ceiling… the trash was fine, managed to raise some money… In `33, when the Marmorosh bank went bankrupt, he had deposited there a million lei for me and my sister, to have a dowry… it was a very large amount, he never recovered anything. Then he deposited five hundred thousand in the Eschinazy bank, he also went bankrupt, he also lost this money, but it didn’t affect him, he never cared about money… he had a saying “If it’s haram, let it be haram…” . During the war he donated a lot of food, dozens of sacks of flour for widows and orphans… everyone knew him for his generosity. That’s how it happens that when I went to college, I had such good references that they didn’t kick me out, because then there was a problem with children of patrons, nobles… it was known that my father was an honest merchant and made a fortune using his flair as a merchant and not with speculations, and people recognized this… His principle was to run a lot of merchandise with a small addition, no, to put a large addition on the merchandise…

My father had many clients from the aristocracy of the time, they were the great boyars of that time, the Argetoianu family, Ploiesteanu… they drank coffee, it was a fashion probably left over from the Turks and, there is also an anecdote circulating about the speechwriter Tautu who was sent with a message to the sultan and who it is said that he was served with a coffee and, not knowing what it is and how to drink it, put it down his throat like a pot and burned himself… A part of our family… came from Persia, my great-grandfather had a fiefdom, a large estate, the lord of these fiefdoms was called Melic, in Persian it means king. He had to flee from there because the Seljuk Turks had started to arrive from Asia to Europe… and they took refuge from their fear in Great Armenia during the time of Tigran the Great and thus bought land in Erzerum. My father escaped with his life from the Genocide and was hidden by a guard who came to their home in Erzerum and knew his grandfather… it was written about in the Book of Whispers… the story was that there were around fifty people in the yard… with all the farmers, camel caretakers… my father’s grandfather, whose name was Melcon, they called him Melcon Dede, that is, a kind of “grandfather Melcon”, he had several children, and one of them got married and for the wedding he had needed crockery, plates, cutlery…and he went to Istanbul together with a few Argati to buy the necessary things. He arrived in the center of Istanbul at a large store, where all the goods were made of silver. They stopped the horses in front of the store and, father said, the owner came to the window to see who had stopped in front of the store because the merchandise was expensive and he didn’t have many customers. Melcon Dede entered the store accompanied by a clerk who carried bags of money, at that time the money was gold and heavy, kept in leather bags, and the owner asked him “Efendi, what do you want? And he answers “…I want tableware set for 48 people…give me a sample so I can see it!” it was very fine, filigree silverware…Melcon Dede weighed them with his eyes and said “Yes, I want 48 plates, 48 ​​glasses…and so on”, the owner of the shop stayed…and told him “but Efendi…these it costs so much gold…” and then Melcon Dede called the merchant and made him turn over the bags of money on the table and told the patron “Here’s how much gold you think your merchandise is worth!”

Dad crossed all of Russia after escaping the Genocide and told that he arrived in Rostov-on-Don and told that he had the opportunity to see Lenin… he was a small man of stature who gave a speech in a market perched on a barrel and no one listens to him… Father did many jobs until he arrived in Romania… he was a waiter’s helper because he knew how to cook, he worked in Crimea on a ship transporting goods and that’s how he arrived in Odessa where he knew he had some relatives… and from there he arrived in Romania… he arrived here poor stuck to the ground. He made a fortune using his mercantile spirit and the fact that he was a man of great honor, he enjoyed a fantastic reputation in Craiova, his clients appreciated that. He had many customers… they all said “we go to Melichian because it’s also quality goods and they don’t cheat us even on the scales…” that there were also merchants who cheated on the scales… they glued different small pieces of metal to the scales to hang the goods more heavily…

2 Comments

    • Multumesc, eu doar am pus pe hartie povestea asa cum am ascultat-o.
      Cautand materiale pentru acest proiect am avut de multe ori posibilitatea sa stau de vorba cu ultimii pastratori ai acestor povesti.
      Din pacate, multe dintre povestile nespuse inca, vor pleca odata cu ei…

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