…tatal meu, Eghia Semizian, avea pravalia pe strada Maica Domnului, se numea “Coloniale Semizian”, atunci era un cartier cu oameni de mijloc, cu venituri scazute, majoritatea lucratori la ITB, Tramvaie Bucuresti. Imi amintesc ca mai venea cate un copilas trimis de maica-sa „sa-mi dati de trei lei cafea si de doi lei zahar…!” , mama mai dadea marfa si „pe caiet”.
ENGLISH VERSION BELOW
In cartier erau multi unguri veniti aici pentru a lucra in constructii, unguroaicele nu prea vorbeau romaneste si maica-mea, ca sa se inteleaga cu ele, invatase ea ungureste si le servea, le facea socoteala in ungureste. Pravalia era de coloniale si era ticsita de tot felul de marfuri, pe la pranz, maica-mea se retragea sa se odihneasca putin si, pravalia ramanea pe mana mea si a baiatului de pravalie, era momentul in care eu dijmuiam dulciurile, ciocolata si halvaua. Halvaua se taia dintr-o bucata mare dupa cat dorea clientul, asa ca ramanea un model de taietura, un fel de scara. Eu taiam cu mare atentie avand grija sa ramana la final acelasi desen ca maica-mea sa nu-si dea seama. Se prajea si cafea, se cumpara cafea verde si se prajea la noi, aveam o instalatie rudimentara, un fel de soba de fier in care se facea focul cu lemne si deasupra era un cilindru care se invartea cu ajutorul unei manivele, se mai verifica din cand in cand gradul de prajire. Odata am prajit chiar eu o sarja de cafea si am prajit-o bine, am fost foarte mandru de asta. Mai spre centrul orasului erau magazine care aveau masini mari, performante de prajit cafea, noi ne descurcam cu ce aveam…
…imi mai amintesc ca erau multi cizmari in vremea aceea, nu se gasea de cumparat incaltaminte gata facuta, daca aveai nevoie de pantofi, trebuia sa mergi la un cizmar sa-ti faci „la comanda”.
– povestite de Dl.Semizian – fiul lui Eghia Sermizian
ENGLISH VERSION
…my father, Eghia Semizian, owned the property on Maica Domnului street, it was called “Coloniale Semizian”, then it was a neighborhood with middle-class people, with low incomes, most of them workers at ITB, Tramvaie Bucuresti. I remember that there was a little child sent by his mother to “give me coffee for three lei and sugar for two lei…!” , my mother also gave the goods “on the notebook”. In the neighborhood there were many Hungarians who came here to work in construction, the Hungarian women did not speak Romanian much and my mother, in order to understand them, she had learned Hungarian and served them, made them calculation in Hungarian. The pravalia was colonial and it was filled with all kinds of goods, at lunchtime, my mother retired to rest a little and, the pravalia remained on my hand and that of the pravalia boy, it was the time when I ate sweets, chocolate and halva . The halva was cut from a large piece according to what the customer wanted, so there was a cutting pattern, a kind of ladder. I cut very carefully, taking care to leave the same drawing at the end so that my mother would not notice. Coffee was also roasted, green coffee was bought and roasted at our house, we had a rudimentary installation, a kind of iron stove in which the fire was made with wood and on top of it was a cylinder that rotated with the help of a crank, it was also checked from sometimes the degree of roasting. Once I roasted a batch of coffee myself and I roasted it well, I was very proud of it. Towards the city center there were shops that had large, efficient coffee roasting machines, we made do with what we had… …I also remember that there were many shoemakers at that time, you couldn’t buy ready-made shoes, if you needed shoes, you had to go to a shoemaker to have them “made to order”.
– narrated by Mr. Semizian – son of Eghia Sermizian
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