The Armenian dram is Armenia’s currency. There are many interesting Armenian banknotes, but there is one among them that has a special meaning for me. It is a green and pink banknote of 1000 dram, with a portrait of Armenian writer Yeghishe Charents. The back of the banknote shows an image of old Yerevan depicting the government building of the First Republic. It is approximately equal to 2 euros. The banknote belongs to the second series (1998–2017) and is still in use at present, but there is the third series of Armenian dram banknotes issued in 2018, so maybe it will go out of circulation soon. Here the question arises: How does it differ from all other banknotes?Â
My grandmother gave me this banknote. She found it in my grandpa’s clothing pocket. First of all it is a memory from my grandfather. I was a child when he died, but I remember going to the store with him. He was one of the most honest and fair people I’ve ever known. He always wore a plaid shirt that emphasized his kindness and caring. And you can imagine how much a man with such values wanted to buy something for his first granddaughter to make her happy. He would always ask me what I wanted him to buy for me, and I would always say that I didn’t know what. That made him angry.Â
By keeping the banknote from his pocket, I feel responsible for always having a goal and understanding what I want for myself, that I will have my share of happiness. Secondly there is a painting of my favorite writer, whose poems have helped me discover the world, emotions from a new perspective. And finally it reminds me where my roots are. Hence I can say that it gives me nostalgic and patriotic emotions. And that emotions are in every moment when it is with me and I can buy something with it, but I am not doing it.
I think if the banknote had been able to speak it would have said the following sentence written on it, which belongs to one of Yeghishe Charents’s poems “I love my sweet Armenia’s word which is filled with the taste of sun”.
