"PIROSMANI" "And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem unto the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying unto them" ""Go into the village that is over against you" ""and straightway ye shall find an ass tied" ""and a colt with them:" ""loosen them, and bring them unto me." ""And if anyone say aught unto you" ""ye shall say" ""the Lord hath need of them."" "And the disciples went and did even as Jesus appointed them and brought the ass and the colt and put on them their garments and he sat thereon." "And when he was come into Jerusalem all the city was stirred, saying "Who is this?"" "We grew up together." "I loved him as I would a brother, taught him the three Rs," "and now he's written me a love letter, tried to kiss me..." "How could he!" "He knew it was wrong." "Why did he do it?" "He's spoiled our friendship." "You're really leaving, Nikala?" "I cannot stay at home any longer, madam." "Where will you go?" "To the city." "You would do better to go to the village where your sister lives, and look after the farm." "I am a poor farmer, madam." "Your dear mother bade us look after you." "I must go to the city." "Go, if you have so decided." "And may St George protect you." "Call the innkeeper." "How do you do?" "How do you do?" "You've been away a long time." "Truly." "My friend here is an artist from a far country." "Treat him royally." "I will do my best." "To you!" "God grant you good fortune." "What's that?" "A giraffe." "It died." "It couldn't stand our Tiflis climate." "Who painted it?" "Our Nikala." "Don't you know him?" "Everyone here knows him." "Tall, and thin as a rail." "He's decorated all our Tiflis inns." "Where is he now?" "I can't say." "Don't even know if he's still alive." "I haven't seen him for a long time." "He had friends in the Pesky district." "They would probably know." "At one time Nikala had his own shop." "But life is like a boat at sea;" "the wind drives it where it will." "Do you have any other of his paintings?" "Yes, quite a few." "How do you do?" "Oh, Nikala!" "When did you arrive?" "Show me my goddaughter." "An angel." "She does credit to her godfather." "Where's Dmitri?" "He'll be in soon." "Dmitri is unfaithful to you." "The whole town is talking about it." "Yes, well...who needs him?" "I was only joking." "Do you know who I am?" "My godfather." "Hello, Nikala." "Here for long?" "I've business with you." "Getting married?" "Who would have me?" "Well then, what business?" "For three years I've been on the move." "I'm weary of the rattle of trains." "Train whistles are best heard from afar." "I've saved up some money." "We're more or less kin." "Sona is my goddaughter." "I've no one closer in this town." "Let's open a shop together." "It will be a help to you, and it'll make somebody of me." "What do I use for money?" "I have the money." "When we get rich I'll build a house on a hilltop with a view of the whole city." "I'll buy a big samovar." "You'll come to take tea with me and we'll reflect on this time." "What's this for?" "They give us milk, cheese, butter..." "People will see these cows and be more ready to visit us." "Did you paint them?" "Yes, I did." "In time, I'll paint you some deer too." "Here's our first customer." "A head of cheese, butter, yoghurt and honey." "Eighty kopecks." "Goodbye." "Thank you." "Know who he is?" "No." "Prince Makashvili's cook." "You're spilling the milk!" "Hey, there!" "Sell me some grass." "What do you want it for?" "I'm lonesome for the country." "It will be pleasant to lie on this grass." "All our profit will flow away!" "Don't nag." "I'll do business as well as I can." "Buying on credit again?" "Nikala, you're a kind man." "My son will come tomorrow and pay all I owe." "Then come back tomorrow." "Wake up, Nikala." "Don't sleep on the damp ground." "Wake up!" "Your sister has come to visit you." "How did you find me?" "I asked around and was directed here." "So people know my shop." "The whole city knows you." "It's been a long time." "How are you?" "And the children?" "The children are well, God be praised, but we live in hunger." "Are you glad to see us?" "Of course!" "I've brought some of our own wine." "Otherwise, please forgive us, the crops failed this year." "Wait a minute..." "Looks like my brother's grown rich." "Ask him to get us flour." "I'll sell it in the village at a profit to him and to us." "You've matured and become a very capable man." "Why don't you ask why we've come?" "Rich or poor, you're still my brother." "What concerns you, concerns me." "Money isn't everything." "You should leave a trace of yourself on this earth." "What are you driving at?" "You won't live forever." "Your time has come." "What time?" "Your time to marry!" "Any girl would have you." "Just don't choose a stuck-up city girl." "A wife should be modest and respectful." "We know just the right girl for you." "She's not one to get lost in bed!" "They're coming!" "I toast the pretty she-dove perching on a branch alone." "And now I toast the he-dove that will alight by her side." "I'll kill that brother-in-law of mine!" "With this dagger I'll cut his throat!" "What's happened?" "Put that dagger away." "My relatives tricked me!" "They grabbed all the flour." "They wanted me to marry a beanpole of a woman." "Serves you right." "Is that what you think?" "I see I can't come to terms with the world of trade." "So I have no use for you either." "Get out!" "What would you like?" "A head of cheese... a pot of butter and honey." "How much?" "Five roubles." "Five roubles?" "It used to cost 80 kopeks." "Everything's changed now." "Take it or leave it." "Money on the counter, or the door's open." "You can leave as you came." "Good day, Nikala." "Where have you been so long?" "My son will come tomorrow and pay for everything." "Something must have happened to keep him away so long." "Don't be shy." "Take what you need." "Your son will come soon." "Come in!" "Take it all!" "Hold out your hand." "I'll pour you some honey." "Closed down?" "Yes." "Would you sell the pictures?" "I will." "How much?" "Name your own price." "You say you know where the graves of Queen Tamara and Rustaveli are?" "Just keep it quiet or some godless rogue will desecrate those holy sites." "My grandfather showed me a crevice in a cliff." "If you crawl through it you come to a valley where it is always day." "That's where the graves are." "Let's go and find them." "It's night-time so how can we go now?" "Let's drink to all the disinherited, to all the widows and orphans." "To all who suffer in this life." "May God succour them!" "To truth, to honour, to humanity!" "You like our Nikala's paintings?" "Very much." "I'd even buy this one if you'd sell it." "But we'd like to see the artist so we could help him." "Don't give him any money." "He had money and wasted it all." "He wouldn't accept it anyway." "He's very proud." "Where might he be now?" "Wandering about the city somewhere." "No one knows what drives him." "Food is no good to a lonely man." "Forget your poor fate." "Come and join us here." "Either bless our table, or curse us." "What ails you?" "Tell us, what grief gnaws at your insides?" "Perhaps we will understand you." "It's hard to go through life alone." "To your kind company." "Want any painting done?" "Lucky you came, Nikala!" "Paint something to cover this wall." "Is this all right?" "Yes." "A wineskin here?" "Yes." "Leave the cart in?" "Leave it in." "Where does this barrel go?" " Over there." "The oxen should be red." "Red oxen?" "You know nothing about painting." "Go stand at your counter and sell drinks." "Good day." "Niko, it's time you stopped roaming the streets." "Come and work for me." "I'll pay you and give you a room." "You'll save some money." "After work, you can paint to your heart's content." "I can't tie myself down." "Show us how it's turned out." "You've come, Nikala?" "I've worked hard, and now I must rest." "Why the deep thought, Nikala?" "Drink and forget everything." "How much vodka has been allotted to me in my life?" "Shall I drink it slowly and bear my burden longer, or drain it in one go and hasten the end?" "I can't make up my mind." "Drink, and stop thinking." "Our life is a confused, drunken whirl." "A man must keep pace with it uphill and down, if he is to withstand its vicissitudes." "I know, but somehow nothing works out for me as it does for others." "I've become stuck in the throat of this accursed life." "It neither swallows me nor lets me loose." "Get married, Nikala." "A wife will look after you, and bear you children." "Then you won't have lived in vain." "No, no, I can't bear the wailing of infants." "I want neither wife nor children." "I'll go and take a stroll in the garden." "Vodka, Bego..." "I'm suffocating." "These are our Nikala's best pictures." "These feasting princes are easily worth thirty roubles." "And the actress Margarita whom Nikala loved..." "You don't like Nikala's paintings?" "As if you could do better!" "Vano, what's got into you?" "Let them get out of here!" "Leave me be!" "They've entangled the whole world in cobwebs!" "What's wrong?" "Has someone offended you?" "For God's sake, leave me alone!" "How do you do?" "Are you Niko Pirosmanishvili?" "I am." "We've been looking for you all over town." "We are also artists." "We admire your work very much." "You've accomplished a great deal." "You are a great artist." "Soon your name will be known far and wide." "Niko Pirosmanishvili..." "Yes, Niko Pirosmanishvili." "Let's go find the graves of Queen Tamara and Shota." "Yes?" "Of course, Nikala." "Do you remember the place?" "I remember everything." "To set eyes on their graves just once!" "In that valley where the sun never sets!" "Let us drink to those revered names." "Pour!" "Now I don't want to die." "I want to live under this sun." "I am already known in other countries." "My name will not vanish without trace." "Who among you is Niko Pirosmanishvili?" "See?" "I've been sent for." "Gentlemen, permit me to present to you" "Niko Pirosmanishvili, the artist of our city." "He is a versatile artist." "He has decorated many of the taverns of Tiflis." "On their walls we can see Kakhetia, hunting scenes, festivals, views of Tiflis and the history of Georgia," "Queen Tamara, Georgi Saakadze, and Shota Rustaveli." "His animals and birds are especially good." "One might single out his Lion, Deer and Giraffe." "We consider that his work merits attention and we wish to collect it all together." "Perhaps the artist would say a few words." "Brothers, let us build a big wooden house in the centre of the city within easy reach of everyone." "We'll buy a samovar and gather together to drink tea..." "and converse about art." "Nikala has come!" "Where have you been all this time, brother?" "Come in and rest." "The next time I come" "I'll bring you an iron plough." "Only don't lend it to rich people." "They're crafty, and they won't give it back." "Good day." "Good day." "All yours?" "Yes, all mine." "God grant you raise them all well." "Thank you." "Vano!" "Gola... it's me, Nikala." "The artist, Nikala!" "What's he to me?" "What is it, brothers?" "What's happened?" "Something about me?" "You've been made a fool of." "Look how they ridicule you." "They say you don't know how to draw." ""Learn, friend, learn." ""At your age you still have time" ""to accomplish much."" "So they've made a laughing stock of me." "What did I do to them?" "What don't they like about me?" "Did I ask them for anything?" "It was they who came promising me rivers of gold." "As I have ploughed and sowed until now, so will I continue." "I've never had a master over me and never will have." "I felt like painting and I painted." "St George commanded me "Paint, Nikala!"" "Wasn't that so, friends?" "Must I then... wear this sackcloth henceforth and let it rub my neck sore?" "Have you come as friend or as enemy?" "I have come as a friend." "I am the artist Lado." "Don't you remember me?" "Sit down, please." "This is where I live." "What can I offer you?" "Bread, perhaps?" "Water?" "It's fresh and cold." "Sorry, I have no lemonade." "I want nothing, thank you." "Remember that artists' meeting?" "I can't recall, did you praise me or condemn me then?" "Condemn, I imagine, since you ridiculed me in the press." "Don't think I harbour any kind of grudge." "I dismissed it from my mind long ago." "We haven't forgotten you." "I've been looking for you for a long time." "You say I'm still remembered, maybe even liked." "Why shouldn't I be liked?" "I never did anyone any harm." "They're artists and I'm an artist." "I've painted all the inns in Tiflis." "Can artists be in each others' way?" "I love the sunrise." "It gladdens me." "Moonlight always makes me sad." "No..." "I will never understand those artists." "They were talking about something else." "Your name is Lado?" "Yes, Lado." "I've brought you some money which we artists collected." "You can use it to buy paints and anything else you need for your work." "Now permit me to take leave of you." "Stay a while longer." "Or let us go to an inn for a drink." "Sorry, but I don't drink." "Come on, there's a picture of mine there." "It's gone." "Pour your best wine." "For me and my friend, the artist Lado." "You sold my painting?" "Yes, Nikala." "A traveller pestered me for it and I sold it to him." "I think I'll be going." "Don't go." "Your company gives me so much pleasure." "But no, you should go." "It's late already." "Why do you hide from me?" "Did I ever do you any ill?" "Life rejected me and I turned away from you," "I set our kinship at nought." "Your goddaughter is no more." "She died." "Mine must be an unlucky hand." "We won't let you out until you've painted the place." "You'll find all you need in the corner." "Anything else we'll pass through the window." "I'm no good any more." "My hand refuses to obey." "Don't worry, you have three days till Easter." "That's time enough for you." "Brothers, we've forgotten about Nikala." "Nikala!" "Who's there?" "What are you doing here?" "Dying." "No, no, Christ is risen!" "The world is celebrating Easter." "The End"