A Million scarlet roses – this is the title of a very popular Russian song. Several years ago, the poet Andrei Voznesensky wrote the poetry, and the Latvian-born composer Raimonds Pauls composed the music for these verses. The famous singer Alla Pugacheva, was the first who performed the song.
Here is the story of the writing of those poems.
One day the poet Voznesensky read a romantic love story about the artist Niko Pirosmani. This story made a deep impression on the poet who decided to wrote a poem about it.
So, now imagine a hot summer in Georgia. In the outskirts of Tbilisi, a beautiful garden. It was a favorite place for both young and old people. There they drank wine, danced and listened to music.
Among the singers who performed in the garden, was a beautiful woman. She had bronze hair and a wonderful, unique, voice. When she sang, the garden became so quiet that even the birds stopped singing and listened only to her voice. The woman’s name was Margaret. She spoke little, and she was not interested in that people admired her beauty and voice. Her eyes were always sad. Every time Margaret sang in the garden, a tall very thin man stood in the audience. He looked intensively at Margaret and saw no one but her. Any day, when he did not hear her voice, was for him empty.
People knew that he loved Margaret, but her heart was closed to everyone. This man was Niko Pirosmani. He was a poor artist. No one knew much about him, but from the biography that was written after his death, we know that the artist was born in 1862 in a poor peasant family in a Georgian village. Like many others, he tried to work in different places, but he was interested only in painting. Although he had never studied, his talent was equal to the talent of great artists. However, his paintings rarely sold because, as often happens, his contemporaries did not understand his talent. All that Pirosmani painted, he would give for a meal or to friends.
Today his name is known throughout the world, and his paintings are priceless. From them we can learn about Georgia, its people, history, and nature.
But our story is not about pictures, but about the love of Pirosmani, so let’s go back to the outskirts of Tbilisi, and to the garden with Margaret.
This early summer morning was the same as all the others. People went to work, the birds were singing. In a small house, the windows were open in Margarita’s room on the second floor. In general everything was as usual, except that it was the birthday of Niko Pirosmani. Early in the morning, peasants brought a mountain of flowers to the quiet street where was situated the house of Margarita. They began to throw the flowers in front of her house. Soon the whole street was covered with flowers of different colors, but most of all with roses – large and small, red and white, yellow and pink ….
Margaret looked out from the window with big surprise – the air was filled with the scent of celebration. Suddenly she realized – this festival was arranged for her. But by whom? And Why? Then she remembered that today, it seems, was the birthday of Pirosmani. Maybe he sent the flowers? But why on his birthday, not hers …?
At this time, a tall, thin man walked slowly among the flowers to the home of Margarita. People knew him. It was the poor painter Niko Pirosmani.
From where did he get enough money to buy these mountains of flowers? And they realized that Niko had sold everything he had – a house, painting, paints, brushes.
He went to the home of Margarita. Everyone saw how she left home and went to him. “Why – she asked – why you gave me a sea of ??flowers on her birthday? I do not understand, Niko.” Pirosmani did not answer, but Margaret knew, and no response, how much he loves her. She had tears in his eyes. And for the first time she kissed Niko. People have watched and enjoyed. They thought that Niko’s love finally found its way to the cold heart of Margarita.
But they were wrong.
Next day, Margaret left the city with a rich man.
But she remembered all his life that love and the sea of ??flowers, given to her by the poor artist Pirosmani.
Pirosmani died as he lived, poor and lonely. Unfortunately, he left no belongings behind. Nothing – no home, no clothes, no paint, nothing. Nobody even knows where is his grave. Only the beautiful pictures remains, in which we see the goodness and light.
In Moscow there is a restaurant called “Pirosmani”. There you can see copies of his paintings. Many famous people – presidents and prime ministers, artists, actors, writers and musicians from different countries, have visited this restaurant and watched with interest the pictures by this amazing artist. Experts believe that Pirosmani made over two thousand paintings, but no more than three hundred remains. The name of one of them – “Margarita”.
