For Yerevan locals, Karo Badalyan is hard to miss.
“Red is a good color. It’s the color of victory, of strength.”
For Yerevan locals, Karo Badalyan is hard to miss. In fact, he feels like an integral part of Pushkin Street. For some, it’s his delicately organized stand of peppers, pumpkins, pomegranates—and other things that don’t start with the letter p. For others, it’s his bright outfits: the fabric version of a Kinder Surprise egg.
I’ve been living in Armenia for almost three years now and have passed by him many times before I could refer to him as Karo. Finally, the time had come to officially meet.
“I don’t really like talking about myself. I prefer talking about my fruit,” Karo shared at first with a chuckle. Born in Kapan, he now commutes every few days to Pushkin 40 from his current home in Ararat, bags of locally harvested goods in hand. Why this spot? “I meet all the best people here.”
A historian by training, Karo studied and received his degree in Yerevan. “I read everything,” he claimed. I believed him. Passionate about Armenian and US history, Karo shared some of his favorite books about key figures. “It’s a shame someone like Kennedy is no longer around,” he shared. “What a hardworking man.”
To Karo, his stand is about connecting with people and enjoying the beauty of his stand. Every morning, the fruit seller meticulously lines up his products of the day, ordering them by color, shape, and size. Design is of critical importance. “Everything needs to look right,” he believes. His favorite color – also the color of most of his stand’s products – is red. According to Karo, red is the color for winners. “Just look at all of the top football teams. What color do you think they’re wearing?”
Before I left, I made sure to grab a selection of his Ararat-grown fruits. We promised to say hello next time we cross paths and share more about each other. “Next time you come, you will have to try the redcurrant.”
Photographs by Anna Mkrtchyan.
