I am
what inspires me.
You are
what you love.
If you set your heart
upon a purpose,
you shall arrive there—
and believe me—
there,
you will find me.
~ Mari Berdzenadze, Excerpt from LAK’ECH

Deep in the heart of Kutaisi’s oldest neighbourhood is Mari’s home. Number 39 on Dato Berdzenadze Street—the street is named after her brother who died aged 21. He was the bodyguard of Eduard Shevardnadze, foreign minister during the Soviet-era, and independent Georgia’s second president. Dato was killed during elections. The house goes by the name Kutaisi Family House Museum.

Descended from the royal nobility which once ruled Western Georgia, 56-year-old Mari is a doctorate in law, published poet, and painter all rolled into one.

She has, like the four generations behind her, lived her whole life in this 150-year-old house bursting in the seams with artifacts that have held a special place in its residents’ hearts. A tiered four-season twinkling contraption that accompanied the family Christmas trees stands proudly next to a gleaming piano. Chinese cabinets and European figurines vie with a row of exquisite stringed musical instruments propped up on a damask sofa, whilst family photographs and paintings sheath the wall right up to the ceiling. Continue reading →