The text of the song “Suliko” is a poem written by Georgian poet Akaki Tsereteli in 1895. At Akaki's request, his niece Varinka Tsereteli composed a melody for the poem in the same year. “Suliko” is a Georgian word meaning “soul”. It is also a first name for both women and men. 

The song is actually a love story where someone is searching for the grave of his beloved Suliko. During the search, a lone rose is asked the question “Is it you Suliko?” In response, the flower bows and a few dewdrops fall like tears. A nightingale is also asked “Is it you Suliko?” As the bird starts singing, it seems to confirm the question. Finally, the question is also put to a shining star, whereupon the star drops its light on the seeker and a gust of wind whispers in the seeker's ear that the star is the one being sought. The message of the song is that the lost loved one lives on in the beauty of nature, in the blooming of roses, in the singing of the nightingale and in the light of the stars.

Count Akaki Tsereteli was a prominent and beloved poet in Georgia. The song tells a deeply emotional story of love and loss, touching many people. It eventually became very well-known even in other countries.

Every time I hear the song, it touches me again because it reminds me of my homeland. When you only hear from someone after a long time, people sometimes ask, as a joke, “Were you just as lost as Suliko?”

My name is Tamara Kabzinadze. I have lived in the Netherlands since 1993, have a son aged 28, and am a teacher of the Italian language. In Georgia, I graduated from the Pedagogical University of Foreign Languages. From 2020, I am a member of ‘Atinati’, the Georgian amateur theatre in the Netherlands. From day one, I have been extremely happy with that. ‘Atinati’ is really the place where my dream has come true. I love art, culture, theatre, singing, and patchwork. In fact, I have already had two personal exhibitions of my patchworks in the Netherlands.