Mkrtich Armen's "Babay" exposes the tragic irony in the life of an elderly Azerbaijani prisoner who, due to a language misunderstanding, spends years using the most severe curse as his habitual word for "thank you". Criminals adore and feed him specifically for this amusing curse, but when another compatriot reveals its true meaning, Babay is overcome with profound shame. The old man ceases cursing , causing the criminals to lose their source of entertainment and demand his transfer to the political prisoners' barracks.