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ISSN: 1430-3663

Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020

Abdulla Qodiriy’s “Bygone Days” – The Insistent Light of World Recognition Qodiriy Mahzuna Shavkataliyevna Uzbekistan State University of World Languages English Teacher Tashkent, Uzbekistan [email protected]

Annotation: This article discusses the possibility of achieving effective results on the contribution of a work to world literature by studying issues of advanced creative psychology, a creative concept, aesthetic taste, beliefs in world literature using the example of Abdulla Qodiriy.One of the most important issues is the study of the life and work of AbdullaQodiriy, who covered the criteria of literature in his works and contributed to our national literature. In addition, the fact that the work of Abdulla Qodiriy “Bygone Days” has not lost its relevance today and is gaining popularity in world literature is a reflection of the fact that our national traditions are spread all over the world. Key words: jadidism, classical literature, intellectuals, enlightenment, women in society, andisha (humility from Uzb.), methodological approach. One excellent feature of the historical novel is that it, in one respect, gives the reader an interest in the form of an artistic work, in the second, slightly challenges the reader’s world view with historical events... Abdulla Qodiriy. With the relatively recent establishment of a sovereign Uzbekistan,a wide range of opportunities have been created to study, promote and perfect the profound cultural and spiritual heritage of our great ancestors, who have contributed to the achievements of the world culture.The independence of a people and the subsequent formation of their worldview are inherent conditions for the formation of democracy and the primary animus towards a nation’s spiritual development. Thus, the government of an independent Uzbekistan focuses special attention on the problems of spiritual reconciliation and purification. This effort is

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Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020 a response to the growing interest of our people to know their history and culture with the study of material culture of the Uzbek people being of great importance. Contemporary Uzbek intellectuals’ interest in the legacy of Jadidism lies in their awareness of the parallels that period holds for their own pride in Uzbek history, culture and civilization. The importance of the Uzbek language, classical literature, and education of the people are the main focus of today’s Uzbek intellectuals; and, in a similar fashion, Abdulla Qodiriy, Cholpon, and Fitrat also played a central role in promoting and reforming these same concerns. Today Jadid ideas on education, modernisation and religious revivalism remain the main sources of current political and cultural activities in Uzbekistan. Naturally many Uzbek intellectuals look towards Abdulla Qodiriy, Cholpon and Fitrat for ideological and spiritual inspiration and leadership. So, we use the term Jadid to describe a broad social phenomenon that first became apparent in Central Asia in approximately the mid-nineteenth century and continues to this day. But we should also understand that the Jadid movement worked in tandem with other post-colonial movements throughout the world. We can easily categorize Qodiriy as a Jadid reformer in order to articulate for ourselves where he stood among the hundreds of social “categories” that were vying for survival at the time. We use the term to describe a moment in history. One of the luminaries of the Jadid milieu was Abdulla Qodiriy. His two main novels, Bygone Days or in Uzbek O’tkan Kunlar and Scorpion from the Mehrab or MehrobdanChayonset the standard for Uzbek prose and provided the benchmark for aspiring Uzbek authors. As one translator of the O’tkanKunlar wrote: To prepare for my exams, I was tasked with translating the first three chapters of Abdulla Qodiriy’sO’tganKunlar (Bygone Days). Once I began, I became completely obsessed with finding out how the novel ended, and so I read the whole thing.

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I quickly learned during my time in Tashkent that everybody in Uzbekistan has an opinion about O’tganKunlar (Bygone Days). It became clear that Qodiriy was a beloved literary figure and that I was gaining insight into an aspect of Uzbek culture that very few people ever learn about.( Mark Reese)[http://www.theuzbekmodernist.com,The Muloqot Cultural Engagement Program ,Facebook ] As Qodiriy himselfwrote: All languages also take “the borrowings” from languages. It is impossible without it. The work turns out dry, without an essence, if it is written only in its own language. The writer must thoroughly study the language and folklore of his people, and it is a virtue that he knows several languages, especially theneighboring languages. Only then the language becomes rich, the work comes to life. ( AbdullaQodiriy).[Abdulla Qodiriy, Selected Works, Tashkent, Sharq Publishing House - Editor-in-Chief of Matbaa Joint Stock Company, 2014].

A few words about the translation of the novel into different languages: according to data collected, Bygone Days/ O’tkan Kunlar translated into dozens of world languages, including: Russian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Tatar, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Tajik, Turkmen, Uyghur, Karakalpak, German, Turkish, English (2 times) and Chinese. Many of the issues that Central Asians faced in the early part of the 20th century hold eerie parallels to our own period. What is the role of Islam in society or government? What is the role of women in Islam? How should we counteract corruption? What defines a marriage? How will we define ourselves? How will we define others? In Qodiriy’s case,especially, in doing so, how do we maintain our humanity? If we read Bygone Days/ O’tkan Kunlar we can notice both linguistic and elevating patterns in the masterpiece:

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One noteworthy example at the end of O’tkanKunlar (Bygone days) is when Qodiriy’s hero Otabekdeploys a significant religious expression: “In fact, who can hear the calling “hayyaalalfalaq” in the cemetery”. According to the Qodiriy’s commentary the meaning of the expression “hayyaalalfalaq” stands for “an urgent call for assistance, to offer support”. The word “Cemetery” is a metaphor. It is an image of the Motherland during both the mid- 19th century and Qodiriy’s period of the early 20th century. Jadids, especially Abdulla Qodiriy,often called upon their nascent nation to become familiar with the reforms taking place around the world, in order to avoid regression to outdated methods, in order to reconcile internal conflicts and nepotism, and to fight for the flourishing of the Motherland. Otabek, who referred to his people as those who reside “in a cemetery”; in other words countrymen who have not awaken from the sleep of ignorance by the call of the morning prayers. The hero of the novel hoped for the Khans and Beks to implement mothers of new government policy and save them from the harm of colonization. In turn both author and his hero are prototypical Jadids, or proponents of enlightenment. The author also noted his religious beliefs, ironically, through the words of the character Homid that Central Asia is behind other nations with: Allah, has turned this world to camphor. What this could be taken to mean is that European nations have overtaken their homeland and reflects the views of AbdullaQodiriy himself. Finally, in the last chapters of the novel YusufbekHojirelays to his sonOtabek: “…Our Turkistan, where we buried the sacred bodies of our ancestors, we – the dogs who are going to turn it into pigs’ stywill certainly meet to God’s wrath! Leaders like TemurKuragon, Conquerors as MirzoBobur, scientists as Farobiy, Ulugbek, Abu Ali Ibn Sino who brought up and served for this land, people who is going to drive it into danger certainly worth of God’s anger, my son! Killing

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Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020 sinless merges, cruel people who destroyed orphanage house, worms and birds will meet scold of grown grasses, my son! …”.[Abdulla Qodiriy. O’tkankunlar.“Sharq” Joint stock publishing house company head office. Tashkent. -1995. p.22 ] In the first case, the wise and far-seeingYusufbekHojiportends the turning the land into a “pig sty”, is a self-blame towards “we the dogs” who represent the Khan, Beks and government officials who administered the country during that period and did not understand the need to implement reforms. Secondly, he provides a sharp critique, one that likely meant the death of his author, toward the illegal and repressive policies of colonists. It is clear that the novel clearly depicts that the more forward-thinking intelligentsia of Qodiriy’s period understood their predicament not just of the mid-nineteenth century but their own period - a situation that denied them their own dreams for change. We know from world history the role and importance of the educational development of women in creating change within society. Our specialists of pedagogy believe that it is impossible to reform society, to systematically reform it, without changing the attitude of women in society—reform is not possible without the increasing the importance of a woman’s social status in family and society. In this light, the Jadids advocated for the creation of women’s’ rights, the renewal of a legal framework of families. The active participation by women in educational and enlightenment processes with the belief that ultimately the fate of the nation, of society, and the state depends upon the spiritual health of women thus families. If we look at the history of our literature, the above concerns are covered by Uzbek writers and poets through their unique contributions. The main themes in our classical literature, mainly that of the beauty of Central Asian ideas as glorified by our appreciation towards moral truths, towards the sanctity of family, towards

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Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020 the importance of mothers and women in society—ideas imbued over the centuries and leading to the shaping of human kind. Abdulla Qodiriy in particular, who founded the Uzbek novel, skillfully depict the admirable qualities of Uzbek women. Thus our educational curricula would take on greater importance and meaning if students were given excerpts from the works of Abdulla Qodiriy as a model for behavior. When we consider the ocean of work that Qodiriy produced we see a link between our centuries-old culture and the current traditions of the Uzbek people, especially in regards to domestic relations. We see this especially through Bygone Days: Through Qodiriy’s narrative we see the common themes of love, respect for family, and spousal relations. The heroine, Kumush, agrees to Otabek’s second marriage only after he was forced to concede by his own parents. As the story develops Kumush then suffers greatly after receiving a fake letter of divorce. That inner anguish she grapples with, despite the struggle felt deep in her heart, pales in comparison to her love and devotion, a force that stays with her until the end… Perhaps these ideas are absurd for western women, but they hold great relevance to Uzbeks even today. From the point-of-view of our current period, not just for the peoples of Europe and America, what woman would agree with this situation today? How could a woman endure a letter of divorce. From ancient time, our grandmothers, have advised us to endure the ups and downs on life. Kumushbibi was born into such an Islamic environment. The qualities that Qodiriy depicts in her are a sign of devotion to Otabek. Qualities such as the sanctity of the family, Andisha, and the strength of honor are paramount. These are symbols of resilience, modesty of women of that period, and the very incarnation of family and tradition. These qualities exhibited by Qodiriy’s heroes such as the primacy of intellect, thoughtfulness, acuity of mind, logic—all traits of classical thought—will

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Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020 assist educators in teaching and developing new methodological approaches. The traits exhibited by both the positive and negative characters in the work are full of linguistic wealth that could easily form a lexicology useful in both language learning and the forming of character. The author’s richness in his form of expression and art form a model dialogue from the positive characters as well as moral patterns to help continue family traditions. One such example is when O’zbekOyim engages her son Otabek to her choice of a second bride Zaynab. Otabek is unaware of this decision yet senses that such a move is afoot. In the novel Qodiriy couches the looming debate through a logical premise that confounds even the wise YusufbekHoji: “After O’zbekoyim came in, YusufbekHoji thought for a while. O’zbekoyimwould look at her husband with a sigh. After sitting for a long time without speaking, the pilgrim (Hoji) said politely: - My son, have you heard or not, we have done something against you ...”. Otabek, of course, knew what they were "doing or trying to do". But he said to them, "What the wise men have done to their sons, it is not wrong".YusufbekHoji looked at his son's answer and did not know what to do ...[Abdulla Qodiriy. O’tkankunlar.“Sharq” Joint stock publishing house company head office. Tashkent. -1995. p.22]

The child's response has such a strong logical power that the father is greatly moved, bowing his head and left speechless. From YusufbekHoji’s core he is ashamed and full of regret for his actions. He understands that O’zbekoyim’s actions were not the acts of a wise person, it is not what a smart person does to their sons… The power and wisdom of tradition leaves us in amazement and wonder. In our current period, that of the 21st century, the anxieties, concerns, and efforts of today’s intellectuals encounter a great deal of nonsense in all spheres of life. The

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Vol-15-Issue-6-June-2020 discourse between YusufbekHoji and Otabek bear the markings of the great questions asked by sages throughout history. If we consider in light of this the current situation in Uzbek homes, what landscape do we see? Can we still assign fathers and sons as the sole occupiers and arbiters of what is reasonable in our society? Are they still able to represent positions of reason in our society? Does the honor of the father in a family, the honor of the child in the family today reflect the same weight as in the past? Have we achieved the same parent-child relationship in bringing-up our children…”. The humility of YusufbekHoji, the gracefulness of expressing meaning through a simple gesture, the wisdom to speak little and open one’s mouth to only words of gravitas, the power of classic comportment of conversation and etiquette are all the great moral qualities passed on to Otabek. The only difference is that the younger generation does not want to suffer the same fate as their fathers. And women do not wish to be like their husbands—they wish to be their own persons. Otabek remains the hero with the “Fire in the belly.” He lives his life fully and with all the concerns of the world in his heart. He constantly weighs life and takes measure of it through his own thoughts. But, when the time comes, he acts decisively. Asking for help is seen as a weakness. He is his own man. Thus, explains the phase of the novel when he endures the pain of two years of wandering: he cannot abide asking for assistance from his father or Hasan Ali. Considering the achievements in the world by this novel we can comfortably say: the novel Bygone Days, Abdulla Qodiriy’s masterpiece, is a miracle of art created for the future happiness of the Uzbek people. The world of letters can best and correctly understand the prose of the Uzbek people through his work. In this sense, our grandfather, Abdulla Qodiriy, gave the Uzbek novel to not just his people but to the world.

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List of used literature: 1. Abdulla Qodiriy, Selected Works, Tashkent, Sharq Publishing House - Editor-in-Chief of Matbaa Joint Stock Company, 2014. 2. Mark Reese, Bygone Days (O’tkanKunlar), USA, Nashville, TN,10th December, 2019. 3. Fattoev M. Our famous teachers, Tashkent, Teacher, 1988. 4. Karimov B. “Abdulla Qodiriy and hermeneutic thinking”, Akademnashr, Tashkent, 2014. 5. Qoshjonov M. “Fine Arts of Abdulla Qodiriy”, T.: Science. 1966. 6. Qodiriy X. "About my father", Publishing house named after G. Gulom. 1992. 7. Qodiriy Sh. “37- honadon”, Tashkent, Davr Press, 2012. 8. http://www.theuzbekmodernist.com, The Muloqot Cultural Engagement Program, Facebook.