Abdulla Qahhor (sometimes spelled Abdulla Kahhar in English) ( uz, Abdulla Qahhor, Абдулла Қаҳҳор) (September 17, 1907 – May 24, 1968) was a Soviet and Uzbek novelist, short story writer, poet, playwright, and literary translator. He is best remembered as the author of the 1951 novel ''Qoʻshchinor chiroqlari'' (''The Lights of Qoʻshchinor'') and the 1958 story ''Sinchalak''. Qahhor is considered to be one of the best Uzbek writers of the 20th century and has been called the "Chekhov" of Uzbeks. He received the prestigious

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

in 1952 and a National Writer of the

Uzbek SSR Uzbekistan (, ) is the common English name for the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR; uz, Ўзбекистон Совет Социалистик Республикаси, Oʻzbekiston Sovet Sotsialistik Respublikasi, in Russian: Уз� ...

award in 1967. In 2000, Qahhor was posthumously awarded the National Order of Merit ( uz, Buyuk xizmatlari uchun), one of independent Uzbekistan's most prestigious awards.

Life

Abdulla Qahhor was born on September 17, 1907, in

Kokand Kokand ( uz, Qo‘qon/Қўқон/قوقان, ; russian: Кока́нд; fa, خوقند, Xuqand; Chagatai: خوقند, ''Xuqand''; ky, Кокон, Kokon; tg, Хӯқанд, Xöqand) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the sou ...

. His father was a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

and moved from place to place for work. Qahhor attended several schools in Kokand and other nearby villages. From 1922 to 1924, he attended a

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

in Kokand which specialized in training school teachers. In 1926, Qahhor completed a university preparatory program at Samarkand State University. In 1930, he graduated from Central Asian State University with a degree in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

. From 1933 to 1935, Qahhor was a graduate student at the Institute of Language and Literature in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

. He died in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

on May 24, 1968, at the age of 60.

Works

Abdulla Qahhor started his writing career in 1924 by writing short stories for different periodicals, such as ''Qizil Oʻzbekiston'' (''Red Uzbekistan''), '' Mushtum'' (''Fist''), ''Yangi yoʻl'' (''New Road'') under the pen names Nish, Norin Shilpiq, Mavlono Kufur, Guluyor, Erkaboy, and E-boy. His first poem, ''Oy kuyganda'' (''When the Moon Burned''), was published in ''Mushtum'' in 1924. Following the release of his first story, ''Boshsiz odam'' (''The Headless Man'') (1929), Qahhor concentrated on prose writing. His first book, ''Qishloq hukmi ostida'' (''Under the Rule of the Village''), was published in 1932. His first collection of stories, ''Olam yasharadi'' (''The World Becomes Young''), was published in 1935. Qahhor's stories ''Asror bobo'' (''Grandpa Asror''), ''Dardaqdan chiqqan qahramon'' (''A Hero from Dardaq''), ''Kampirlar sim qoqdi'' (''Old Women Rang''), ''Xotinlar'' (''Women''), and ''Oltin yulduz'' (''The Golden Star'') depict the courage of Uzbek soldiers and the hard work of Uzbek workers during the

Soviet-German war The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sou ...

against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

and its

allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. Qahhor's other novels and stories include ''Sarob'' (''Mirage'') (1935), ''Oʻgʻri'' (''The Thief'') (1936), ''Bemor'' (''The Patient'') (1936), ''Qoʻshchinor chiroqlari'' (''The Lights of Qoʻshchinor'') (1951), ''Oʻtmishdan ertaklar'' (''Stories from the Past'') (1965), ''Muhabbat'' (''Love'') (1968), ''Mahalla'', ''Millatchilar'' (''Nationalists''), and others. He is also known for his plays ''Shohi soʻzana'' (''Silk Suzani'') (1950), ''Ogʻriq tishlar'' (''Hurting Teeth'') (1950), ''Tobutdan tovush'' (''A Sound from the Coffin'') (1962), and ''Ayajonlarim'' (''My Dear Mothers'') (1967). He translated the works of many Russian writers, such as

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, and

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

into the

Uzbek language Uzbek (''Oʻzbekcha, Oʻzbek tili or Ўзбекча, Ўзбек тили''), formerly known as ''Turki'' or ''Western Turki'', is a Turkic language spoken by Uzbeks. It is the official, and national language of Uzbekistan. Uzbek is spoken as ei ...

. In particular, he translated ''

The Captain's Daughter ''The Captain's Daughter'' (russian: «Капитанская дочка», Kapitanskaya dochka) is a historical novel by the Russian writer Alexander Pushkin. It was first published in 1836 in the fourth issue of the literary journal '' Sovrem ...

'' of Pushkin, ''

Marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

'' and ''

The Government Inspector ''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pla ...

'' of Gogol, and, together with his wife Kibriyo Qahhorova, ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' of

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

Influence

Qahhor influenced numerous Uzbek writers, including Said Ahmad, Oʻtkir Hoshimov, and

Erkin Vohidov Erkin Vohidov ( uz, Erkin Vohidov / Эркин Воҳидов; December 28, 1936 – May 30, 2016) was an Uzbek poet, playwright, literary translator, and statesman. In addition to writing his own poetry, Vohidov translated the works of many ...

References

External links

The website of the Abdulla Qahhor Museum in Tashkent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qahhor, Abdulla 1907 births 1968 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century male writers 20th-century novelists 20th-century short story writers 20th-century translators 20th-century Uzbekistani writers People from Kokand People from Fergana Oblast Communist Party of the Soviet Union members National University of Uzbekistan alumni Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Socialist realism writers Translators from Russian Translators to Uzbek Uzbeks Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male writers Soviet novelists Soviet short story writers Soviet translators Uzbekistani male writers Uzbekistani male short story writers Uzbekistani novelists Uzbekistani translators