Said Ahmad

In the stories of Said Ahmad, one of the leading figures of Uzbek prose, the skill of psychological depiction of Oybek, the humor of Gafur Gulam, and the conciseness of Abdulla Qahhor's narration are embodied. He is a People's Writer of Uzbekistan and a winner of the State Prize. He has been awarded the "Great Services" and "Friendship" orders and holds the high honorary title of "Hero of Uzbekistan."

Said Ahmad (Husanho'jayev), one of the leading figures of Uzbek prose, was born in 1920 in the Samarqand Darvoza neighborhood of Tashkent.

He finished secondary school in 1939 and graduated from a higher education institution in 1941. His interest in creativity grew during literature classes and clubs; he picked up the pen, and the periodical press became the university of his creative work.

Said Ahmad first worked at the magazine "Mushtum," at the Uzbekistan Radio Committee (1942-1943), the former "Qizil O'zbekiston" (now the newspaper "O'zbekiston Ovozi") (1942-1947), and the magazine "Sharq Yulduzi" (1948-1950). His first collection of stories, "Tortiq," was published in 1940. During the war and the post-war years, Said Ahmad wrote many feuilletons, essays, and stories. His collections such as "Er Yurak" (1942), "Farg'ona Hikoyalari" (1948), and "Muhabbat" (1949) were published. In his stories such as "Xazina," "Hayqiriq," and "Rahmat, Azizlarim," he movingly depicts the terrible consequences of the Second World War and glorifies the heroes of the war.

All of Said Ahmad's stories are written on contemporary themes. In his stories, he strives to draw philosophical generalizations from every event he describes, to express events with lyrical impressiveness, and to achieve a variety of artistic depictions. A number of his works, such as "Cho'l Burguti," "O'rik Domla," "Lochin," "Odam va Bo'ri," "Bo'ston," and "To'yboshi," were novelties both in Said Ahmad's work and in Uzbek prose.

The main characters of the writer's stories are our contemporaries with rich inner worlds. The writer created living characters in works such as "Tog' Afsonasi," "Zumrad," "Muhabbatning Tug'ilishi," "Ko'zlaringda O't Bor Edi," "Poyqadam," "Alla," and "Iqbol Chiroqlari."

In his satirical stories, Said Ahmad laughs at the vile customs that hinder our progress and raises important moral issues. Dozens of his satires, such as "Xanka va Tanka" and "Lampa Shisha," are proof of our opinion.

With his short satirical works, Said Ahmad founded the theater of miniatures on Uzbek radio and television.

Said Ahmad gradually moved from stories to creating large canvases. After the novellas "Qadrdon Dalalar" (1949) and "Hukm" (1958), he discussed the problems of the pre-war and post-war periods in his trilogy "Ufq" (1964). In the novel "Jimjitlik" (1988), the vices of the stagnation period are exposed.

In recent years, his collections of satirical stories such as "Xandon Pista" (1994) and "Bir O'pichning Bahosi" (1995) have been published. He also created memoirs about Oybek, G. Gulam, A. Qahhor, M. Shaykhzoda, Shuhrat, Mirtemir, and S. Zunnunova.

Said Ahmad is also known as a playwright. He is the author of stage works such as "Kelinlar Qo'zg'oloni" and "Kuyov."

Said Ahmad is also a creator who faced the second wave of the repression era and suffered the torments of imprisonment.

He was accused of being a "member of an anti-Soviet nationalist group and a propagator of harmful ideas" and was held in the Jezkazgan camp in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan. His collection of stories "Qorako'z Majnun" (2002) expresses the bitter truth about this.

A number of novellas and stories included in Said Ahmad's "Yo'qotganlarim va Topganlarim," his three-volume "Saylanma," "Qaroko'z Majnun," and "Kiprikdagi Tong" are evidence that he created with passion during the years of independence. Many of the writer's works have been translated into fraternal and foreign languages.

He is a People's Writer of Uzbekistan and a winner of the State Prize. He has been awarded the "Great Services" and "Friendship" orders.

And, finally, he also holds the high honorary title of "Hero of Uzbekistan."

Said Ahmad passed away in 2007.