Sobir Abdulla

Songs by Sobir Abdulla, a People's Poet of Uzbekistan, laureate of the Hamza State Prize of the Republic, and a well-known playwright, served to exalt the virtues of patriotism and diligence in our people. Sobir Abdulla, a People's Poet of Uzbekistan and a well-known playwright, was born into a service-class family in Kokand in 1905.

Biography

Sobir Abdulla was born in 1905 in the city of Kokand into a service-class family. His father, Alimov Abdulla (1863-1933), was a mirzo (writer) and a literate, intellectual man. He was an admirer of Bedil, a representative of classical Uzbek, Persian, and Tajik literature, a wonderful chess player, and a close like-minded friend of the famous poets of that era such as Muqimiy, Furqat, Zavqiy, Mavloniy, Yo‘ldosh, and others. His mother, Xojarbibi, daughter of Muxammadamin, was also among the literate women; his mother taught her son to read and write early. As a result of his mother's efforts, love for poetry was formed in her son from a young age, and he began to write poems under the pseudonyms “Nogiron” and “Osiyo.” From the age of eight, he could easily read the ghazals of Eastern poets, understood their meaning, and wrote his own poems as well.

After finishing school, Sobir Abdulla continued his studies at the Kokand Enlightenment Institute in 1920. He completed a preparatory course for workers between 1924-1926, worked in the satirical section called “Chig‘iriq” of the “Yangi Farg‘ona” newspaper, and at the same time had his poems published in local newspapers and magazines. From 1925 to 1948, he worked as a literary staff member at «Yangi Farg‘ona», the former «Yosh leninchi» newspapers, and the «Mushtum» magazine, and as a literary assistant at the Andijan Theater. In 1927, he tested himself in the field of dramaturgy for the first time, and his first play was published under the name “Muhbirga hujum” (Attack on the Reporter).

After completing a journalism training course in 1928, Sobir Abdulla came to his hometown of Kokand and continued his work as a special correspondent for the republican newspaper “Qizil O‘zbekiston” in the Fergana Valley. From that year and until the end of his life, he strengthened his mutual relationship with the satirical magazine “Mushtum”, publishing his stories and sketches in these magazines.

Sobir Abdulla's creative activity as a capable playwright began in 1931. He worked as the head of the literary department at the Uzbekistan State Music Theater. Later, his creative activity continued in the Musical Drama Theaters in the cities of Samarkand, Andijan, and Tashkent, which further strengthened the mutual cooperation between the theaters.

Sobir Abdulla staged more than thirty works. His staged works were also performed outside Uzbekistan, in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Among them, “Tohir va Zuhra”, “Alpomish”, “Muqimiy”, and “Gul va Navruz” are still being performed in the country's theater repertoires today.

During the war years, in addition to writing poems reflecting the life of soldiers and the selfless labor of people in the rear, the writer also actively participated in the creation of plays such as «Qurbon Umarov» (1941) and “Davron ota” (1942).

Sobir Abdulla also had the ability to be a film scriptwriter. The script he wrote for the feature film “Tohir va Zuhra”, filmed in 1945, was also highly rated in the global film industry.

He wrote his lyrical works based on the works of classical poets and created his first “Devon”, and this collection includes poems, ghazals, satires, mukhammases, musaddases, musammanas, tarjibands, masnavis, and ruboiys.

Sobir Abdulla passed away in Tashkent on October 24, 1972, and was buried in the Chig‘atoy cemetery.

Activity

The poet's first collection called «Erk ilhomlari» (Inspirations of Freedom) was published in 1931. In his poetry collections «Ko‘klam nash’asi» (Joy of Spring, 1932), «Taajjub», “Gulshan” (Rose Garden, 1939), and story collections such as «Navbahor» (New Spring, 1930) and «Do‘stlik» (Friendship, 1937), the life of the people and the spiritual world of the poet found expression. Sobir Abdulla was a productive playwright. His stage works such as “Bog‘bon qizi” (The Gardener's Daughter, 1930), “Oyxon” (1935), “Tohir va Zuhra” (1939), “Alpomish”, and “Muqimiy” were the pride of our theaters.

In the post-war years, the songs created by Sobir Abdulla, such as «Vatan sevgisi» (Love of the Homeland), «Baxtim qilur namoyish» (My Happiness Shows Off), «Paxtakor tongi» (Cotton-grower's Morning), and «Ravshan zamon» (Bright Era), served to exalt the virtues of patriotism and diligence in our people. In the final years of his life, the ghazal-writing poet created the novel “Mavlono Muqimiy”, reflecting the life of the educator poet Muqimiy.