The concept of Urban Locality is implemented by the symbol of Dushanbe in works by Timur Karimovich Zulficarov («dushanbe» means Monday in Tajik and the historians say that the town developed from a village where a large bazaar functioned on Mondays).
Dushanbe (renamed to Stalinobad during the Soviet period) is the native place of the poet and itself is «a character» of his novels and poems. In T.K. Zulfikarov’s works we will not come across with an epic and detailed depiction of Dushanbe. The town is introduced via essays, by a few lines here, a few lines there as it is seen through the prism of its history as well as personal emotions and memory of the writer. He writes on behalf of himself:
«I flew back to Tajikistan the same autumn…
I haven’t been in my native Dushanbe for many years.
I was apprehensive to visit the country of my memories… I was apprehensive to visit this cemetery of the living …
Many people and friends dear to me died during the Civil War, many moved away, many lost themselves in drinking, changed beyond recognition, destroyed and degraded themselves to the level of stray dogs…» [1].
In the parables of «Earthly and Heavenly Wanders of Poet» and in his novel «Coral Viper» there are snippets of his own family history: the tragic death of his farther – an avid communist shot in the 1940th by Stalinists, episodes of the life of his mother, a professor of philology and the author of the well-known TajikRussian Dictionary, as well as flashbacks of his own childhood.
The life of Timur Zulfikarov and his family is inseparable from the life of Dushanbe and the USSR, the state that vanished from the world map. Stalinobad becomes one of characters of the novel about derwish Zulfikar Khodja and such epithets as «native», «sacred»,
«glorified» used by the author tell us that the town has a special place in the system of his values. «The prison was in the downtown of my dear dusty sacred Stalinobad» [1]. «I am an aged poet, I came for a short visit from fierce Moscow to my native Dushanbe, so sweet and dowdy, plain and blessed …» [2]. The writer’s opposition of epithets «fierce» (Moscow) vs. «native» (Dushanbe) enhances the impression of poet’s affection for the town of his childhood.
In T.K. Zulfikarov’s world view Dushanbe represents not a geographical spot but a part of his inner world, and notably the outskirts of the town are his favorite place. Dusty impoverished outskirts are praised by him in his dreams-meditations. The Civil War of Tajikistan split his memory into the pre-war and post-was periods and, respectively, impacted his impressions of the town. Impressionist-like sketches of Dushanbe full of blooming roses and almond-trees under breeze from mountains is replaced by apocalyptic scenes of Dushanbe in the flame of fratricidal war.
Let’s compare Dushanbe of his childhood memories in his song «December Roses» (as the author specifies its genre) with Dushanbe at war in «Fatia».
Ah, my sweet home, Dushanbe Where roses bloom in December, Where roses sing in December And a sycamore releases it golden leaf» [2]. Through the semantics of words «rose», «sycamore», «bloom», «sing», «golden», that are powerfully charged with aesthetics and positive connotations, T.K. Zulfikarov creates the paradise, the pastel-coloured canvas of a peaceful life in the fragrant town. The readers get the town of his childhood memories and the memories always retain good events only.
In «Fatia» there are also descriptions of peaceful Dushanbe outskirts:
«Here it is, a cute adobe hut in spring breathing with puffs of smoke through its chimney, living solemnly, trusting, longing for, dreaming of the outskirts of my cherished Dushanbe. Breeze from the nearby Gissar mountains, covered with poppy flowers and mint, brings their aroma and we are sitting on the fresh emerald-green grass of the patio and sip the dense heavenly tasting Tajik pomegranate wine…» [2].
«Ah, the patio, ah, the hut, ah, in spring on the outskirts of my innocent vulnerable Dushanbe… on the outskirt of my dormant, vulnerable, helpless Mother-land… Open and innocent as a baby’s cradle…Doomed already…» [2].
«Here is his Russian wife with an innocent smile, artist Nastasya, she is crazy about Tajik peacock chakany, ichighi, izor, kaush, kumghan, jurab…» [2].
«And now the neighbours merrily indulge themselves in heavy-bodied pomegranate wine from Shahrinaus and savour sweetly smoked pilav with tender lamb flavoured with Iranian cumin and Afghan pepper hot as the Zoroastrian sacred fire… All together – the wine, the breeze, the sweetly smoked pilav, the Afghan pepper and immense human and divine Love –make the neighbors laugh, hug each other, and become closer with each other like spring streams that join together and become an
inseparable flow…» [2].
The reader witnesses how on the land of the ancient nation with fifteen hundred years of history, the peaceful town founded for love, arts, friendship transforms to the Town of Death:
«In scorching summer heat the town is seized with war
Death is wandering in its streets…» [2];
«…Death has come to your Dushanbe!
The fratricidal war has come! The Civil War… People die and those who are still alive rush out
from their burning homes …
You are among the rushing people, you are not dead, not killed but
your town bids farewell to you forever…
And you still alive bid farewell to your home town, Dushanbe, to the people you loved here
And see alive what you should see after death only My Lord! What is more frustrating than a
destroyed nest…
Now I see human nests in flame…
Spring streams flow down from the Gissar mountain ranges and Regar hills…
Curly muddy ditches accompany my steps…
Standing and weeping among the streams of
water …
And people are rushing out and nests are burning
Here I spent my childhood…» [2].
It’s very personal, subjective, and emotional. Each sentence makes a separate paragraph (T.K. Zulfikarov’s preferred technique, by the way) and this type of graphic accentuation adds to perception of his readers. The syntax is specific too: sentences are unpunctuated, many paralipses. Semantically he expresses himself through a string of carefully chosen epithets with finest hues of colours. The town and its day-to-day realities are hardly mentioned, the description is mostly based on evaluating connotations.
In the chapter named «Eshnies-Allaudin Azure Turquoise Grape Grower», a tragic image of battle-worn Dushanbe at night is achieved through contrasting colours:
«Now the azuri twilight is thickening and evening is flooding our war worn-andtorn sweet orphaned Dushanbe…
Soon murderers with gun-machines will cruise the echoing streets to kill those who are charmed and do not sleep but walk in the sapphire lilaceous azure streets …
Oh, my sweet former home town where residents hurry to their deep holes, cracks, caves in evenings and do not acknowledge each other in streets of threatening danger…» [2].
Such lexemes as «deep», «holes», «cracks», «caves» have the notion of darkness and are linked with «tragic», «deadly», «dangerous» versus lexemes with positive connotation as «azure», «sapphire», «lilaceous». These adjectives denote the hues of the blue colour recalling the high skies of Sogdiana, ancient frescos of Bactria, domes of mosques and mausoleums. The blue colours link the reader with the civilizations of this ancient land.
The author applies this contrasting technique to narrate a love story «Veeka and Javah». The Shakespearian Romeo and Juliet of the XXth century: a young Tajik, Javah, and his Russian girlfriend, Veeka, lived through their first love that coincided with the fratricidal war in their home town. The delightful autumn was singing odes to their love but gun-machine men, the angels of death, did not hear the Ode to Great Love and killed the lovebirds during their rendezvous. Javah was killed first because he protected her by his body and then the girl who embraced the dying boy. «Veeka and Javah were lying on soft fallen golden leaves, head to head, gently inseparably fatally inexpugnably. … In my war torn town I had not seen happier faces than these two smiling angelical faces already departed from here… » [2]. The town founded for love turned to the killer-town that brought death and deprived of hope for future.
Earlier it has been written that burial rituals are of special importance in Central Asia. Each ethnicity on this territory has its own way of bidding farewell to its dead citizens. The deceased would never be abandoned without the ritual. The war has changed the sacrosanct routine. The residents have gone mad by the war and stopped burying the deceased. The Apocalypse has come – the dead are left in streets of Dushanbe and the living are afraid to offer them homage and give the ultimate send-off.
«There is no one to sweep the thick layer of fallen leaves…
Street sweepers are scared of stray shots… Fallen golden leaves bury even seal almost
traceless the ground of homeless derwishes and dilapidated huts and aryks where those killed in night shootings languish for burial…
Let the golden leaves be their shroud till the first snow…» [2].
Recalling his golden town of childhood and speculating on the destiny of his ancient nation, T.Zulfikarov comes to a lamentable conclusion in the «Night Battle» chapter «All cities and empires came to their end not because of lack of water but because of lack of love» [2]. The home, the place where a man comes back after a journey or vagrancy, has turned to ashes. The loved ones are killed. No more place where you are loved and looked forward to. There is no place to be back to. Ashes. Hollowness.
«…Twenty years later I visited Dushanbe… In the spot of Ahor’s house there was the omnipotent mud and invincible weed where everybody returns to if the Lord does save us not …» [2].
This way the «Dushanbe» markers of the concept of the Urban Locality are as follows:
- the lexemes of everyday reality of Dushanbe residents: patio-havli, adobe wall – duval, aryk, hut;
- the phytonyms: rose, sycamore, almond-tree, vine. They are used to describe peaceful Dushanbe;
- the words describing smells: the native town is described by T.K. Zulfikarov through smells of «Hojan kanibadam almond», rose fragrance, Persian lilac, breeze with hints of mint;
- through unique Zulfikarov’s epithets: «innocent», «vulnerable», «native», «open», «cute, dowdy windy gracious Dushanbe»;
- through metaphors: «the land of derwishes», «the native nest deep holes cracks caves houses»;
- through colours: sapphire, lilaceous, lazuli, golden.
The above objectivizes the semantic content of the concept. This way the «Dushanbe» concept comprises the following semantic segments: Dushanbe
- Stalinabad, Dushanbe – blessed, native, Dushanbe
- sweet home, Dushanbe – the town of memories, Dushanbe – the town of childhood and adolescence, Dushanbe – an Oriental town with all features implied, Dushanbe – the town for Love, Dushanbe – the living grave-yard, Dushanbe – the Death town.
Translation to English by Alfia B. Lambert, Docent of Oriental Institute at Chicago University
References
- Zulfikarov T.K. Coral Viper // Internet resource. Access: http://www.proza.ru/avtor/nanazu
- Zulfikarov T.K. Earthly and Celestial Wanderings of Poet» // Internet resource. Access: http://royallib.ru/read/zulfikarov_ timur/zemnie_i_nebesnie_stranstviya_poeta.html#0