The National Library of Belarus hosted an event dedicated to the 880th anniversary of the greatest poet of the medieval East Nizami Ganjavi on November 24.
The year 2021 has been declared the Year of Nizami Ganjavi, an outstanding representative of world literature and a classic of Persian poetry, who lived and worked in Ganja, one of the biggest cities and cultural centres of Azerbaijan, in the 12th century. Taking into account the exceptional importance of the great master of words and thought, the National Library of Belarus, together with the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Belarus, held an event to mark the 880th anniversary of the poet.
Ms Aksana Knizhnikava, Director General of the National Library of Belarus, opened the event and recalled the warm relations and fruitful cooperation between the libraries of our countries.
Mr Ulvi Bakhshaliyev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Republic of Belarus is confident that today's event will be remembered by all those present and will contribute to further deepening of relations between our countries in cultural, scientific and creative spheres.
Professor Rafael Huseynov, Director of the Nizami Ganjavi National Museum of Azerbaijani Literature, member of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Doctor of Philological Sciences, spoke about the life of the poet, his followers and presented the library with books that are classics of Azerbaijani literature – "The Rise of the Word" and "Queen of Power rubai Mehseti Ganjavi."
Mr Mikalaj Charhinec, Chairperson of the Union of Writers of Belarus, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Ivan Savierchanka, Director of the Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, Mr Dzmitry Siauruk, Candidate of Historical Sciences were among the honoured guests who made speeches.
Watching a fragment of film "Nizami" (1982) by Azerbaijani filmmaker Eldar Kuliev deepened our knowledge of the life and work of the great poet and humanist philosopher of the East. His works are still in demand today, as evidenced by the lyrical performances of Valieryja Malinskaja, a student of the Minsk State Linguistic University, and students of the Philological Faculty of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after M. Tank Anhielina Baklazhec and Anastasija Staravojtava.
An exhibition of Nizami Ganjavi's works, which have graced library and museum collections, was prepared for the event. These include the editions of his first poem "The Treasury of Mysteries" and the poem "Khosrow and Shirin", which revolutionized the literary life of the time and brought fame to the author. The heroes of his poems, Khosrow and Shirin, Leili and Majnun and Iskander, are still well-known.
Separately, literary, art and musicological studies of Nizami Ganjavi's work have been presented. Among scholars, the orientalist E.E. Bertels, who studied his work throughout his scholarly career and created the first complete philological translation of the poet's writings, occupies a special place. The exhibition was complemented by fairy tales and poems created for children: "The Tale of the Khorezm Beauty", "Good and Evil", "Fitne", etc.
The collection of the National Library also holds a valuable manuscript, "The Five Treasures" (1497) by Amir Khusrov Diglavi, which presents five poems based on the thematic-artistic model of "The Five Treasures" ("Khamsa") by Nizami Ganjavi. The manuscript is on display in the Book Museum.
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