Manzura Ravshanbekovna Abdirimova
on translating Alisher Navoi
I am drawn to this poem by Alisher Navoi not only because he is my favourite poet, but also because the theme of the poem appeals to me. It is about a person who is deeply in love with a beautiful but hard-hearted woman who shows him no kindness. Throughout the poem, the poet beautifully describes how forcefully he is becoming devoted to her, despite his efforts to stop it. He uses a mythical figure (Khizr) and mythical object (King Jamshid’s magic cup) to vividly describe his wretchedness.
One of the most challenging phrases to translate was mubtalo bo’ldum (in both the title and first line), because it is an archaic word combination and no longer used by people in my country, so I had to change the translation there several times to preserve the meaning and the strength of the feeling the poet is depicting. Similarly, paripaykar was another archaic word posing difficulty; it suggests a very beautiful woman. At first, I tried “enchantress,” then “fairy,” and “fairy-winged,” but they did not sound right, so I ended up using “beauty.” The word balo, which means “misery, natural disaster,” also required much effort, but after grappling with it, I think I achieved a more accurate translation.
about the author
Alisher Navoi was a famous poet. He was born in 1441 in Herat, now in Afghanistan. He lived during the time of the Timurid Empire. Navoi is known as the father of Turkic literature, writing beautiful poems in the Chagatai Turkic language during a time when most of his contemporaries wrote in Persian.
He worked as a government leader, but he also built schools, libraries, hospitals, and roads. One of his most famous books is Khamsa, which means “Five Treasures,” and comprises five long poems about love, wisdom, and morality. Navoi also wrote about religion, friendship, and how to live a good life. He died in 1501, but his work is still loved and read today. Alisher Navoi’s writing helped shape the culture and language of Central Asia, and he is remembered as a great thinker and poet.
about the translator
Manzura Abdirimova is a master’s student in English and Anglo-American Studies at La Sapienza University in Rome. In her childhood, she was interested in literature and wrote poems and short stories. She translated short poems into English with her fellow students at Sapienza University. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree, she also worked as a translator and wrote articles for Xorazm Yoshlari (“Khorezm Youth”), a newspaper in Uzbekistan.
