CC BY
38
https://doi.org/10.29013/ESR-20-3.4-64-68
Yunuszoda Zulfiya Yunusovna, Candidate of philological sciences, Samarkand state university, The republic of Uzbekistan
E-mail: yunuszodaz@mail.ru
THE IMAGE OF A TRAVELLER IN AHMAD DONISH'S STORY
Abstract. The article deals with the research of genre features and ideological content of one of the autobiographical stories from chapter nine of "Rare stories" ("Navodir ul voqoe") written by an enlightener writer Ahmad Mahdum Donish in Central Asia. With a view of to affect the reader effectively and emotionally, the writer expressed his advanced, illuminative look and thoughts via the image of the traveler reffering to a favourite genre of the enlightening literature, so as to describe journeys (safarnoma).
Keywords: the book of journey (safarnoma), genre, plot, image of a traveller, idea content, advanced illuminative thoughts.
Intruduction
Ahmad Mahdum Donish (1826-1897) is the first writer, illuminator who is considered to have revived an ancient genre of the famous Tajik literature safarname (journeys) in the period of enlightenment renisance and introduced lots of innovations and changes in it. In his twovolumed philosophical literary book "Rare stories" ("Navodir ul voqoe") (1875-1882) in VI - XIX centuries he described his overseas journeys, reflected the impressions from didactic life of far and close countries. Ahmad Donish's books of journeys contributed to the revival, development and perfection of this genre in illuminated and modern Tajik literature. In these books Ahmad Donish focuses on the life standard of inhabited advanced European countries, their high rate of developed culture which are from the view of traveler and foreigner from Bukhara arrived from retarded and feudal place seemed to be indescribably amazing.
The story which is the object of our research refers to the book of genre about autobiographical
In his article "Literary prose of Ahmad Donish", R. Khadizade attributes the story to philosophical literary genre, considering the philosophical content, literary descriptions, heroes' characters, writer's creative purpose, considering the coverage of the most important social and philosophical issues [3, 61].
Literary critic M. Adashev, considering this article about the genres of stories, uttered his point of view and disagreed with R. Khadizade's opinion, he points out that this kind of genre in stories is literary autobiographic [1, 88].
Indeed, events and occasions told in the story are referred to the adventures of a hero which were chosen by the writer. Hence, these events happen while the hero of the story is travelling. So, the Iranian's adventures happened during "the trips to the seacoast, in the region of Calcutta and the territory of India". Therefore, in our view the genre of stories which is the object of disputes we would rather name them adventure or autobiographic. As the events, doubtless, happening during travelling and road adventures
journeys (safarname) and it is called "The story of are reflected in the genre of book about journeys
Alexanders's vortex and foreigners' songs", is taken (safarname). In this book of journey, Ahmad Don-
up in the ninth chapter of "Rare stories". By volume, ish describes the specific Iranian, in other words, the
on theme and plot this story is short. image created by the writer was taken from life events.
As a result, the picture from a real life, character and perfect real man's quality and character arise before the eyes of the reader. It is obvious that from the very beginning of a story the writer chose the style of realistic description. Ahmad Donish himself underlines that he did not go far from a realistic base of life so as to tell about the Iranian adventure. The cruise adventures of a scholar person "came from Adjamand Iran", who chose to live in India appear to be life events told to the writer "by one of familiar people came back from journey to Moslimkhadj (khadj is a pilgrimage of Moslem people to holy city Mecca, to the sepul-cher of the prophet Mohammed -Z.Yu.)".
As a philosopher, Ahmad Donish discloses his attitude to the issue of fate predestination, he does not deny it that it is a divine power, considers that a man ought to endeavor necessary aspiration for attaining the occupation, in order to live a worthy lifestyle, striving for enriching essential material values and accomplishment of the world. Therefore, an illuminator writer considers it is important to enrich essential material values and wealth, equally along with physical human power, to attain necessary knowledge, obtain science and skill, or acquire some kind of trade. Donish's philosophical thought of this kind is found in literary description of a scholar Iranian journeys in cruise adventures.
In literary description Donish described that the work and behavior of heroes, their amazing aspiration towards the development of human's living conditions, wellbeing of human society are not sweet fairy dreams. They are the events turned into reality which depend on science and knowledge, erudition, art and power, opportunity of each ordinary person. Though the writer expressed the notion of science and knowledge as they give the power and wisdom came in useful on rescuing Iranian and his friends from fairy vortex ofAlexander, but the whole atmosphere, conditions, picture of nature, events and adventures submitted to the writer's creative aim and all descriptions are realistic and vital. The source of this style of Akhmad Donish's realistic description is an illuminating real-
ism, modern in the Tajik illuminating literature and secured substantially for a long time.
Donish's hero got education in Europe, studied the Europeans' lifestyle, was experienced in social and common life, settings of metropolises, such cities as France, Britain (London), Russia (Petersburg). Moreover, he is acquainted with the life of Greece and North America (Donish names it The New World, that is the New life - Z. Yu). According to Iranian, he departed from Khorasan to Paris in his young age to study and do business, learn the foreign languages, namely German. There he lived one or two years, having been freed from "the work of stall sand market", he used to go to study "the terms of the foreign language, trade's norms and acquire the skills of communication. Apparently, from Donish's story we can see that his hero is a thinker person with the outstanding consciousness. Having understood that the main condition to withdraw his country from economic and political backwardness in the modern setting and keep its peacefully progressive life is science and knowledge. He speculates that it is compulsory for each person to obtain secular sciences, learning the languages of the world, especially, acquire the sciences of the trade and communication. From the words of Iranian, the author underlines that "as both in trading and communication with those people in overseas, lack of knowing the language causes the misfortune and hardship" [2, 193]. After acquiring the language and getting appropriate knowledge on trade and communication with people the hero endeavors to develop the trade and learn something new, he goes to London, meets and converse with high-ranking officials of society and aristocrats. Consequently, he becomes an honorable man in the trade environment. His work in the trade and communication made progress; he became rich as he had been dreaming about for a long time.
By means of this story the author introduces his native reader with megapolises of Europe, their influence, lifestyle and activities of the people of those areas, brings to quite useful information about high
culture and the degree of science development and the progress of trade, people's relations. In the modern time, the illuminator writer admits the sciences and enlightenment as one of the main factors of life wellbeing, prosper of the country and constantly refers to this theme, campaign for the reader to study the world languages, improve the knowledge, familiarizes with advanced and developing life of other countries, use scientific and technical progress of the developed countries of the world. Doubtless, these issues contributed to the human's spiritual and intellectual impulses, perception the plot of social and economic hardships, political events of the epoch. Solely realizing this, it could be way out across the areas of backwardness of Bukhara emirate, to visit and see foreign country, observe high culture and developed science, scientific and technic achievements of civilized countries. For the sake of impressive impact and emotional expression of his creative aim, the writer uttered and relied on a widespread genre in illuminated literature the book ofjourneys (safarname) through Iranian's sea journey and the image of sailors, the captain of ship his illuminating thoughts and advanced views.
By expressing about obtained knowledge and acquired the world languages Ahmad Donish pointed out as the sample of a role model of the Iranian's achievement in material well-being and improvement of his life. He desired to provoke the stark consciousness of his people into motion, gain their interest in happy life, make their wish to study the languages, sciences, improve knowledge, strive to enlightening and by these contribute to the progress of society.
Iranian tells that once with several famous merchants and manufacturers they decided to go on a sea journey so as to purchase goods and fabric from London to Calcutta (India). Before disembarking to the coast, they have been sailing at sea for tenor fifteen days, sometimes for a month, visiting and travelling the coast of the cities in the territories of France and India. They had been making the bargain, resting for two or three days, and again setting out to the voyage. Once a strong head-wind rose and
their ship was washed to the place where according to the captain words "never a ship before was able to sail as far as and passed by". The captain of ship "was a blind foreigner, but very expert in marine cases", informed people that a head-wind will cause them to eternal and bottomless vortex. Having heard the captain's words passengers and people shouted loudly. They asked him to tell about it more in detail "where the ship was sailing to, how their destiny would end up and what their rescue would be?". The captain answered so "our route list, it is said that on our way there is a vortex. It will start draw in itself ships in distance of one-month voyage". According to the captain, it was the very vortex only Alexander was able to over whelm (Alexander Macedonian - Yu.Z.), hardly could anyone reach and those who reached never back alive. Alexander himself managed to survive there with the help of preliminarily envisaged measures by wise men and enough given number of various equipment and tools. After that this vortex was called "Alexander's vortex". So, travelers' ship approached the described vortex. Passengers became scared and horrified, they cried out, groaned and sobbed, "they had been praying God day and night caring of his men, solving all their hardships and were praying to gift them a rescue [2, 196]. The captain of ship without fuss coldbloodedly and peacefully pacified the passengers. A "wise and sober-minded" seaman summoned people for tolerance and self-control, cited examples from interesting stories about overwhelming the destiny and about people, who faced terrified misfortune. Hence, for those who had found life-saving, he said pacifying "it is possible, our god's mercy will save us from this trouble drawing in people from bloody vortex and will drag out us up save and sound" [2, 197].
Thus, hour by hour the ship speed was increasing and passengers were drawing into towards that boiling, whirling vortex. Then they witnessed at sea how "the vortex similar to a big pool in size was pulling everything in depth catching on its way and swallowing them". As the ship of our heroes was immensely
big and heavy the vortex could not draw it in. But the ship "was spinning round like a compass", at time sit was stuck in the gullet and again blustery wave sand strong storm pushed it out, then it again went on spinning. After a couple of days still the condition of travelers was unchanged, a strong wind arose and pushed out it to the foot of mountain, where the mountain formed from countless numbers of ships, some of them were broken, some of them turned into flinders. From the passengers out of eighteen men, only six was survived and twelve of them did not for two or three days" and then goes away. The captain started to seek the way out to the rescue, he ordered his apparent ice sand blacksmith to make a chain and prepare nails with rings on the top, so that they must be sharp and can be penetrated into any place. The captain knew the time of coming time of the animal from the astronomer who had found out of heavenly bodies. When the animal appeared, the captain ordered his apparent ices to join the chain tightly with nails, sitting on the boat to approach the animal nearer and fasten the chain securely on it. Three days passed and the animal started to move away and their ship was pulled by it, and each of his jerk roughly was equal to three days' journey. As the ship was gone away far from the vortex and reached the sea midst, they released the animal from chain and steered the ship themselves. By this way the Iranian and his shipmates survived from death.
Through his story Ahmad Donish clarifies that the help for travelers was given not by them pray sent to God, but their mind, knowledge, skill, power and human intellect. Their human perfection, erudition and above-mentioned qualities j oined together brought to the mighty power. Moreover, horror and misfortune, which had been lasting for many centuries causing the death of a great number of seamen and ship wreckages, had been overwhelmed by these travelers.
Ahmad Donish expands it in detail that the unified friendship, people togetherness, their mind and wisdom with scholar sand able work men which emerges great, mighty power urge to undergo any
hard ship and obstacles. In our view the creative purpose of the author in this story is the praise science, knowledge, wisdom and human intellect. The reason of receding from the disasters and misfortune are not the mighty divine power but the ordinary people if they are knowledgeable and acquire some kind of trade and skill. In this story, smith, a doctor with their knowledge and scientific approach, art and their skill fought against horrified misfortune. Consequently, they saved themselves from death.
Describing the event, the writer points out if the power is directed by human wisdom, intellect, knowledge and science and man's opportunities, nature will be submitted, its misfortune sand disasters will be no more any frightening. From the captain words, the writer retells: "One cannot with stand against the destiny by crying out and groaning" [2, 196]. When the captain fearlessly faces a horrified misfortune sent by the fate and defeated it, we ought to understand this action as confrontation against "a predestination of destiny" as a mocking parable towards those who keep nation hopeless and in spiritual dormancy, suppress its faith into their own power and opportunity, and the man turns into a weak and powerless creature. At this point, Donish pays a special attention to the issue of a strength firmness will of a man and its possibility struggling for life, if it is not submitted to the destiny. By these literary means, the writer endeavors to free the nation from ignorance and not to be summoned by predestination of destiny.
Fight against them is fortune emerged on people's way appeared not to be in vain. Having been rescued from a horrified vortex the passengers of the ship reached the "isles of pearls" which were full of overwhelming wealth possessing "ruby, garnet, emerald, chrysolite, lazurite and diamond", but because of this obstacle like the Alexander's vortex, no one was able to find the way there. The travelers who faced the death several days ago and defeated it, each of them became rich and achieved endless wealth. This is the answer to that question given to the Iranian by one of the writer's acquaintance at the
beginning of the story how he managed to achieve his reaches: "How did you gather the reaches, for eagerness and hard work one is not able to gather such amount" [2, 192]. This question was asked not just listening to the adventures of the story but for this rich man's life experience to be the sample for others.
Thus, the adventures expressed by this writer in this story became an appropriate means for propagating of illuminating ideas and aims that sciences and knowledge, power and opportunities of a man can create the conditions for improvement nation's life and peace. In summary, Donish in his book of journeys as an illuminator brings the issue of mean-
ings into focus, such as sciences and knowledge, generosity and benevolence, skill and trade. If the Iranian had not been educated in Europe, had not traveled all over the world, and the captain had not had life experience and knowledge, it would have been hard to be rescued from such an abyss death. Thus, the illuminator writer by means of this story in the book of genre about adventures endeavors showing the light to the nation for the way to study sciences and improving knowledge. If a person improves his knowledge like the Iranian he will be reach and live happily, and by this way he will contribute to the development of his country.
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