Yulduz Turdiyeva, a 41-year-old woman who grew up in Nahorgy, has a unique talent and is married to her teacher's son

**Yulduz Turdiyeva is 41: The difficult path from a housewife to a master's son**

Today, August 10, Yulduz Turdiyeva, a well-known artist in Uzbekistan, turned 41. The aspiring singer did not reach this level easily. She endured the hardships of living in rented houses for many years and was reprimanded by several master artists during her career. Below, we will take a look at the singer's life and creative path, which was filled with various hardships.

**"I was a cowardly girl"**

Yulduz Turdiyeva was born in 1985 in the Bukhara region. Despite the fact that there were no artists in her family, she was interested in maqom songs from childhood. The singer recalls her childhood experiences as follows:

— I was a tomboy, my parents would never say no to anything I said. But I was extremely timid. Even if a cat crossed my path on my way to school, I would return home scared. These habits are still with me. At the same time, I was an extremely kind and generous girl. My mother opened a small shop near our house. She also sold small sweets like chocolates and cookies. I would take them and distribute them to my classmates. When my mother would say, “Where is all this chocolate? What have you done?” I would remain silent, — says the singer.

**"My mother was with me until I was 15"**

Yulduz Turdiyeva faced opposition to becoming an artist. But her parents supported her first and foremost.

— There was always talk that if you are an artist, then this will happen. That is why my relatives always tried to be around me and protect me from ill-wishers. Until I was fifteen, my mother was always with me. She would never send me to any event or competition alone. Later, my brother took on this role, and now my husband is with me, — says the singer.

**"I have a crush on my teacher's son"**

The singer told about studying with her husband at the art college and studying with her father-in-law.

— My husband and I are the same age, we studied together at the Bukhara Art College. My father-in-law taught us both, and then from Bukhara we came to Tashkent together and applied to the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan. I sang, and my husband played the drum. But I never thought about starting a family with this person. When I was in my second year, I noticed that his attitude towards me was changing. He began to be jealous of his classmates. During the summer holidays, I would stay in Tashkent, and he would go to Bukhara with my father-in-law to perform wedding services. I felt that those two months were extremely difficult for me. Because Ulugbek was my closest classmate and protector. So, I fell in love with my teacher's son, says Yulduz Turdiyeva.

**"We lived in a rented house without windows in winter"**

Yulduz Turdiyeva grew up with her husband in a middle-class family. In addition, in those years, it was also a problem for people who were not permanently registered in Tashkent to find good jobs. The singer recalls the most difficult days of her life:

— When my husband and I arrived in Tashkent, we had nothing. Can you believe it, we had to live in 10 rented houses in one year. The best ones were not affordable. Or the ones that were affordable were in unsatisfactory conditions. I will never forget living in an apartment on the first floor with no windows. I would not sleep until dawn, thinking what I would do if someone came in. I was even afraid to bring my son to such a rented house, so I left him with my mother-in-law. At that time, people without a residence permit were not well employed. Therefore, my husband and I had difficulty finding jobs. We did not even have money left to rent an apartment of unsatisfactory quality. Then we moved to a one-room house of one of my husband's friends. More than ten people lived in that house and we ate from one pot, says singer Yulduz Turdiyeva.

**"The feeling that pushed me to win is mother's love"**

The singer, who was forced to live apart from her child due to the conditions in the rented house, reads the news that a large amount of prize money has been allocated for an international competition. Mother's love encourages her to participate in the competition and win.

— When I was missing my child, I read the announcement about the International Mugham Festival to be held in Azerbaijan. My eyes lit up when I read the part where it said 15 thousand US dollars for the main prize. I think I made plans to buy a house with this money.

The song "Qarabakshi" is called the heart of Azerbaijan. I asked Ochil Matjonov, who works at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan, to teach me the song. I studied singing for twelve days without leaving the conservatory. I won the first grand prize at the 2009 mugham festival. After returning to Tashkent, I started looking for a house. If everything went according to plan, at that time a two-room house in the city center was being sold for 15,000 US dollars. We bought a house and moved in with my family. This festival brought joy into my life. And the reason for my winning was motherly love, — says singer Yulduz Turdiyeva.

**"I heard a reprimand from Bakhodir Yuldoshev"**

Yulduz Turdiyeva recalls the days when she participated in "Sharq Taronalari" when she heard a reprimand from director Bakhodir Yuldoshev and burst into tears:

— Preparations for the "Sharq Taronalari" festival lasted several months. The year I first participated, a man came and begged me to attend his child's wedding. I said, "No, I can't leave here." But that man insisted. In the end, we planned to go to the wedding at a time when there were no rehearsals. Instead, the director, Bakhodir Yuldoshev, was looking for me at that time. When he heard that I had gone to the wedding, he was very angry. He severely reprimanded me and tried to expel me from the festival. Even when I cried and explained the situation, it didn't help. The next day, he said, "Okay, this is your last warning," the singer says.

**"You make a lot of money from your husband"**

Yulduz Turdiyeva answered why her husband doesn't play music and people who have negative opinions about him:

— My husband used to play music at weddings and concerts. He was a professional and a man who loved his profession. But after we started a family, being an administrator and a musician made him a little tired. After that, I said, “Ulugbek, it would be better if you stopped being a musician and stayed with me.” Because being an administrator also has many headaches. I feel sorry for those who say negatively about him, “You earn more money than your spouse.” Because it is difficult to work with people, and if he had not been an administrator, I would not have been able to sing freely, — says Yulduz Turdiyeva.

**"I paid a fine for singing other artists' songs"**

— A few years ago, we appeared on several live performance shows on the “Navo” TV channel, singing retro songs by People's Artist of Uzbekistan Nasiba Abdullayeva and the late People's Artist Ortik Otajonov. One day, they called me and said that I had to pay a fine for a song I sang live on the show. The reason was that I had mispronounced the lyrics and had not asked the poet for permission to perform it. Even though I said that it was a show from a few years ago and that they had given permission, they said, "You have caused moral damage by mispronouncing the lyrics." Okay, okay, I paid the fine. Even now, channels keep calling me to sing retro songs, but I no longer sing any singer's songs.

In addition, there were misunderstandings with some artists. They had given me one of their songs out of respect. After the song turned out beautifully in my interpretation, misunderstandings arose. I understand the artist, he had high hopes for his song. But one small incident led to unexpected results. Since this incident happened on the eve of my concert, I was forced to pay a fine of 60 million soums at the time so that there would be no problems.

**"I thank Yulduz Usmonova and Ozodbek Nazarbekov"**

— I also perform songs by Yulduz Usmonova and Ozodbek Nazarbekov at wedding services and fatiha ceremonies. People love their songs and listen to them with love. I would like to express my gratitude to the People's Artist of Uzbekistan Yulduz Usmonova, who never sang her songs. She even said, "My daughter, sing all my songs if you have the voice." Ozodbek Nazarbekov never sang her songs either.

**"Zulaikho Boykhonova stopped me from performing at the Nahorgi osh events"**

— Previously, I would perform at the Nahorgi osh events in Samarkand and Urgut in the morning. These events lasted from twelve to eleven in the morning, sometimes until two. I sang classical songs and lapars in live performances. Zulayho Boykhonova was the reason why I stopped going to the osh.

When my sister and I were together at a wedding service in Tashkent, I told her that I was in a hurry to the “osh” that would start at five the next day. Zulayho looked at me with surprise at first. “Yulduz, don’t go to the osh. Either serve at weddings or at the osh. This will cause serious health problems in 5-10 years,” she advised. I studied maqom, and I love singing them. At weddings, they often ask for cheerful, wedding-like songs, so I could only perform Uzbek classical and retro songs at the osh. But after Zulayho's advice, I stopped doing that altogether.

**About the singer's unique ability**

— When I was a child, my brother would accidentally put coins on my face and hands, and they would stick to where they were. Sometimes, if I massaged my mother's or children's feet, they would somehow heal. When I was little, newspapers wrote about my biocurrent. After that, people in our neighborhood who heard about it and knew about it would come to our house in the hope of getting rid of their headaches or other pains. When I got older, I started to feel shy around people and stopped doing it altogether, says singer Yulduz Turdiyeva.

**Can Yulduz Turdiyeva imagine her life without Instagram?**

— I think that nowadays no one can imagine their life without social networks. I also collaborate with foreign producers for work, we organize concerts abroad. For example, we organize maqom concerts for Europeans at night. Similarly, we prepare programs for our fans in other countries. I accept all offers for weddings, celebrations, and concert programs in other countries through Instagram. So why should I give up Instagram, says the singer.