Gavhar Zokirova: "My being a descendant of Avloniy came in handy when Jamshid aka and I got married"

Gavhar Zokirova: "Being a descendant of Avloniy came in handy when Jamshid aka and I got married"

People's Artist of Uzbekistan, actress Gavhar Zokirova was a guest on the "O‘zimizning gap" ("Our Own Talk") show on the "Mening yurtim" TV channel. During the conversation, she spoke about how being a descendant of Abdulla Avloniy played an important role in her marriage, how her bridal dowry contained books instead of expensive items, and how she was personally acquainted with Avloniy's wife.

"Being a descendant of Avloniy helped when Jamshid aka and I got married"

— In our marriage with my spouse Jamshid Zokirov, the name of my grandfather Abdulla Avloniy made its own contribution. When Jamshid aka first told his mother about it after we decided to get married, my mother-in-law did not like me. Seeing my photo, she thought I was not Uzbek and opposed the wedding. Then Jamshid aka said, "this girl is the great-granddaughter of Abdulla Avloniy."

Nothing in life happens just like that; everything has its place. On that very day, my father-in-law's relatives happened to be visiting their home. After learning that I was Avloniy's great-granddaughter, they were amazed. Jamshid aka's aunt told my mother-in-law, "if you don't make this girl your daughter-in-law, who will you make your daughter-in-law?" Then my mother-in-law thought about it and gave her consent. My mother-in-law was a very outspoken woman.

Later, throughout my entire life, my grandfather's name remained closely connected with my life.

"In my dowry, I sent books, not expensive dishes"

— I sent my books in my dowry. My mother-in-law and another relative of hers saw this and said, "the girl's mother is a diligent woman. She has collected so many dishes for her daughter. They must be of the best quality." They went and slowly opened the boxes and said, "oh, goodness, they are all books."

My brother and I loved collecting the works, books, and photos of Ernest Hemingway. When the children were carrying a large portrait, my mother-in-law saw Hemingway's photo and said, "Oh my, look at Avloniy, he had a long beard and was such a radiant man."

"I saw Avloniy's wife"

— Actually, Avloniy was not talked about much in our family. Nevertheless, I saw Avloniy's wife, grandmother Salomat, and conversed with her until I graduated from the institute. I even took Jamshid aka to see grandmother.

The saying "behind every great man stands a great woman" was not said in vain. After Abdulla Avloniy passed away in 1934, Professor Begali Qosimov came to my grandfather's house and would sit for hours translating Avloniy's first book from Arabic to Cyrillic. Grandmother Salomat would not let him take even a single page of the book home to translate. Begali Qosimov visited grandmother Salomat's home for three years to translate the book into Cyrillic. During the years of repression, from 1934 to 1966, my grandmother kept all of my grandfather's books hidden in the attic. For this reason, while the books of Cholpon and Qodiriy were burned, almost all of my grandfather's books were preserved, says Gavhar Zokirova.