THE IMAGE OF POSHSHO KHOLA — UZBEK MOTHERS IN OTKIR HOSHIMOV’S STORY ‘THE AFFAIRS OF THE WORLD

Аннотация

Otkir Hoshimov's story “The Affairs of the World” is one of the masterpieces about motherhood in modern Uzbek literature. It creates a national symbol of the Uzbek mother. This article elucidates the image of the mother in the story through an analysis of the leading virtues characteristicofthenation. Keywords:image, poetics, composition, story, the image of PoshshaKhola, creative laboratory, artisticcoloring, letter. The story “The Affairs of the World” holds a unique place not only in the works of Otkir Hoshimov but also in 20th-century Uzbek literature. This work is closely related to 20th- century Uzbek prose such as Oybek’s “Childhood”, G. Ghulom’s “The Naughty Child”, A. Qahhor’s “Tales from the Past”, and N. Safarov’s “What I Have Seen and Experienced”. At the same time, it reflects the spirit and high pathos found in Mirtemir’s poems “My Mother” and “Mother”,as well as A. Oripov’s “Dear Mother”,which stand out as important features. Indeed, the story centers onthe unfulfilled duty of the child toward the mother, the resulting sorrow and regretsleft in theheart, andtheinsatiablefeeling oflonging. At the same time, “The Affairs of the World” presents a very clear and vivid depiction of scenes, people’s appearances, and the colorful aspects of life. There are few works that portray the authentic conditions of Tashkent neighborhoods in the 1940s and 1970s, as well as the natureof itspeople, as skillfully and naturally as “TheAffairs of theWorld.” According to literary scholar O. Duysenbaev, in Otkir Hoshimov’s work, the story “The Affairs of the World” represents the climax of the writer’s creation of the mother’s image (1, 10). Indeed, this story has captured the hearts not only of Uzbek readers and literary critics but also of foreign literature enthusiasts. Writer Said Ahmad expressed the following thoughts about the story in his article “Creativity and Courage”: “I would prefer to call ‘The Affairs of the World’ not a story but an epic. It reads like a song. While reading it, we think about our own mothers. A question and a concern persistently stand before us: have we at least repaid a fraction of the lifelong debts owed to ourcompassionate and enduring mothers?” (3, 10). Literary scholar A. Rasulov writes: “It is necessary to study the poetics of ‘The Affairs of the World’ with particular care. The writer’s skill, ingenuity, and innovations introduced into the nature of the story genre are clearly visible in the work, as even the essence of the smallest character is revealed with a single gesture, hint, or action. At first glance, ‘The Affairs of the page1870 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ISSN:2692-5206,ImpactFactor:12,23 AmericanAcademicpublishers,volume05,issue06,2025 Journal: https://www.academicpublishers.org/journals/index.php/ijai World’ may seem like a sentimental work. In reality, it is full of emotions but by no means sentimental”(2, 80). Regarding thepositive and humanistic qualities and virtues of this story, our literary scholars M. Qo’shjonov and O. Sharafiddinov havepublished separatereviews and articles. Paying attention to the composition of the story, as the author emphasizes, the work consists of a diverse range of volumes, including large, small, and medium-sized independent stories, totaling 33 in number. In the introduction to the work, the author states: “This story is composed of large and small novellas. However, in all of them, there is the image of a dear person to me — my Mother. I have seen all these people with my own eyes. Only some of their names have been changed. The fate ofthese people is connected tomy Mother in some way” (5, 5). Thus, in terms of style, this story resembles autobiographical works such as Abdulla Qahhor’s “Tales from the Past” and Nazir Safarov’s “Navruz”. The image of the author’s mother, Poshsha Khola, serves as the lifeblood of the story, around which nearly 20 mother figures are connected. However, all events and images of mothers intersect at one point — the image of PoshshaKhola. Renowned literary scholar A. Rasulov writes in his book “The Esteemed Writer” about the writinghistory ofthe story “Havas”in “TheAffairs ofthe World”: “After listening to ‘Havas’, I said, ‘Otkirjon, I recognized the mother, your traveling friend, and his ‘punk’ sons. It’s alright if their names remain ‘fictional.’ But I kindly ask you to write my mother by her real name and call her Mehnri Khola; it would become a memorable tribute. Moreover, myMehnri Khola and your PoshshaKholawere veryclose andcompassionate.’” A few years after “The Affairs of the World” was written, my mother — Mehri Khola — also passed away. Whenever I read “Havas”, I want to gently stroke and caress my mother’s “hands marked with age spots” and wipe them with my eyes: “Mehri Khola... In some way, I see something of my own mother in her. The way she tilts her head sadly to one side, her long black velvet scarf, the white hair peeking out from under her thick headscarf...” I h