Today, August 10, Kazakhstan is celebrating the Day of Abay Kunanbayev, a national poet, composer, educator, thinker, and public figure, Turanews.kz reports.
Abay was born in 1845 and is considered the founder of Kazakh written literature and its first classic. He was a cultural reformer who advocated for the rapprochement of Kazakh culture with European culture based on enlightened Islam.
Abay was born into a noble family in the Semipalatinsk region of Kazakhstan. He was a bright child and received a traditional education in the madrasah and a Russian school. He began writing poetry at a young age and was influenced by the works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Goethe, and Byron.
In his works, Abay described the realities of Kazakh life and called for social and political reform. He believed that education was the key to progress and that Kazakhs needed to learn from the West in order to modernize. He also wrote about the importance of morality and ethics.
Abay’s works have been translated into over 116 languages and he is considered one of the most important figures in Kazakh history. His birthday is a national holiday in Kazakhstan and is celebrated with cultural events and performances.
This year, Kazakhstan is marking the 175th anniversary of Abay’s birth with a series of special events. A new translation of Abai’s works into Russian has been published, and a special group of specialists from Kazakhstan and Japan has been created to translate Abai’s works into Japanese for the first time.
Abay Kunanbayev is a national hero in Kazakhstan and his legacy continues to inspire people around the world. He was a visionary who saw the potential of Kazakh culture and society and worked to bring about positive change. His thoughts and ideas are still relevant today and his works continue to be read and studied by people of all ages.
