Each nation has its greatest poets, which everyone remembers, poetic lines that go to the people and remain in memory. For the Turkmen people, this is the great Mahtumkuli, who reflected the peculiarities of the spiritual image, national self-awareness of the people in his work. The fate of a poet, scientist and philosopher in many ways resembles the fate of the Turkmen people.
The Turkmen philosopher and great poet of the 18th century (1724-1807) Mahtumkuli Fragi was born in the village of Haji Govshan, which is located in Turkmenistan in the Etrek river valley with the Sumbar tributaries. In the foothills of the Kopet Dag, this is the historical area of residence of the Turkmen-Goklen. Fragi studied at a rural school, where his father, Dovletmammed Azadi, was a teacher. At a very early age, the poet began to read in two languages in Arabic and Persian. Knowledge of languages contributed to the further education of the boy.
Continuing his studies in the famous Koketltash madrasah in Buhara, the poet met Nuri-Kazym there. Together they went on a journey. The travelers visited the territory of present-day Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and, passing through the territory of present-day Afghanistan, reached India. At the very end of their journey, they reached Hiva, the capital of Horezm, where Mahtumkuli continued his studies at the Shergazi Han madrasah, in which only those who were marked by the grace of the padishah studied.
Having received the news of his father's death, in 1760 the great poet returned to his homeland. In his native land, he had love, by coincidence, fate did not bring them together, and the girl got married, but the poet endured love for Mengli, that was the name of the girl, throughout his life. This can be seen in many of his poems, which he dedicated to her.
“... I fell in love with the pain of dreams.
Moonlight rose in heaven
I fell in love with the ocean ... "
(“Wanderer in Love” Excerpt. Mahtumkuli.)
The poet's influence on Turkmen poetry significantly changed the poetic language of the Turkmen people, bringing it closer to the folk speech, abandoning the Arab-Persian metric, and replacing it with the syllabic system.
In addition, Mahtumkuli Fragi is an outstanding poet of world literature and one of the greatest literary figures of Turkmenistan. The memory of the poet has been immortalized by numerous book editions and translations into numerous foreign languages. In our country and on the territory of many other countries, monuments and memorial signs have been erected in memory of the poet.
The great poet will forever remain in the hearts of the people. Mahtumkuli, who always dreamed that his people would live a peaceful and calm life. Developing his own culture, the poet left behind a wonderful poetic legacy to his compatriots. Thanks to the deep thoughts of wonderful verses that are directed far into the future, Fragi's poetry meets the spiritual needs of not only the Turkmen people, but also of all mankind. The poet's great service to the Turkmen people is his struggle for unity and condemnation of discord. For a long time, many generations of the Turkmen people were brought up and are being brought up on its lesson of unity. Life itself proved the veracity of the bright ideas of Mahtumkuli, who dreamed of a powerful state. Today all this has become a reality, everything that the great poet dreamed of - the Turkmen people united, an independent state - Turkmenistan was formed, with its own customs and culture.
