― 19 февраля 2020 г.

60th Birthday celebration of the People’s Poet of Kyrgyzstan Kojogeldi Kultegin

The 60th birthday of the people’s poet of Kyrgyzstan and Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to  TURKSOY Kojogeldi Kuluyev (Kultegin) was celebrated in Ankara.

In line with its commitment to introduce famous personalities of the Turkic World who contribute to the enrichment of its culture, art and literature to young generations,TURKSOY held an event to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the people’s poet of Kyrgyzstan Kojogeldi Kultegin and present two of his books of poems “Avuçtaki Dünya” (The World in the Palm of the Hand) and “Yürek-Mekan” (Heart-Space).

The event hosted by the Secretary General of TURKSOY Dusen Kasseinov gathered the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Ankara  H. E. Kubanychbek Omuraliev, the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Ankara  H. E. Ishankuli Amanlyev, the Deputy Minister of Culture Information and Tourism of Kyrgyzstan Kayrat Imanaliyev, the MP of the AK Party from Ordu Metin Gündoğdu,  the Deputy President of the Presidency of Turks and Kindred Peoples Abroad Sayit Yusuf, the Mayor of Etimesgut Enver Demirel, the Chairman of the Eurasian Authors’ Union Yakup Ömeroğlu, the Coordinator of the TRT Avaz Channel Sedat Sağırkaya, the Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Sakarya Mustafa Ak, the Director General of the Water and Sewage Administration of Sakarya Ilyas Demirci, the Honorary Consul of  Kyrgyzstan in Turkey Dr. Mustafa Kurt andrepresentatives of diplomatic missions in   Ankara along with authors, artists, intellectuals and amateurs of art.

The event started with a short cinevision featuring photos of the poet Kojogeldi Kultegin and went on with the opening speech of the event delivered by Prof. Dr. Naciye Ata Yıldız who made a detailed presentation on the life and work of the poet and said that with his very own descriptions, allegories and metaphores, Kultegin  opens up new horizons to amateurs of poetry. In her presentation, Prof. Dr. Naciye Ata Yıldız gave some examples of verses by the poet to illustrate the variety and depth of subjects he deals with in his works.

The Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to  Ankara H. E. Kubanychbek Omuralıev who also took the floor at the event congratulated the poet on the occasion of his 60th birthday and read the congratulation letter addressed to him by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbay Jeenbekov.

TURKSOY Secretary General Dusen Kasseinov who also took the floor at the event touched upon the long-dating ties between Kojogeldi Kultegin and TURKSOY and said that he already knew Mr. Kultegin when he was a Deputy Minister himself before assuming the duty of Secretary General of TURKSOY. Mr. Kasseinov further stressed that since his appointment as Representative of Kyrgyzstan to TURKSOY, Mr. Kultegin added particular impetus to the cooperation between TURKSOY  and Kyrgyzstan.

Mr. Kasseinov went on saying: “Kojogeldi Kultegin has strongly contributed to the publication of works by Kazak poets Magjan Jumabayoglu,  Oljas Suleymanov, the Azerbaijani poet Imadeddin Nesimi, the Kyrgyz poet Alykul Osmonov, the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuliyev and the Bashkort poet Mustay Karim as well as of many other works issued in various languages.  We all witnessed his successful contribution to activities carried out within the framework of commemorative years declared by TURKSOY and dedicated to Toktogul Satylganov, Yusuf Balasagun and Chingis Aitmatov. He also played a leading role in the translation and publication of works by famous Kyrgyz authors, wisemen and poets such as Beksultan Cakiyev, Kenesh Jusupov and Tologon Mameyev into Turkish language.   Kojogeldi Kultegin is also the idea owner of the television programme “Five Poets” broadcasted in Kyrgyzstan. As a poet,  Kojogeldi Kultegin has definitely marked the beginning of a new era in artistic activities carried out by TURKSOY.”

Mr. Kasseinov who also presented two books of Kultegin published by TURKSOY said: “As a birthday gift dedicated to the 60th birthday of the poet, we have published the book “The World in the Palm of the Hand”. This book  has been published in seven languages of the Turkic World being Azerbaijan, Kazak, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Turkish, Bashkort and Sakha. We hope that readers all accross the Turkic World will enjoy reading it.”

Following his speech, TURKSOY Secretary General Kasseinov handed over the Honour Medal of TURKSOY  to Kojogeldi Kultegin. The ceremony was followed by the handing over of the books  featuring poems by Kojogeldi Kultegin “The World in the Palm of the Hand”  and “Heart-Space”.

The Deputy Minister of Culture Information and Tourism of the Kyrgyz Republic Kayrat Imanaliyev who also said a few words congratulated the poet on the occasion of his 60th birthday and wished him further success before reading congratulation messages conveyed to Mr. Kultegin by  state officials of Kyrgyzstan.

In the speech he delivered, the Deputy Secretary General of TURKSOY Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bilal Çakıcı  congratulated Mr. Kojogeldi Kultegin, wished him further success and read some of his selected poems.

The Mayor of Karakulca Primbedi Dıykanov who came from Kultegin’s hometown  said that with his translations, Kojogeldi Kultegin has strongly contributed to the enrichment of Kyrgyz literature. Mr. Dıykanov said:  “Kojogeldi Kultegin has translated tens of works by Russian, Spanish, Bulgarian and Turkish poets such as Karacaoğlan, Nazım Hikmet and Necip Fazıl as well as by the Balkar poet Kaisyn Kuluyev, the Azerbaijani poet Imadeddin Nesimi and the Kazak poets Magjan Jumabay, Muhtar Shahanov and Temirhan Medetbek into Kyrgyz language. It is impossible to cover all his works in a single event as each of them convey a philosophical message.”

At the event, the Mayor of Etimesgut Enver Demirel, the Chairman of the Eurasian Authors’ Union Yakup Ömeroğlu,  the Representative of Azerbaijan to TURKSOY Elçin Gafarlı, Dr. Mustafa Kurt, the poet Kenan Çarboğa, the poet Dr. Kalmamat Kulamşayev and the Art Director of TURKSOY Arman Nurmakhamatuly each delivered a speech to congratulate Mr. Kojogeldi Kultegin on the occasion of his  60th birthday.

At the event where various souvenirs and books were handed over as a gift, Mr. Elçin Gafarlı offered Mr. Kuluyev the Honorary Edict of the Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Ebulfes Garayev in recognition of his contribution to the development of the mutual cooperation between Azerbaijan and  Kyrgyzstan in the field of culture, and Mr.  Arman Nurmakhamatuly offered Mr. Kuluyev a Kazak chapan  and a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of rhe Minister of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan Aktoty Raimkulova. Mr. Kenan Çarboğa and Mr. Kalmamat Kulamshayev read some of Kultegin’s poems translated into Turkish.

The event also featured songs composed on Kultegin’s poems. Performances by the Kyrgyz artists Isiradin Amanbayev and Tulekgun Abylova and by the saz player Yusuf Gul were strongly appreciated by the audience.

The event went on with Mr. Kojogeldi Kultegin’s  word of thanks followed by a group photograph as a remembrance of the day.