P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Valizoda, Saidali

Tajik poet and singer Saidali Valizoda was born on October 10,

1900, in the village of Chughurak in the Vose' district. Little is known

about his early life other than that he spent a great deal of his life as a

farmer and that he studied at the traditional schools of his native

Khavaling.

He published his first poem under the penname of Dihqoni Faqir

(Poor Farmer). His fame as a singer brought him in contact with some

of the great authors of his time, including Lahuti, Mirsaid Mirshakar,

Dihoti, and Tursunzoda. One of his early poems, which he also sang, is

"Dihqononi Jabrdida" ("Oppressed Peasants"). His most famous poem,

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