P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Hamroev, Obloqul

Tajik novelist Obloqul Hamroev, also known by the penname of

Sorbon, was born into the family of a collective farmer in the village of

Amondara in Panjakent province of Zarafshan in January 27, 1940.

Hamroev graduated in 1963 from Tajikistan State University with a

degree in Persian language and literature. Between 1963 and 1982, he

taught at the Tajikistan State University. He also worked at Sado va

Simoi Tojikiston, Irfon Publications, and for Madaniyati Tojikiston.

After 1982, he served as the Associate Prose Editor of the Union of

Writers of Tajikistan.

Hamroev's first collection of stories was published in 1969. It was

entitled Gap dar Dil (Not Everything Is Said). His other stories are

centered on events of the October Revolution and of the Second World

War. Hamroev's other works include Zangi Avval (The First Session,

1970), Sangi Sipar (The Shield Rock, 1973), Kowli (The Gypsy, 1975),

Shinil (Overcoat, 1980), Sabo (Saba, 1980), Hunarpisha (Actor, 1984),

Zarafshon (The  Zarafshan Region, two volumes, 1988), and Dashti

Moron (The Desert of the Snakes, 1991).

Hamroev's stories deal with the lives of women; the delight of rural

life; establishment of Soviet power, especially in the Zarafshan Valley;

and the difficulties that the Tajiks experienced in World War II. His sto-

ries made Hamroev extremely popular in the 1970s.

He joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1971.

Hamroev, Said

Tajik composer Said Hamroev was born in Ghizhduvon, in present-

day Uzbekistan, on November 22, 1935. He studied first at the Native

Instruments Division (1951-55) and then at the Composer's Division of

the Stalinabad School (1959-61).

From 1961 to 1963, he studied composing at the Tashkent Conser-

vatory. He created a number of monumental operas and musical works,

including Sherak (Sherak, 1970), Bizhan va Manizheh (Bizhan and

Manizheh, 1975), Javoni (Youth, 1975), and others.

 He also has contributed music to several spectacles staged at the

Musical Comedy Theater of Leninabad and the Lahuti State Theater at

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