P rominent t ajik f igures of the

Aminzoda, Muhiddin

Tajik poet and tambourine player Muhiddin Aminzoda was born in

1904, in the city of Khujand to a traditional family. His literary career,

however, began in 1924 when his poems appeared in Ovozi Tajik and in

the satirical journal Mullo Mushfiqi.

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Iraj Bashiri

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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After graduating from the Samarqand Pedagogical Institute in 1925,

Aminzoda was employed by the same institution as a teacher. He also

studied music (1928-29) at the Uzbekistan School of Music and

Choreography. Aminzoda moved to Dushanbe in 1937 as the Director

of the Literary Division of the Theater and Opera Ballet of Tajikistan.

In 1933, he tried his hand at drama and contributed Sharaf (Nobility),

which was staged in the Leninabad Drama Theater. In 1940, he

coauthored Leninobod (Leninabad) with Rahim Jalil.

The themes of his poetry include emancipation of women, opposi-

tion to religious zealotry, and traditionalism. His poems include "Bis-

avodi Baloi Jon Boshad" ("Illiteracy Is the Bane of Life"), "Ta'limi

Umumii Majburi" ("Compulsory Public Education"), and "Hasrati Yak

Domullo" ("A Religious Figure's Regret"). Aminzoda's first collection

of poetry was published in 1937.

Satire is another genre to which Aminzoda contributed and, of

which, he is, indeed, a founder in Tajik literature. "Hasrati Yak

Domullo" (1928) is an example of his contribution to this genre. His

satirical pieces were published in Khorpushtak and Mullo Mushfeqi.

Lyrical poetry is Aminzoda's forté. His first volume Chaman

(Meadow) was published in 1937. Other volumes of his poetry include

Bahori Vatan (Spring of the Fatherland, 1939), Bahori Dil (Spring of

the Heart, 1964), and Sadoi Zafar (Sound of Victory, 1944). He also

drew on his poetic talent for translating the works of Pushkin, Gorkii,

Lermontov, and others.

Aminzoda joined the Union of Writers of the Soviet Union in 1936

.He received the Badge of Honor and several other medals.

Aminzoda died in Khujand on September 1, 1966.

Aminzoda, Zebo

Tajik dancer and ballerina Zebo Muhiddinovna Aminzoda was born

into a family of professional artists in Stalinabad on October 3, 1948.

She learned the intricacies of the profession from her grandmother,

Zakirova Karomatkhon and her mother, Usmonova Oidinoi. Her father

is a famous poet and tambourine player, Muhiddin Aminzoda. From

1958 to 1962, she studied at the Institute of Choreography at the Great

Theater of the Soviet Union under E. N. Zhemchuzhina. From 1962 to

1965, she studied at the Tashkent Institute of Choreography's division

of People's Dances under Q. Mirkarimova. From 1965 to 1978, she

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