UNESCO marks poetess Mahsati Ganjavi's 900th anniversary in Paris
By Nigar Orujova
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the organizational support of Azerbaijan's representation at UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism celebrated the 900th anniversary of Azerbaijani poetess Mahsati Ganjavi in Paris on May 16.
Mahsati Ganjavi, a 12th century poetess, was born in the Azerbaijani northwestern city of Ganja. She received an education closely linked with Eastern literature and music and was a famous rubai writer recognized not only in her epoch but also long thereafter.
Azerbaijani Deputy Prime Minister Elchin Efendiyev spoke of the creative work of Mahsati Ganjavi, noting that as world coryphaei Dante, Rabelais, Fizuli, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Voltaire and Tolstoy, Mahsati with her literary heritage belongs to the entire humanity.
Noting that Mahsati wrote mostly in the rubai genre, Efendiyev said rubai is an Oriental poetry genre consisting of four hemistiches. The genre of four lines containing deep philosophical thoughts was raised to a high level of creativity by world-famous poets Nizami and Khagani.
Efendiyev also said that the gender problem, one of the most serious problems of the world today, was reflected in the Mahsati poetry some 900 years ago.
"It is not by chance that the President of Azerbaijan has issued a special decree on the celebration of Mahsati Ganjavi`s 900th anniversary", Efendiyev said. "Such respect for the national literary heritage was established by the late national leader of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev."
Efendiyev also stressed the role of Azerbaijan`s First Lady, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Mehriban Aliyeva in the development of relations between Azerbaijan and UNESCO.
Addressing the ceremony, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Qian Tang underlined Azerbaijan's role in the world culture development and the current contribution to the enrichment of this heritage.
He said the problems raised by Mahsati nine centuries ago have not lost their relevance today. Tang stressed that along with eulogizing the gentle feelings of love, Mahsati also brightly portrayed feminist ideas in her works.
Rafael Huseynov, an Azerbaijani MP, correspondent member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and a researcher of Mahsati Ganjavi`s creativity, spoke about Mahsati's life and creative work.
"Her most productive period of creation was spent in the palace of Sultan Mahmud Seljuk and that of his uncle Sanjar Seljuk," he said. "Mahsati Ganjavi commonly wrote rubai in Persian. The love plot holds the main place in her creations. The rubais stand out for their worldliness, humanism, epicurism and optimism. Mahsati Ganjavi describes love as a fragile natural feeling which makes a man's fame higher. The poetess protested religious prejudices, hypocrisy and conservatism, and protected a man's moral freedom. Her poems reflected...especially the women`s romantic dreams of a free and happy life."
The event concluded with a concert of Azerbaijani masters of art, a concert of traditional Azerbaijani music, poetry reading and an exhibition of works by Mahsati Ganjavi and her biographical publications.