The Shining Light

Galymkair Mutanov

• Publisher: Glagoslav Publications B.V.
• ISBN:
  9781911414476
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Poetry
• Index: Literature

Poetry has always been in the Kazakh blood, and Galym Mutanov is one of the newly independent nation's leading poets, a shining light in the Kazakh literary world. In the range of his poetry, Mutanov truly captures the essence of the Kazakh spirit – from the tough and ageless traditions of the wild steppe to moments of tender intimacy. The measured Islamic wisdom and deep sense of morality so intrinsic to Kazakh life of old shines through in verse after verse. The figure of Abai, the 19th century visionary, the deeply spiritual poet of the steppe, looms large over Kazakh poetry. Mutanov takes up the challenge that Abai threw down – to create verse that is both steeped in the Kazakh tradition of oral verse yet rises to a new clarity and spirituality relevant today. Mutanov wrote originally in Kazakh, but many Kazakhs speak only Russian. So his poems were translated into Russian by leading poets Vladimir Buryazev and M. Adibaeva. It is these Russian versions that provided the source for John Farndon's translations with Olga Nakston for this collection. Galym Mutanov is not only a poet but something of a polymath. He is a hugely distinguished academic, with over 400 scientific papers to his credit, and currently rector of al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Alma-Ata. In 2013, his achievements were recognized in France by the award of a Chevalier L'Ordre des Palmes académiques.

I

“The Shining Light”

The Shining Light

(from the translation by M.Adibaeva)

Fill your life with meaning;

Let the sun come rising!

Amaze with the richness of your soul.

Give your love to people whole.

Love is the highest force, my friend.

Keep it pure in your heart and in the end

Your life’s journey will be good –

For its light will shine in the darkest wood.

Allah’s gift

We come to this place – Allah’s gift,

A sign of his kindness unfurled.

He bestows on us our life’s shift,

And brings warmth to all the world.

---

So then, kindness, not strife,

Is our soul’s ongoing call...

And in each small moment of life

To give due honour to all.

Spiritual warmth

(from the translation by V. Beryazev)

A warm heart is a blessing

Of the highest degree.

A man is only living

When his heart is free

To shed its light on another soul.

Nurture another heart,

And back its love will flow

To fill the space forever

With its radiant glow.

For that happy, happy soul

Bathed in warmth and light

Finds the quality of mercy,

And the salt of retribution’s bite

Is lost in love’s pure victory.

The more hearts that are open

To this gleaming light,

The brighter shines the Temple

Of Creation and the more

Welcome in God’s sight.

The Path to Happiness

Allah made all humankind

To be wrapped in a happy embrace.

So in Sharia you will find

Your path through God’s own place.

---

But as men grow, the maniac men

Will ...

Table of contents

• Copyright
• From Rollan Seysenbayev
• Translator's note
• I. “The Shining Light”
• Thank you for purchasing!