Abai Qunanbaiuly Reading Hall opened in Vilnius
The event, held under new security rules, was attended by the members of the Seimas (Parliament), government clerks, representatives of academic, public and business societies, as well as of the Lithuanian media, the Kazakh Embassy in Lithuania reports.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Lithuania Viktor Temirbayev expressed the symbolism of establishing the «Abai Collection» in the library bearing the name of the famous European poet Adomas Mickevicius, since Abai was the first oriental poet who translated the works of the famous Vilnius born poet into his native language.
In this context, Kazakh diplomat underlined the life motto of Abai Qunanbaiuly who strived for introduction of the European culture to Kazakh Stepe and was one of the pioneer in translating the works of Schiller, Goethe, Pushkin and Byron to Kazakh language.
Guests were acquainted with Abai’s masterpiece melodies like «Qózіmnіń qarasy», «Jelsіz túnde jaryq aı» as well as «Aıttym sálem, Qalamqas» that were performed by Lithuanian opera star Raimondą Janutėnaitę and the famous accompanist Nijolė Baranauskaitė.
The ceremony participants called the «Abai Collection» a lynchpin of Kazakh culture not only in Lithuania, but throughout the Baltic region. And there is solid ground for it, since during the preparation works for the opening of «Abai Collection», an agreement on cooperation was reached between the Vilnius library and the oldest library in Kazakhstan - the Abai East Kazakhstan Regional Library.
Moreover, by the end of this year, the «Abai Collection» will host the release of the epic novel «Abai's Path» by Mukhtar Auezov and the novel «Return of the Teacher» by Anuar Alimzhanov in Lithuanian - the ambitious project of Embassy and the publishing house «Žara».
Today, «Abai Collection» comprises the best samples of literature and other materials that will help Lithuanian readers, students, experts, etc. to get acquainted with all spheres of life of the country of the Great Steppe, such as history and culture of Kazakhs, traditions, nature and art, as well as politics and economics. This collection will be replenished and expanded on an ongoing basis.
