On April 30, the concert program of the Fergana regional Tatar cultural center at  the House of Friendship and Art of Fergana was brightly, colorfully and enthusiastically took place. With cheerful songs, dances and, of course, good and upbeat mood together with other creative collectives of the city they met the spring according to national custom.

Kargatui – a traditional Tatar holiday, held in  spring, marks the end of spring field work. Residents of the Tatar and Bashkir villages prepare a special dish on this occasion from different types of cereals: millet, wheat, buckwheat, rice – “karga ashatu” (“crow’s porridge”). After the festivities, a ritual of treats for returning migratory birds is held. On stumps, stones, glades this lovingly prepared porridge is laid out. Turning to the birds, the sky, nature, people ask for happiness for themselves and their loved ones, well-being in life, and, of course, a rich harvest.

To show the residents  of Ferghana and the guests of the city the uniqueness and originality of national customs, the creative collectives of the Tatar center prepared an idea about this ritual in the form of a musical performance.

Creative collectives of the center – the folklore ensemble of the Tatar song “Kubalyagem”, the children’s music club “Zvezdochka”, together with the collectives of the Slavic and Korean cultural centers, sang lyrical and comic songs, danced, played sketches on the theme of the evening and played traditional games. Talented, energetic participants of the ensemble “Kubalyagem” performed heartfelt Tatar folk songs – “Assalomu Aleikkum”, “Matrushkalar”, “Tashlama”, “Su Buylap”. For the first time in their performance, cheerful ditties also sounded. The dances, proverbs and signs about the spring of the youngest participants from the “Zvezdochka” club looked good from the stage of the theater. Full of life and mischief, they performed songs from their extensive repertoire and became a true adornment of the festival of spring and youth. And the musical compositions “Umyrzaya”, “Kil-kil”, “Uftanma”, “Chiyalar” were  performed by Ravil Tugushev, the head of the center, swept through the auditorium with a wave of lightness and lyricism.

The activities of the Tatar cultural center are always attended by creative teams of other national centers. So this time, the ensemble “Vdokhnoveniye”, “Sudarushka”, “In sam” joined the meeting of spring in Tatar. They performed cheerful and mischievous “To tea”, melodic and soft “Raspberry ringing”, “Dance with flowers”, which brought new bright colors to the festival. In their greetings and congratulations, the speakers noted that the friendship of the peoples living in Uzbekistan, their national unity, is growing every year. In many ways, thanks to such ongoing events.

Nikita Delishev,

Newspaper correspondent

“Ferganskya pravda”