On October, 4 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) at the Book Fest-2019, Sharaf Rashidov’s book “The Kashmir Song” (ISBN: 978-0993044427), published by the British “Hertfordshire Press” and translated by Alexey Ulko, was recognized as the best among the translated works and won in the nomination “Best translation”.
The first Book Fest-2019 in Uzbekistan gathered more than 12,000 literature connoisseurs of all ages. It was attended by 16 publishing and bookselling organizations from Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, South Korea, the UK and Germany. 30 private and state publishing houses and bookstores of Uzbekistan also presented their products.
The Eurasian Creative Guild and the British publishing house “Hertfordshire Press” had an opportunity to put on record of this grand event, since it was the book “Kashmir Song” published by the Hertfordshire Press that won the nomination “Best Translation”. For this award, it is necessary to emphasize the merits of Alexei Ulko, a multifaceted person, the owner of outstanding linguistic talent, a subtle sense of a beauty, inimitable style and creative flair. Thanks to this person, the translation of the masterpiece of the Uzbek leader Sharaf Rashidov was born, and now all English-speaking readers can enjoy the book.
Sharaf Rashidov was born on November 6, 1917 in Jizzakh, Uzbekistan. Sharaf Rashidov is known as a talented writer and an outstanding diplomat. He is famous for his peacekeeping activities as the architect of the peace treaty between India and Pakistan and for his active role during the Caribbean crisis. During his life he wrote and published 9 books. Films were made based on his works, music was written on his poems. The most famous Rashidov brought the story “Kashmir Song”.
“Kashmir Song” (1956) is a beautiful illustrated novella, which offers a sensitive reworking of an ancient and enchanting folk story which although rooted in Kashmir is, by nature of its theme, universal in its appeal. The romantic story reflects the struggle of the Indian people for liberation. Alternative interpretations of this tale are explored by Alexey Ulko in his introduction, with references to both politics and contemporary literature, and the author’s epilogue further reiterates its philosophical dimension. The Kashmir Song is a timeless tale, which true to the tradition of classical folklore, can be enjoyed on a number of levels by readers of all ages.
Hertfordshire Press is a unique publishing house that connects English-speaking readers around the world with Eurasia through the publication of books by regional authors, magazines, guidebooks, and the holding of literary festivals and forums. Since 2002, the publishing house has specialized in publishing contemporary fiction and popular science literature by authors of the Eurasian peoples, as well as in reprinting works of past years that, despite their relentless relevance, are currently not available in English. The publisher’s catalog includes more than 200 works by authors from 15 countries and the total circulation is more than 1,000,000 copies.
The Eurasian Creative Guild (London) is a a common platform for bringing together creative people of all fields and forms of art, covering a wide range of activities and serving as a meeting place and discussing their work with each other. It gathered dozens of cultural figures from around the world and was created as a union of writers, musicians, dancers, illustrators, graphic designers, sculptors, poets, as well as anyone who considers herself a creative person to promote their work around the world and seek mutually beneficial cooperation.