Armenians vandalize Azerbaijani poetess’ grave in Aghdam

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Armenians have vandalized the grave of Azerbaijan's prominent poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan in Aghdam city.

Natavan is descendant of Panah Ali Khan, founder of Karbakh khanete. 

The fact of vandalism has been exposed by famous photojournalist Reza Deghati who made a post in his Instagram account.

"Why destroy the grave of a poetess?” Deghati questioned.

"The most important poetess of all time of Azerbaijan, Khurshid Banu Natavan, was born in the city of Shusha, 15 Aug 1832, descending from Panah Ali Khan and the founder of Shusha. She was the Heir to the last ruler of Karabakh, and spent most of the family's wealth, to the humanitarian activities, including construction of the historical Aqueduct to bring water to Shusha, a masterpiece of engineering, that still provides water to the city. She was buried along with her father and other family members in a beautiful 18th century complex in the city of Aghdam," he wrote.

"In 1992 before the fall of town to Armenian forces I visited the cultural centre and was amazed by the architecture and also the beauty of the statue that was on her tombstone. After the city was liberated, Nov.2020, I returned to the same place. The big shock was not to see how everything was destroyed deliberately, but to find out that her tomb was raided and even all her bones were taken away, probably by the same people who have been drinking water from the Aqueduct that she built! Who is afraid of a poetess ?," he added.

It should be noted that hundreds of cultural institutions, including 927 libraries with 4.6 million books, 808 palaces of culture, clubs and other cultural institutions, 85 music and art schools were destroyed by Armenian occupants.

Khurshidbanu Natavan who is considered one of the best lyrical poets of Azerbaijan, was the daughter of Mehdi Gulu-khan, the last ruler of the Karabakh khanate was born on August 6, 1832, in the town of Shusha.

Being the only child in the family and descending from Panah Ali Khan, she was the only heir of the Karabakh khan, known to general public as the "daughter of the khan".

Through her efforts, a beautiful park was laid out in Shusha. Moreover, the poetess initiated the building of the palace, a mosque, a theater,  trading houses as well as specialized school.

In 1872, Khurshidbanu donated money for building a water supply line from Isa-bulag  in order to provide Shusha residents with water.

Through her poetry, Natavan  expressed her sincere feelings which conquered the hearts of many people.

She grew popular through her relationship-themed ghazals and rubayat. Kindness, friendship, humanism and love were the main themes of Natavan's ghazals. 

Her romantic poems express the feelings and sufferings of a woman who was not happy in her family life and who lost her son.  She adopted the pen name ‘Natavan’, a Persian term meaning ‘powerless’, after her son’s tragic death in 1885.

Some of her known poems are "To My Son, Abbas", "Lilac", etc. Some of her poems are still used in folk songs.

In 1872 she chaired "Mejlisi-uns" literary circle in Shusha.

Apart from poetry, Natavan was engaged in painting. She was exceptionally good at pencil sketching and attractive embroidery as well. Her landscape sketches were the first-of-a-kind in European style in Azerbaijani art, which perfectly combined the concepts of the Western and Oriental art forms. Her embroidery works were regarded as masterpieces.