The correspondent of Turmush investigated who created this work and under what circumstances.
The lyrics to "Torgoyum" were written by Ryskulbek Tursunaliev, a resident of the village of Ming-Bulak in the Bakai-Ata district of the Talas region, while the melody was created by his friend Sovetbek Usenaliev.
Dilbara Sakabekova, the daughter of the lyricist, shared the following information with the correspondent:
“My father, Ryskulbek Tursunaliev, was born in 1934. He was not only an artist but also worked as a drawing and drafting teacher at the local school, later becoming the head of the club. Since his youth, he was passionate about poetry. In our house, there was a suitcase in the attic full of his poems typed on an old typewriter. At that time, we did not realize the value of these writings, and my mother collected them and hid them in the attic.”
She also noted that many performers have sung "Torgoyum."
“In 1987, it was first sung by Aitbubu Atamkulova, then by Gulzat Batyrkanova and others, and now it is performed by Nurmat Sadyrov. This song was created by my father,” she added.
“In 1953, he visited the village of Tömönkü Aral, where he met my mother, Kumar. Soon after, they got married, and he brought her to his native village of Ming-Bulak. He always remembered how he crossed the Echkilik mountain to bring her to his home. However, their life together lasted only three months, as he was called to the army in Vladivostok. He served for three years, while my mother stayed with his mother. My father did not want anyone else to marry my mother while he was in the army, and he did not want his mother to be alone. When he returned, they already had an older sister,” she recounted.
At the age of 48, my father dedicated the song "Torgoyum" to my mother, who was short in stature. He often sang at celebrations, where he would drink a little, like most people. Sometimes, when returning home, he joked, calling her "torgoyum," which means "sparrow." Once, he read her a poem written in her honor, and my mother suggested creating a melody for it. My father turned to Sovetbek Usenaliev, who quickly wrote the music. At that time, many did not know about copyright, and the song quickly became a folk song,” Dilbara Sakabekova shared.
She added that her father passed away in 2010 from a serious illness.
“Now my sister Gulnara Tursunalieva is trying to establish authorship and has contacted Kyrgyzpatent,” she noted.
“My mother, Kumar Tursunalieva, was born in 1935 and passed away three years ago,” Dilbara added.
