I congratulate you on the great holiday of Navruz, which has always been joyfully celebrated in my family in Samarkand.
Today, more than 300 million people around the world celebrate Navruz. Navruz, Nowruz, Novruz, Nooruz, Nevruz, or Nauryz—this holiday has many names, but its essence has remained the same for thousands of years: the unity of nature and humanity, the preservation of traditions and rituals.
I take pride in being the first, in 1996, to call on my compatriots—Uzbeks and Tajiks (immigrants from Turkey who have lived in New York since the early 1970s)—to participate in celebrating Navruz in New York.
The young president of the Turkestan-American Association, businessman and philanthropist Numon Okuyon, supported this initiative and gathered his fellow countrymen at the luxurious Hilton Hotel in the heart of Manhattan. Ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions from seven countries—Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan—were invited.
The newly established Uzbek-American Association, led by Sanobar Babakhanova, prepared sumalak and generously shared it with the guests.
Our wonderful artists—Muhabbat Shamayeva, Ilyas Mallayev, Ezro Malakov, Tamara Katayeva, Matat Barayev, and others—filled the evening with their music.
My friend and colleague Numon Okuyon personally invited me to the center of the hall, ceremoniously draped a Bukharian gold-embroidered robe over my shoulders, and passionately thanked me for reviving Navruz among Uzbek immigrants—bringing back a cherished holiday that had not been celebrated for nearly half a century.
At that time, Navruz was not widely recognized at the UN. Our Navruz celebration at the Hilton was the first spring messenger in America, spreading the news across the country. Over time, the holiday took root in new communities that emerged with successive waves of immigrants from the post-Soviet republics of Central Asia and the Caucasus—Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Soon, embassies and consulates of these nations in America officially adopted Navruz as a national celebration.
On March 22, Navruz will also be celebrated in Ramla, Israel, with a grand concert, where Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Israel, Jahongir Aminov, will congratulate the community—now encompassing not only Bukharian, Russian, and Mountain Jews but also Uzbeks and Tajiks from Uzbekistan. I will also be there with Marik Kalontarov, where we will honor the 210th anniversary of the great son of Shakhrisabz and Samarkand, Moshe ha-Nosi Kalontar.
Navruz is my favorite holiday—it unites us all in the desire to live in peace, harmony, and good neighborliness, regardless of religion, race, or geography.
HAPPY NAVRUZ!
Best wishes,
Rafael Nektalov
Editor-in-Chief,
The Bukharian Times
This was translated from Russian to English